JP6929900B2 - Telescopic guide light - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a guide light or a signal light used as a lighting means for a signal in traffic control at night, a construction site, or the like. Hereinafter, in the present specification, the term guide light will be used as a concept including a signal light.

Conventionally, various guide lights (signal lights) for sending and guiding signals to vehicles and workers have been proposed and commercialized at nighttime construction sites and indoor work sites.

However, all of the conventional guide lights have a large number of parts, a complicated structure, a heavy weight, are not satisfactory in portability, and are not sufficient in terms of visibility.

For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-123603), LEDs provided with curl cords inside the guide lamps are arranged at equal intervals in the light emitting portion, and a structure that can be expanded and contracted by utilizing the curl cords is provided. The signal light that was set to is proposed. However, in such a structure, since the cord itself that supplies power is constantly expanded and contracted, the operating area is limited to the elasticity of the cord, and there is a risk of cord wear, disconnection, and other problems. In addition, a plurality of LED light sources and a plurality of cord connections corresponding thereto are required, which further complicates the overall structure, and thus the productivity and the production cost are not always satisfactory.

Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-55769) and Patent Document 3 (Utility Model Registration 3211997) disclose specific telescopic signal lamps. Although these signal lamps can be used in a configuration in which wiring is not arranged inside the light emitting portion, it is necessary to attach a member having a light amplification / diffusion function such as a light reflection sheet in order to improve visibility. .. Therefore, since a secondary processing process such as arranging these light-reflecting sheets is required, the structure is complicated and the productivity and production cost are not always satisfactory.

Patent Document 4 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-86601) discloses a configuration in which LED light is projected and reflected on a light guide rod in order to improve the visibility of a signal lamp. Further, in this signal lamp, it is also proposed to improve the battery life by blinking the LED light by a pulse. In this signal lamp, although it is possible to obtain a certain degree of miniaturization and weight reduction, it is not possible to obtain elasticity due to its structure because the light guide rod is an essential component.

Furthermore, telescopic signal lamps that are actually sold as products are also known. For example, in the case of a product called "JAZ-S55N" (manufactured by Jaywin), a rubber O-ring is used. A method of controlling expansion and contraction is adopted, and a reflective sheet is attached in order to obtain a light emitting function.

JP 2000-123603 JP 2010-55769 Utility model registration 3211997 JP-A-11-86601

As described above, all of the conventional guide lights have a problem that the number of parts is large, the structure is complicated, the weight is heavy, and the portability is not satisfactory. In addition, in the case of a structure in which wiring is arranged in the light emitting part, it is disadvantageous in terms of durability such as disconnection risk, and further, in order to improve visibility, additional parts for that purpose are required, resulting in complicated structure. It will also bring about a decrease in productivity and an increase in cost due to the change.

The present invention is aimed at solving the above-mentioned technical problems of the prior art and the problems newly found by the present inventors, and has a simple structure and stretchability (with sufficient visibility). It has a foldable) light emitting part, and is intended to provide a lightweight and highly portable guide light.

In order to solve the above problems, the guide lamp according to the present invention has a light source unit that also serves as a grip portion and a light emitting unit that is attached to the light source unit so that light from the light source unit can communicate with each other. The light emitting portion is a combination of a plurality of light emitting tubes having a long and hollow pyramidal shape, and the tapered structure of the light emitting tubes allows the light emitting portion to be combined with the upper light emitting tubes of the plurality of light emitting tubes. The lower arc tube is accommodated in a nested manner, contracts, and is extensiblely connected. At the time of extension, the bottom of the upper arc tube and the top of the lower arc tube are connected. It is characterized in that the light emitting portion is expandable and contractible in the axial direction by being configured so that the stretched structure of the light emitting portion is maintained by being connected by fitting with the light emitting portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the arc tube can have a truncated cone shape or a pyramidal trapezoidal shape.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pyramidal frustum shape is a triangular frustum.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the arc tube is made of a light transmitting material.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the light source unit may include an LED light source, and the light source unit may irradiate pulsed light.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the arc tube has a drain hole.

