JP6992280B2 - Vehicle lighting equipment and vehicle sensor modules - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting device and a vehicle sensor module.

In recent years, not only the desired light distribution performance is required for vehicle lamps, but also various aspects of the design having an aesthetic appearance are required due to the expansion of the degree of design freedom. A vehicle lighting device applied to such a vehicle lighting device is required to appropriately form a design surface.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle lighting device using a half mirror. In this vehicle lighting device, a part of the light emitted from the light emitting body is transmitted through the half mirror arranged opposite to the light emitting body and is projected, and a part of the light is reflected by the reflecting surface of the half mirror. It is reflected by the planar reflecting surface of the mirror arranged on the side of the illuminant, passes through the half mirror, and this is repeated.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, by providing an optical plate facing a light emitting port that emits natural light, the natural light emitted from the light emitting port is transmitted to the indoor side, and a part of the natural light is transmitted. A type of lighting device that reflects light toward a ceiling provided with a light emitting port is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-142132 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-252866

However, according to the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the half mirror reflects light without diffuse reflection, thereby creating a plurality of virtual images that gradually darken as the distance from the light source increases, and the depth is increased. Produces a feeling. On the other hand, in recent years, since a high degree of freedom in design is required, it is required to uniformly surface-emit the light emitting surface and appropriately form the design surface.

Further, in this vehicle lighting device, by adding a light receiving element that receives light, as a sensor module for a vehicle that receives the light reflected by the object among the emitted light and detects the object. Can be used. Even in such a sensor module for a vehicle, since it is necessary to appropriately detect an object, it is required that the light emitting surface uniformly emits light.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lighting device and a vehicle sensor module capable of obtaining uniform surface emission.

In order to solve such a problem, the vehicle lighting device according to the first invention reflects the light from the light source on the first main surface, which is one of the pair of main surfaces facing each other with the light source. The first base material provided with the first reflective film and the first main surface of the first base material are arranged to face each other with a gap between them, and the first of the pair of main surfaces facing each other. A second base material on which a second reflective film that transmits a part of the light from a light source and reflects a part of the light is formed on the second main surface, which is the main surface facing the first main surface of the base material. The light source irradiates the gap between the first base material and the second base material with light from the side of the first base material and the second base material, and the first base material and the second base material. Is that the surface roughness Ra on the main surface is equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source, and the light incident from the light source is emitted toward the first main surface side of the first base material by bending the angle to the light source side of the first base material. Further has a lens member that illuminates a range from the edge of the base material to at least the center of the first base material .

Here, in the first invention, the surface roughness Ra on the main surface is preferably 10 μm or more.

The second invention is a vehicle sensor module for detecting an object around the vehicle, which is a first main surface which is one of a pair of main surfaces facing each other with a light source. A pair of main base materials provided with a first reflective film that reflects light from a light source and a pair of main base materials that face each other with a gap between them and the first main surface of the first base material. A second reflective film that transmits a part of the light from the light source and reflects a part of the light is formed on the second main surface, which is the main surface facing the first main surface of the first base material. It has a second base material and a light receiving element that detects light reflected by an object among the light emitted from the first main surface which is the other main surface of the second base material, and the light source is a first. Light is applied to the gap between the first base material and the second base material from the side of the first base material and the second base material, and the first base material and the second base material have surface roughness on the main surface. Ra is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source, and the light incident from the light source is emitted at an angle to the first main surface side of the first base material, and is at least from the end of the base material on the light source side of the first base material. It further has a lens member that illuminates a range up to the center of the first substrate .

Here, in the second invention, the light source is preferably composed of a plurality of light sources including a light source that outputs visible light and a light source that outputs infrared light.

According to the present invention, the light emitted to the outside from the first main surface of the second base material becomes diffused surface emission, and uniform surface emission can be obtained.

Explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the vehicle lighting apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment Explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the sensor module for a vehicle which concerns on 2nd Embodiment

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle lighting device 10 can be applied to vehicle lighting equipment, for example, rear combination lamps mounted on the left and right behind the vehicle.

The vehicle lighting device 10 is composed of a pair of light source modules 20, a first transparent base material 30, a second transparent base material 40, and a module case 50.

