JP7140998B2 - Vehicle light emitting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle light emitting device, and more particularly to a vehicle light emitting device having a plurality of light sources.

Some vehicle light emitting devices are provided with a plurality of light sources. In such a vehicle light emitting device, various lighting effects may be produced by lighting a plurality of light sources simultaneously or sequentially.

For example, in Patent Literature 1 below, in a vehicle light emitting device having a plurality of LEDs, in order to suppress uneven brightness in the emitted light from the LEDs, the light from each LED is reflected and diffused over a wide range. is provided.

JP 2012-17063 A

If the light from a plurality of light sources is reflected and mixed in order to suppress luminance unevenness of the plurality of light sources, it becomes unclear which light source is shining, and there is a risk that the performance of lighting will deteriorate. On the other hand, increasing the number of light sources poses problems in terms of power consumption and cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular light-emitting device capable of reducing unevenness in luminance by making it possible to produce the effect that there are more light sources than the actual number of light sources. That's what it is.

The object is to provide a light emitting unit having a light source and a lens for diffusing and emitting light incident from the light source, a plurality of light emitting units arranged side by side, and a substantially U-shaped cross section holding the plurality of light emitting units. and a cover that covers the plurality of light emitting units and has a light emitting surface through which light emitted from the light source via the lens passes, wherein brightness is also provided between the plurality of light emitting units has one or more peak values , and the holding portion includes a reflecting portion that reflects the light emitted from the lens toward the light emitting surface and an extension portion of the light source that extends toward the holding portion side. and a U-shaped mounting recess disposed in the holding portion, wherein the base portion extending from the mounting recess substantially parallel to the lens is disposed closer to the lens than the mounting recess. It is solved by the vehicular light emitting device.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, one or more luminance peaks exist between the plurality of light emitting units each having a light source, so that it is possible to produce the effect that there are more light sources than the actual number of light sources. , and luminance unevenness can be reduced.
Moreover, the irradiation direction of light can be adjusted by having a reflecting part.

In the vehicle light-emitting device described above, the light emitted from the lens of the light-emitting unit has a plurality of luminance peaks in the direction in which the light spreads, and the light emitted from the plurality of light-emitting units has a plurality of luminance peaks. The arrangement intervals of the plurality of light emitting units may be set so that the luminance peaks are arranged at approximately equal intervals. As a result, the luminance peaks of the light emitted from the plurality of light emitting units are substantially evenly spaced, so that luminance unevenness can be further reduced.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the reflecting portion may have a convex portion at a position facing the light source. As a result, it is possible to adjust the direction of reflection of light in the reflecting portion, and further reduce uneven brightness.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the holding portion may have recesses formed between regions for holding the plurality of light emitting units. This makes it possible to control the direction of reflection from the holding section side and reduce uneven brightness.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the cover may have a shape that engages with the holding portion and is closest to the lens at the end of the lens on the light emitting side. As a result, it is possible to prevent the light from diffusing toward the cover.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the lens may have locking claws at both ends, and may be snap-fixed to the holding part by the locking claws. Thereby, the lens can be stably attached to the holding portion.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the lens may be formed with a rib that restricts rotation with respect to the holding portion. As a result, the rotation of the lens with respect to the holding portion is restricted, so that the light irradiation direction can be stabilized. Furthermore, since the movement of the lens when the vehicle vibrates is also restricted, the occurrence of noise due to the lens colliding with other members is also suppressed.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the lens may have a notch at a position facing the light source. As a result, the light incident on the lens can be refracted in the direction of diffusion.

In the vehicle light emitting device described above, the lens may have a light source introducing portion provided on both sides of the notch and protruding toward the light source. This makes it easier to determine the position of the light source with respect to the lens, thereby improving the positioning accuracy between the light source and the lens.

According to the present invention, it is possible to produce an effect as if there are more light sources than the actual number of light sources, and it is possible to reduce unevenness in luminance.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the luminance peaks of the light emitted from the plurality of light emitting units are substantially evenly spaced, so that luminance unevenness can be further reduced.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the irradiation direction of light can be adjusted.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the direction in which light is reflected in the reflecting section, and to reduce uneven brightness.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the direction of reflection from the holding section side and reduce uneven brightness.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress diffusion of light toward the cover side.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the lens can be stably attached to the holding portion.