In the aspect of the present invention, the number of the arc tubes is 2 to 5, preferably 2 to 3.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the angle formed by the bottom surface and the side surface of the weight trap shape of the arc tube is 89.8 ° to 88 °, preferably 89.5 ° to 89 °.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the light transmitting material of the arc tube has a total light transmittance of 35% to 95%, preferably 50% to 90% of the total light transmittance.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the inner wall surface of the arc tube is treated so as to scatter light, and / or contains a light scattering substance in the arc tube.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the light source unit irradiates pulsed light, the pulse frequency is 30 to 150 Hz, preferably 40 to 100 Hz, and the duty ratio is 15 to 90%, preferably. It has 15-60%.

According to the guide lamp according to the present invention, it has a simple structure and a telescopic (foldable) light emitting part while having sufficient visibility, and has an effect of being lightweight and excellent in portability. Very useful industrially.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and is an external view showing a configuration of a guide light when the arc tubes (in the case of two tubes) are extended (when used). FIG. 2 is an external view showing the configuration of the contracted state (accommodated state) of the arc tubes (in the case of two) of the guide light of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of a cross section of the light emitting portion (light emitting tube). 4A and 4B are views showing an aspect in the case of three arc tubes, FIG. 4A is an external view showing a configuration when extended (when used), and FIG. 4B is a contracted state (accommodated state). It is an external view which shows the structure of. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the light emitting unit emits light. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how an afterimage effect is generated by pulse-controlling the light from the light source unit.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the drawings attached to the present specification include a case where the scale and the aspect ratio of the aspect ratio are appropriately changed from those of the actual object and expressed exaggeratedly for the convenience of illustration and comprehension. It does not spoil the essence of.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, and is an external view showing the configuration of a guide light when the arc tubes (in the case of two tubes) are extended (when used). As shown in FIG. 1, the guide light 1 according to the present invention has a light source unit 2 that also serves as a grip portion, and a light emitting unit 3 that is attached to the light source unit 2 so that light from the light source unit 2 communicates with each other. It will be done.

The light source unit 2 is composed of a light emitting device that emits light by a power source such as a battery, and a conventionally known light emitting device can be appropriately used. As the light emitting device, an LED light emitting device is preferably used. The light emitting device may be provided with a pulse control device for performing pulsed light irradiation, which will be described later.

In the present invention, the light emitting unit 3 is attached to the light source unit 2. In this case, the light emitting unit 3 can be detachably attached to the light source unit 2. As shown in the figure, the light emitting unit 3 in the present invention is composed of a combination of a plurality of (two in the case of FIG. 1) light emitting tubes 3a and 3b having a long and hollow pyramidal shape, and the light emitting tubes 3a and 3b are Due to the tapered structure of each, the upper arc tube 3a and the lower arc tube 3b of the plurality of arc tubes are accommodated in a nested manner, contracted, and extensiblely connected. There is.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when extended during use, the fitting portion 4 is formed by fitting the bottom portion of the upper arc tube 3a and the top of the lower arc tube 3b. , The stretched structure of the light emitting part is maintained. Then, this stretched structure can be easily released from the fitting by the external force of the hand, and can be returned to the original contracted state (contained state). That is, in the light emitting portion of the present invention, a suitable fitting portion 4 is formed by the tapered structure of the arc tube itself, which is unexpected in realizing both good fitting and fixing and easy release thereof. It has an excellent effect.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, when contracted (accommodated state) when not in use, a fitting portion 4 is formed in which the top of the upper light emitting tube 3a and the top of the lower light emitting tube 3b are fitted. As a result, the upper light emitting tube 3a is fitted and fixed in a state of being housed inside the lower light emitting tube 3b. Then, the fitting and fixing state at the time of contraction can be easily released by the force of the hand, and can be brought into the extended state. That is, in the present invention, the arc tubes can be connected and fixed only by fitting the arc tubes together, and the fixed state can be easily released. Therefore, a necessary and sufficient expansion and contraction function can be obtained with an extremely simple structure. It is also excellent in improving productivity and reducing production costs. Furthermore, it is also excellent in light weight and compactness.