The pair of light source modules 20 are arranged on the sides of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 so as to face each other with the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 sandwiched in the center. There is.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle lighting device 10 is configured to include a pair of light source modules 20, but the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 are extended in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. A pair of light source modules 20 facing each other may be arranged in a plurality of sets along the extending direction thereof. Further, a pair of light source modules 20 facing each other along the vertical direction of the paper surface in FIG. 1 may be further provided.

Each light source module 20 irradiates light into the gap between the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40, and includes a light source 21, a light guide member 22, and a lens member 23. ..

The light source 21 is, for example, an LED 21a and is mounted on the substrate 21b. However, a light source other than the LED can be used as the light source 21. When the light from the LED 21a is incident on one end surface of the light guide member 22 along the extension direction, the light is guided inside the light guide member 22 and emitted from the other end surface of the light guide member 22 along the extension direction. Will be done. The light guide member 22 collects and emits diffused light emitted from the LED 21a, and the optical axis of the light emitted from the light guide member 22 is the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material. It is parallel to the in-plane direction of 40.

Light from the light source 21 focused on the lens member 23 is incident on the lens member 23, and the incident light is emitted toward the first transparent substrate 30 side. In other words, the lens member 23 has a function of emitting light from the light source 21 toward the first transparent base material 30 by bending the angle. In the lens member 23, the light emitted from the lens member 23 extends from the base material end portion (end portion on the light source module 20 side) of the first transparent base material 30 to at least the center Ct of the first transparent base material 30. It is set to illuminate the area. The irradiation range may be set not only by the lens member 23 but also by an optical element having other optical characteristics, or by a method such as adjusting the installation angle of the light source module 20. ..

The first transparent base material 30 is a transparent substrate having a certain plate thickness, and is formed of, for example, a polycarbonate resin or an acrylic resin. The first transparent base material 30 is arranged so that one of the pair of main surfaces 30a and 30b, the first main surface 30a, faces the second transparent base material 40.

A first reflective film 31 having a high reflectance with respect to the light source 21 is formed on the first main surface 30a, and the light from the light source 21 is reflected by the first reflective film 31. The first reflective film 31 is required to have a sufficient film thickness so as not to optically transmit the light from the light source 21. For example, if the light source 21 is blue light, aluminum having a reflectance of about 80% near a wavelength of 450 nm or silver having a reflectance of more than 90% is formed with a film thickness of 1000 Å. .. Further, when the light source 21 is from red light to infrared light, gold is formed in addition to aluminum and silver.

Here, the surface roughness Ra (arithmetic mean roughness) of each of the main surfaces 30a and 30b of the first transparent base material 30 is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source 21. Since infrared light can be used as the light source 21, the surface roughness Ra is preferably 10 μm or more.

The second transparent base material 40 is a transparent substrate having a certain plate thickness, and is formed of, for example, a polycarbonate resin or an acrylic resin. The second transparent base material 40 is arranged to face the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 with a gap between them. In this case, of the pair of main surfaces 40a and 40b forming the second transparent base material 40, the first main surface 40a, which is one of the main surfaces, faces the outside as a light emitting surface and is the other main surface. The second main surface 40b faces the first transparent base material 30.

A second reflective film 41 having a predetermined reflectance with respect to the light source 21 is formed on the second main surface 40b, and a part of the light from the light source 21 is transmitted by the second reflective film 41. Part of it is reflected. Since the second reflective film 41 needs to optically transmit a part of the light from the light source 21, the film thickness as that of the first reflective film 31 is not required. Like the first reflective film 31, the second reflective film 41 can be formed of aluminum, silver, or gold, and the film thickness can be about 100 Å. As a result, the second transparent base material 40 provided with the second reflective film 41 functions as a magic mirror (half mirror).

Here, the surface roughness Ra of each of the main surfaces 40a and 40b of the second transparent base material 40 is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source 21, similarly to the first transparent base material 30. Since infrared light can be used as the light source 21, the surface roughness Ra is preferably 10 μm or more.

The module case 50 holds the light source module 20, the first transparent base material 30, and the second transparent base material 40 in the above-mentioned positional relationship. The module case 50 is integrated with the light source module 20, the first transparent base material 30, and the second transparent base material 40, for example, by insert molding using a synthetic resin.