According to one aspect of the present invention, since rotation of the lens with respect to the holding portion is restricted, it is possible to stabilize the irradiation direction of light.

According to one aspect of the present invention, light incident on the lens can be refracted in a direction of diffusion.

According to one aspect of the present invention, since it becomes easier to determine the position of the light source with respect to the lens, it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy between the light source and the lens.

1 is a plan view of a vehicle light emitting device according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1; 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle light emitting device according to a first embodiment with a cover removed; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing characteristics of luminance peaks of light-emitting units in the vehicle light-emitting device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the characteristics of luminance peaks of a plurality of light emitting units having arrangement intervals set in the vehicle light emitting device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a plan view of a vehicle light emitting device according to a second embodiment; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 7; An example of the configuration of a lens when a rotation restricting mechanism is provided is shown, (A) is a plan view of a light emitting unit including the lens, and (B) is a side view of (A). It is a figure explaining the shape of the light emission unit group which connected several light emission units. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a vehicle light emitting device according to a third embodiment; 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. 10; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing characteristics of luminance peaks of a light emitting unit according to a third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing characteristics of luminance peaks of a plurality of light emitting units with set intervals in the vehicle light emitting device according to the third embodiment;

A vehicle light emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13. FIG.

In this embodiment, a plurality of light emitting units each having a light source and a lens for diffusing and emitting light incident from the light source are arranged side by side, and there is one peak luminance value between the plurality of light emitting units. The present invention relates to the invention of the vehicle light emitting device described above.

<First embodiment>
First, a vehicle light emitting device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

1 is a plan view of the vehicle light emitting device 1 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a vehicle light emitting device 1 with a cover 50 removed. It is a perspective view of a state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle light emitting device 1 mainly includes a cover 50, an LED section 20 serving as a light source, a lens 30 for diffusing and emitting light incident from the LED section 20, the LED section 20, the lens 30, and the like. is provided with a holder 10 (holding portion) for holding the . In addition, the holder 10 is provided with a mirror-finished reflecting portion 11 composed of a convex portion 12 and a flat portion 13 . ). In the following, the emission direction of the LED part 20 (that is, the side facing the notch from the LED part 20) is defined as the front, and the reverse is defined as the rear. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the lens 30 has a lens body portion 31, a notch portion 32 provided in the center of the lens body portion 31 and facing the LED portion 20, and a rear side of the notch portion 32. A light source introduction portion 33 protrudes toward the LED portion 20 to introduce incident light from the LED portion 20, and a mounting structure portion 34 protrudes outward from both sides of the lens main body portion 31 and mounts the lens 30 to the holder 10. ing. A locking claw portion 35 is provided at the rear side end portion of the mounting structure portion 34 , and is snap-fitted to the holder 10 by the locking claw portion 35 .