In the present invention, a drain hole (not shown) for discharging invading rainwater or the like can be provided at a desired portion of the arc tube, if necessary.

In the guide lamp of the present invention, by configuring as described above, the light emitting portion can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction due to an extremely simple structure, and as will be described later, the light source portion 2 has a tapered structure of the arc tube. A guide light having excellent visibility can be obtained by the action of effectively reflecting (including diffused reflection) the irradiation light from the light source through the arc tube.

The light emitting unit 3 in the present invention can have a long and hollow pyramidal shape. The shape of the weight base in this case is not particularly limited, and the optimum shape can be selected from the cone shape and the pyramid shape. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 the cross-sectional shape of the light emitting portion (light emitting tube), the triangular weight base (FIG. 3 (a)) or the circular weight base (FIG. 3 (b)) may be used. From the viewpoint of morphological stability during expansion and contraction, structural simplicity, and light visibility, the triangular weight base as shown in FIG. 3A is most preferable.

The number of arc tubes can range from 2 to 5, preferably 2-3.

When the number of arc tubes (the number of divided light emitting units 3) exceeds 5, the number of parts increases, which leads to an increase in structural complexity and cost, and further, an increase in the number of connecting portions between arc tubes causes rainy weather. It is not preferable because it increases the risk of water intrusion at the time.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the light emitting unit 3 of the guide light according to the present invention is composed of three light emitting tubes 3a, 3b and 3c, and FIG. 4A shows an extended state (when used). The configuration is shown, while FIG. 4B shows the configuration in the contracted state (contained state).

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the specific tapered structure of the arc tube itself enables (1) fitting and fixing of the arc tubes and their release, and (2). It is possible to obtain an excellent effect that a guide lamp having excellent visibility can be obtained by the action (including diffused reflection) in which the irradiation light 5 from the light source unit 2 is effectively reflected through the arc tube.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the light emitting unit is composed of two light emitting tubes 3a and 3b, but the irradiation light 5 (for example, LED light) emitted from the light source unit 2 becomes scattered light 6 and emits light. It has been found to emit good light throughout the tube.

In order to obtain such a better effect of overall light emission, the angle θ formed by the bottom surface and the side surface of the pyramidal shape of the arc tube is preferably in the range of 89.8 ° to 88 °, and more preferably. , 89.5 ° to 89 °. When the angle θ exceeds 89.8 °, the light tends to concentrate near the root portion and the tip portion of the arc tube, which is close to the light source portion, and the uniformity of light emission tends to decrease. Further, it becomes difficult to fit the bottom portion of the upper arc tube and the top of the lower arc tube.

On the other hand, when the angle θ is less than 88 °, the light emission at the base of the arc tube becomes stronger and the uniformity of light emission tends to decrease, and the root part is unavoidable when trying to take the length of the guide light. It becomes thicker and the gripping function is reduced. On the other hand, in order to properly obtain the gripping function, in order to secure the length of the guide light, the number of divisions of the arc tube must be increased, which complicates the structure.

As the material of the arc tube, a conventionally known plastic material having light transmittance can be appropriately used, but in order to obtain good light emitting characteristics, a material having a total light transmittance of 35% to 95% is preferably used. It is more preferably one having a total light transmittance of 50% to 90%.

When the total light transmittance of the light-transmitting material of the arc tube is low to some extent, the amount of light directly entering the user's eyes from the light source unit (for example, the LED light emitting device) is reduced, and the light emitting of the arc tube is emitted. Is likely to be uniform. On the other hand, if the total light transmittance is less than 35%, the light emitting characteristics of the light emitting portion tend to deteriorate.