In the vehicle lighting device 10 having such a configuration, the light emitted from the light source 21 is condensed through the light guide member 22 and then incident on the lens member 23. The light incident on the lens member 23 is emitted from the emission surface (the other end surface) toward the first transparent base material 30. The light emitted from the lens member 23 reaches the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 and is reflected by the first reflective film 31 formed on the first main surface 30a.

When the light reflected by the first reflective film 31 reaches the second main surface 40b of the second transparent base material 40, a part thereof is partially formed by the second reflective film 41 formed on the second main surface 40b. It is reflected and part of it is transmitted. The light reflected by the first reflective film 31 reaches the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30, is reflected again by the first reflective film 31, and the above-mentioned process is repeated. On the other hand, the light transmitted through the first reflective film 31 passes through the second transparent base material 40 and is emitted from the first main surface 40a.

As described above, the vehicle lighting device 10 according to the present embodiment emits the light from the light source 21 to the light source 21 and the first main surface 30a which is one of the pair of main surfaces 30a and 30b facing each other. A pair of the first transparent base material 30 provided with the reflective first reflective film 31 and the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 are arranged to face each other with a gap between them. Of the main surfaces 40a and 40b, a part of the light from the light source 21 is transmitted to the second main surface 40b, which is the main surface facing the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30, and a part of the light is reflected. It has a second transparent base material 40 on which a second reflective film 41 is formed.

In this case, the light source 21 irradiates light from the side of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 into the gap between the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40. The surface roughness Ra of the main surfaces 30a, 30b, 40a, and 40b of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source 21.

According to this configuration, the light emitted from the light source 21 is reflected between the first reflective film 31 of the first transparent base material 30 and the second reflective film 41 of the second transparent base material 40, and one of them. When the portion penetrates the second reflective film 41, it is emitted from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40. At this time, the first reflective film 31 and the second reflective film 41 formed on the main surfaces 30a and 40b having a predetermined surface roughness Ra enable multiple scattering and multiple reflection. As a result, the light emitted to the outside from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40 becomes diffused surface emission, and uniform surface emission can be obtained. Therefore, an appropriate design surface can be formed.

Further, since the reflective films 31 and 41 are formed on the rough surfaces of the main surfaces 30a, 30b, 40a and 40b forming the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40, the reflective films 31 and 41 are formed by the anchor effect. The adhesion between the transparent substrates 30 and 40 and the reflective films 31 and 41 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the surface roughness Ra on the main surfaces 30a, 30b, 40a, 40b is 10 μm or more.

According to this configuration, the first reflective film 31 and the second reflective film 41 formed on the main surfaces 30a and 40b of the surface roughness Ra enable multiple scattering and multiple reflection. In addition, the reflective films 31 and 41 can be formed on the rough surfaces of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40. As a result, the anchor effect can be obtained, and the adhesion between the transparent base materials 30 and 40 and the reflective films 31 and 41 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the light incident from the light source 21 is emitted toward the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 from the base material end portion on the light source 21 side of the first transparent base material 30. It further has a lens member that irradiates at least a range up to the center Ct of the first transparent base material 30.

According to this configuration, by irradiating the light from the light source 21 in the range of the center Ct or more of the first reflective film 31, the number of reflections of the light reaching the center Ct of the first reflective film 31 can be reduced. As a result, unevenness in the luminance distribution of the light emitted from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40 can be reduced, and uniform surface emission can be obtained. As a result, an appropriate design surface can be formed.

(Second embodiment)
Hereinafter, the vehicle sensor module 15 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Here, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the vehicle sensor module 15 according to the second embodiment. The vehicle sensor module 15 can be applied to, for example, rear combination lamps mounted on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle, forms a part of the lighting device in the rear combination lamps, and objects on the rear and sides of the vehicle. It is for detection.

The vehicle sensor module 15 is composed of a pair of light source modules 20, a first transparent base material 30, a second transparent base material 40, a pair of light receiving elements 60, and a module case 50.

In the vehicle sensor module 15 according to the present embodiment, the pair of light source modules 20, the first transparent base material 30, the second transparent base material 40, and the module case 50 are the vehicle lighting devices 10 shown in the first embodiment. It's the same.