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the curvature of the notch 32 is larger than the curvature of the front edge of the lens body 31 (for example, average curvature). The curvature of the front edge of the lens body 31 may or may not be constant. If not constant, for example, the central curvature of the leading edge may be less than the curvature outward of the central portion.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, one LED section 20 is provided for each of the plurality of lenses 30 in a series direction (that is, the central axis of the lens 30 and the optical axis of the LED section 20 are parallel (or coincident)). ), and the LED section 20 and the lens 30 arranged in series form a light emitting unit 100 . In this way, by configuring the light emitting unit 100 by arranging the LED section 20 and the lens 30 in series, the light emitting unit 100 can be made thinner. By mounting such a thin light-emitting unit 100, the light-emitting device 1 for vehicle can be made thin, so that the degree of freedom of installation in the vehicle can be increased.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle light emitting device 1 includes a plurality of light emitting units 100 arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the window 51 . Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , a convex portion 12 is provided in the reflecting portion 11 at a position facing the light emitting unit 100 (that is, the LED portion 20), and the light emitting unit 100 adjacent to the light emitting unit 100 is provided. A plane portion 13 is provided between the positions facing each other (that is, between the convex portions 12 and 12). By doing so, it is possible to adjust the reflection direction of the light in the reflection section 11 and further reduce uneven brightness.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 50 has a shape that inclines toward the lens 30 from behind the lens 30 to the front. ing. As a result, the light emitted from the front end portion of the lens 30 can be prevented from being reflected by the cover 50 and returning to the rear side of the window portion 51 . It is possible to prevent the brightness of the light to be emitted from being lowered. In the following description, the window portion 51 side of the vehicle light emitting device 1 is referred to as the light emitting surface side, and the opposite side thereof is referred to as the rear surface side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the holder 10 has a holder base region 16 extending rearward from the front and a rear end portion of the holder base region 16 extending to the rear side, and the LED section 20 is attached and fixed. An LED mounting region 17, a lens fixing region 18 extending from the holder base region 16 to the light emitting surface side and to which the lens 30 is fixedly mounted, and a front end portion of the holder base region 16 extending to both the light emitting surface side and the back surface side. and a reflecting portion forming region 19 in which the reflecting portion 11 is provided on a slope facing the lens 30 on the light emitting surface side. Here, the angle (inclination) of the reflecting surface may be set so that the intensity of reflected light from the lens 30 to the window 51 is maximized.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lens fixing region 18 of the holder 10 includes an insertion hole 14 through which the light source introduction portion 33 of the lens 30 is inserted, and a rear end portion (locking claw) of the mounting structure portion 34 of the lens 30. (including the portion 35) is provided.

A control circuit (not shown) is connected to the LED unit 20, and the control circuit controls the light emission timing, light emission time, and the like of each of the plurality of LED units 20. FIG. As a result, a variety of lighting effects can be produced by simultaneously causing the plurality of LED sections 20 to emit light, causing a portion of the plurality of LED sections 20 to emit light, or causing the plurality of LED sections 20 to emit light so as to flow left and right. can do.

Next, luminance characteristics of the light emitting unit 100 provided in the vehicle light emitting device 1 according to the first embodiment and luminance characteristics of the plurality of light emitting units 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.

FIG. 4 shows luminance characteristics of the single light-emitting unit 100 . FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the position on the light emitting surface on the front side of the single light emitting unit 100 (that is, the position in the width direction of the light emitting surface) and the luminance. As shown in FIG. 4, in the light emitting unit 100, there is a first luminance peak at a position from the LED portion 20 passing through the center of the notch portion 32, and two luminance peaks are present on the left and right sides of the first luminance peak. There are peaks (a second luminance peak and a third luminance peak). In this way, depending on the shape (especially the size and curvature) of the lens main body 31 of the lens 30 and the shape (especially the size and curvature) of the notch 32, in the spread direction of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 100, A plurality of luminance peaks will appear.

Also, FIG. 5 shows luminance characteristics when a plurality of light emitting units 100 are arranged at a predetermined arrangement interval (D). FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the positions of the plurality of light emitting units 100 on the light emitting surface on the front side and the luminance. As shown in FIG. 5, by adjusting the arrangement intervals of the light-emitting units 100, the brightness peaks on the light-emitting surface can be set at approximately equal intervals. By adjusting the arrangement interval of the light-emitting units 100 in this way, a peak also exists between positions facing the light-emitting units 100 on the light-emitting surface. It is possible to produce an effect as if there are many light sources, and it is possible to reduce luminance unevenness. Further, by setting the luminance peaks at approximately equal intervals, it is possible to further reduce luminance unevenness.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a vehicle light emitting device 1A according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a vehicle light emitting device 1A according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. Note that the light emitting unit 100 mounted on the vehicle light emitting device 1A according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the description thereof is omitted. Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described below.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the vehicle light emitting device 1A according to the second embodiment differs from the vehicle light emitting device 1 according to the first embodiment in the structures of a cover 50A and a holder 10A. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in the second embodiment, the light emitting unit 100 and the window portion 51A of the cover 50A are arranged in series, and the holder 10A is not provided with the reflecting portion forming region 19. There is a difference from the first embodiment in that point. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, a bowl-shaped concave portion 60 is formed on the surface between adjacent light emitting units 100 on the light emitting surface side of the base of the holder 10A (holder base region 16A). There is a difference from the first embodiment in that point. The recessed portion 60 may be formed such that the width gradually decreases from the front end portion of the holder base region 16</b>A to about the center position of the lens 30 .