Examples of such light-transmitting materials include polycarbonate, acrylic, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, nylon, polyurethane, ABS, polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, melamine resin, teflon resin, epoxy resin, and silicon. Resins, cellulose acetates, diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonates, poly-4-methylpentene-1, cyclic olefin copolymers, ionomer resins, cycloolefin copolymers, polybutylene terephthalate resins, polyethylene naphthalate resins, CNF and the like can be preferably used.
In the present invention, if necessary, the inner wall surface of the arc tube may be treated so as to scatter light, and further, a light scattering substance may be contained in the arc tube.

Further, in the present invention, the light source unit (LED light emission) is configured to irradiate pulsed light in order to obtain better light emission characteristics by causing an afterimage effect with good visibility in the light emitting tube. You can also do it. By pulse-controlling the LED light to generate an afterimage effect in this way, an additional component for improving the light emitting characteristics such as a reflective sheet, which has been conventionally required, becomes unnecessary.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an afterimage effect that occurs when the guide light is swung, and a surface emission characteristic can be obtained by producing a good or afterimage effect.

In order to obtain such a good afterimage effect, the pulse frequency is preferably in the range of 30 to 150 Hz, more preferably 40 to 100 Hz, and the duty ratio is preferably 15 to 90%. It is in the range, and more preferably, the duty ratio in the range of 15 to 60% is desirable in order to obtain a better afterimage effect of visibility.

That is, according to the findings of the present inventor, in order to obtain a light emitting characteristic that leaves a better afterimage of visibility on the arc tube, the frequency and duty ratio of the output of the light source unit (LED light emitting) are determined. It has proved important to limit both to the optimum range. For example, when the frequency exceeds 150 Hz, the visibility of the afterimage effect tends to decrease, while when the frequency is lower than 30 Hz, the light source unit blinks, which is not desirable. Further, when the duty ratio exceeds 90%, the afterimage effect tends to decrease, while when the duty ratio is less than 15%, on the contrary, the flicker tends to increase, and the light source has a tendency to increase. It has been found that the light tends to be low.

Therefore, when adding a better afterimage effect to the guide lamp of the present invention, it is important to pay attention to the above conditions.

Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on the preferred embodiments, these specific examples are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. The above-described embodiment can be implemented in various other specific examples, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

1 Guide light 2 Light source unit 3 Light emitting unit 3a, 3b Light emitting tube 4 Fitting unit 5 Irradiation light 6 Scattered light

Claims (13)

An guide light having a light source unit that also serves as a grip portion and a light emitting unit that is attached to the light source unit so that light from the light source unit communicates with each other.
The light emitting portion is composed of a combination of a plurality of arc tubes having a long and hollow pyramidal shape, and the tapered structure of the arc tubes allows the upper arc tubes and the lower arc tubes of the plurality of arc tubes to interact with each other. It is configured to be nested and contracted and extensiblely connected.
At the time of extension, the extension structure of the light emitting portion is maintained by being connected by fitting the bottom portion of the upper arc tube and the top of the lower arc tube.
The light source unit can irradiate pulsed light, and the pulse frequency at that time is 40 to 100 Hz, and the duty ratio is 15 to 60%. The light emitting unit is in the axial direction. Telescopic guide light. The guide lamp according to claim 1, wherein the arc tube has a truncated cone shape or a pyramidal trapezoidal shape. The guide light according to claim 2, wherein the pyramid shape is a triangular frustum. The guide lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arc tube is made of a light-transmitting material. The guide light according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light source unit includes an LED light source. The guide lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the arc tube has a drain hole. The guide light according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the number of arc tubes is 2 to 5. The guide light according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the number of arc tubes is 2 to 3. The guide lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the angle formed by the bottom surface and the side surface of the weight trap shape of the arc tube is 89.5 ° to 89 °. The guide lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the angle formed by the bottom surface and the side surface of the weight trap shape of the arc tube is 89.8 ° to 88 °. The guide lamp according to claim 4, wherein the light transmitting material of the arc tube has a total light transmittance of 35% to 95%. The guide lamp according to claim 4, wherein the light transmitting material of the arc tube has a total light transmittance of 50% to 90%. The guide lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the inner wall surface of the arc tube is treated so as to scatter light , or the arc tube contains a light scattering substance.

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