Here, in the pair of light source modules 20, one light source module 20 (20A) is equipped with a light source 21A that outputs visible light from the viewpoint of a vehicle lighting device, and the other light source module 20 (20B). Is equipped with a light source 21B that outputs infrared light from the viewpoint of detecting an object.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle sensor module 15 is configured to include a pair of light source modules 20, but the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 are extended in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. A pair of light source modules 20 facing each other may be arranged in a plurality of sets along the extending direction thereof. Further, a pair of light source modules 20 facing each other along the vertical direction of the paper surface in FIG. 2 may be further provided. As described above, when three or more light source modules 20 are provided, among these light source modules 20, a light source module 20 (20A) having a visible light light source 21A and a light source having an infrared light source 21B are mounted. Module 20 (20B) can be selectively set.

The pair of light receiving elements 60 are arranged around the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40, which is the light emitting surface of the vehicle sensor module 15, and face the outside like the first main surface 40a. It is arranged in. Each light receiving element 60 outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of light incident on the light receiving surface facing the outside. That is, each light receiving element 60 detects the light reflected by the object among the light emitted from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40. The light receiving element 60 in this embodiment has sensitivity to infrared light.

In such a vehicle sensor module 15, the light emitted from the light sources 21A and 21B is condensed through the light guide member 22 and then incident on the lens member 23. The incident light is emitted from the exit surface (the other end surface) of the lens member 23 toward the first transparent base material 30 side. The light emitted from the lens member 23 reaches the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 and is reflected by the first reflective film 31 formed on the first main surface 30a.

When the light reflected by the first reflective film 31 reaches the second main surface 40b of the second transparent base material 40, the light is partially formed by the second reflective film 41 formed on the second main surface 40b. It is reflected and part of it is transmitted. The reflected light reaches the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30, is reflected again by the first reflective film 31, and this is repeated. On the other hand, the light transmitted through the first reflective film 31 passes through the second transparent base material 40 and is emitted from the first main surface 40a.

Here, in the present embodiment, the light source module 20A corresponding to visible light and the light source module 20B corresponding to infrared light exist. Therefore, both visible light and infrared light are output from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40. In this case, the visible light emitted from the first main surface 40a forms the design surface of the rear combination lamp.

On the other hand, the infrared light emitted from the first main surface 40a is irradiated to the rear and side of the vehicle, and a part of the infrared light is reflected by the object. The reflected infrared light is detected by a pair of light receiving elements 60. By using the detection result of the pair of light receiving elements 60, it is possible to detect an object behind and to the side of the vehicle. The detection of an object includes not only the presence or absence of the object but also the distance of the object.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the vehicle sensor module 15 is connected to the light sources 21A and 21B on the first main surface 30a which is one of the pair of main surfaces 30a and 30b facing each other from the light sources 21A and 21B. The first transparent base material 30 provided with the first reflective film 31 that reflects the light of the above and the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30 are arranged to face each other with a gap between them. Of the pair of main surfaces 40a and 40b, a part of the light from the light sources 21A and 21B is transmitted to the second main surface 40b, which is the main surface facing the first main surface 30a of the first transparent base material 30. Of the light emitted from the second transparent base material 40 on which the second reflective film 41 that partially reflects is formed and the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40, the light reflected by the object is used. It has a light receiving element 60 for detection.

In this case, the light sources 21A and 21B irradiate the gap between the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 with light from the sides of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40. .. The surface roughness Ra of the main surfaces 30a, 30b, 40a, and 40b of the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40 is equal to or higher than the wavelengths of the light sources 21A and 21B.

According to this configuration, the light emitted from the light sources 21A and 21B is reflected between the first reflective film 31 of the first transparent substrate 30 and the second reflective film 41 of the second transparent substrate 40 while being reflected. A part of the light passes through the second reflective film 41, so that the light is emitted from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40. At this time, the first reflective film 31 and the second reflective film 41 formed on the main surfaces 30a and 40b having a predetermined surface roughness Ra enable multiple scattering and multiple reflection. As a result, the light emitted to the outside from the first main surface 40a of the second transparent base material 40 becomes diffused surface emission, so that uniform surface emission can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to appropriately irradiate and detect an object that enters the blind spot during driving from the rear to the side surface of the vehicle.

Further, the reflective films 31 and 41 can be formed on the rough surfaces of the main surfaces 30a, 30b, 40a and 40b forming the first transparent base material 30 and the second transparent base material 40. As a result, the anchor effect can be obtained, and the adhesion between the transparent base materials 30 and 40 and the reflective films 31 and 41 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle sensor module 15 is composed of a plurality of light sources including a light source 21A that outputs visible light and a light source 21B that outputs infrared light.

According to this configuration, the light sources 21A and 21B corresponding to visible light and infrared light are mounted, respectively, and each light can be uniformly surface-emitting. As a result, the sensor light can be appropriately output while appropriately forming the design surface of the rear combination lamp.

In this embodiment, an example of applying the vehicle sensor module 15 to a rear combination lamp which is a vehicle lighting tool has been described, but the vehicle sensor module 15 may be used exclusively for detecting an object. .. In this case, the light source may be one that uses only infrared light, one that uses only visible light, or a combination of infrared light and visible light as described above. It may be something to do. When visible light is used, light may be absorbed by water vapor or the like, so it is preferable that all or part of the plurality of light sources contains infrared light.

Although the vehicle lighting device and the vehicle sensor module according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. Needless to say. For example, the vehicle lighting device may be applied to various vehicle lighting fixtures such as headlights and turn lamps in addition to the rear combination lamps. Further, the vehicle sensor module may be applied to other vehicle lighting fixtures such as headlights in addition to the rear combination lamp, or may be used as a sensor independent of the vehicle lighting fixture.

Further, the non-transparent base material may be used as the first transparent base material, or the surface roughness Ra thereof may be specified only on the first main surface on which the first reflective film is formed.

10 Vehicle lighting device 15 Vehicle sensor module 20 Light source module 21,21A, 21B Light source 21a LED
21b Substrate 22 Light guide member 23 Lens member 30 First transparent base material 30a First main surface 30b Second main surface 31 First reflective film 40 Second transparent base material 40a First main surface 40b Second main surface 41 Second reflection Membrane 50 Module case 60 Light receiving element

Claims (4)

Light source and
A first base material provided with a first reflective film that reflects light from the light source on the first main surface, which is one of the pair of main surfaces facing each other.
Of a pair of main surfaces facing each other, the main surface facing the first main surface of the first base material is arranged so as to face the first main surface of the first base material with a gap. A second base material having a second base material on which a second reflective film that transmits a part of the light from the light source and reflects a part of the light is formed on a second main surface.
The light source irradiates the gap between the first base material and the second base material with light from the sides of the first base material and the second base material.
In the first base material and the second base material, the surface roughness Ra on the main surface is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source .
The light incident from the light source is emitted at an angle toward the first main surface side of the first base material, and at least the first unit is emitted from the end portion of the base material on the light source side of the first base material. A vehicle lighting device characterized by further having a lens member that illuminates a range up to the center of the material . The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the surface roughness Ra on the main surface is 10 μm or more. In a vehicle sensor module for detecting an object around a vehicle
Light source and
A first base material provided with a first reflective film that reflects light from the light source on the first main surface, which is one of the pair of main surfaces facing each other.
Of the pair of main surfaces facing each other, the main surface facing the first main surface of the first base material is arranged so as to face the first main surface of the first base material with a gap. A second base material on which a second reflective film that transmits a part of the light from the light source and reflects a part of the light is formed on a second main surface.
It has a light receiving element for detecting light reflected by an object among the light emitted from the first main surface which is the other main surface of the second base material.
The light source irradiates the gap between the first base material and the second base material with light from the sides of the first base material and the second base material.
In the first base material and the second base material, the surface roughness Ra on the main surface is set to be equal to or higher than the wavelength of the light source .
The light incident from the light source is emitted at an angle toward the first main surface side of the first base material, and at least the first unit is emitted from the end portion of the base material on the light source side of the first base material. A vehicle sensor module characterized by further having a lens member that illuminates a range up to the center of the material . The vehicle sensor module according to claim 3 , wherein the light source comprises a plurality of light sources including a light source that outputs visible light and a light source that outputs infrared light.

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