By forming the bowl-shaped concave portion 60 in the holder base region 16A as described above, it is possible to control the direction of reflection from the holder 10A side and reduce unevenness in luminance.

Here, based on FIGS. 8 and 9, another configuration example of the lens 30 mounted on the vehicle light emitting device 1 (similarly applicable to 1A) will be described.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the lens 30 when the lens 30 is provided with a rotation restricting mechanism for the holder 10 . 8A shows a plan view of the light emitting unit 100 including the lens 30 fixed to the holder 10, and FIG. 8B shows a side view of FIG. 8A. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, ribs 36 project vertically from the mounting structure 34 on both sides of the mounting structure 34 of the lens 30 of the light emitting unit 100, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the ribs 36 allow the lens 30 to pivot with respect to the holder 10 (that is, rotate the front end of the lens 30 toward or away from the holder base region 16). The rib 36 of 30 abuts against the lens fixing area 18 of the holder 10 to perform a restricting function. As a result, the movement of the lens 30 relative to the holder 10 and the LED section 20 from the initial arrangement can be restricted, so that the irradiation direction from the light emitting unit 100 can be stabilized. Furthermore, since the movement of the lens 30 is restricted, the collision of the lens 30 with other members is suppressed even when the vehicle vibrates, and noise is also reduced.

In the above embodiment, an example of a structure for attaching a single light emitting unit 100 to the holder 10 has been described, but as shown in FIG. It may be attached to the holder 10 .

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a vehicle light emitting device 1B according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a vehicle light emitting device 1B according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle light emitting device 1B according to the third embodiment mainly includes a cover 50B, an LED section 20 serving as a light source, a lens 30B for diffusing and emitting light incident from the LED section 20, A holder 10B (holding portion) that holds the LED portion 20, the lens 30B, and the like is provided. Further, the holder 10B is provided with a mirror-finished reflecting portion 11, and the reflecting portion 11 reflects the refracted light from the lens 30B toward the window portion 51B (light emitting surface) of the cover 50. ing.

As shown in FIG. 10, the lens 30B includes a lens body portion 31B and a notch portion 32B provided at a position facing the LED portion 20 at the center of the lens body portion 31B. In the following description, the lens 30B and the LED section 20 arranged in series are collectively referred to as a light emitting unit 100B.

As shown in FIG. 11, the cover 50B is U-shaped, and the light-emitting surface forming surface of the cover 50B provided with the window 51B and the lens 30B are substantially parallel to each other. In addition, the length of the light-emitting surface forming surface in the front-rear direction (the length in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the light-emitting units 100B) is longer than in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the window portion 51B side of the vehicle light emitting device 1B is referred to as the light emitting surface side, and the opposite side thereof is referred to as the rear surface side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the holder 10 includes a U-shaped LED mounting region 17B to which the LED portion 20 is mounted and fixed, and an LED mounting region 17B that supports the lens 30B and extends substantially parallel to the lens 30B. It has an extending holder base region 16B and a reflecting portion forming region 19B extending from the holder base region 16B toward the light emitting surface side and provided with the reflecting portion 11 on the slope facing the lens 30B on the light emitting surface side. Here, the angle (tilt) of the reflecting surface may be set so that the intensity of the reflected light from the lens 30B to the window 51B is maximized.

A control circuit (not shown) is connected to the LED unit 20, and the control circuit controls the light emission timing, light emission time, and the like of each of the plurality of LED units 20. FIG.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the lens 30B mounted on the vehicle light emitting device 1B according to the third embodiment is similar to the lens 30 mounted on the vehicle light emitting device 1 according to the first embodiment. The lens main body portion 31 (31B) and the notch portion 32 (32B) are different in the R shape. That is, in the third embodiment, the curvature of the lens body portion 31B is larger than the curvature of the lens body portion 31 in the first embodiment. The curvature is smaller than the curvature of the notch 32 in the first embodiment. In this way, by adjusting the R shape of the lens, it is possible to adjust the diffusion mode of light from the lens and change the luminance pattern, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 .

FIG. 12 shows luminance characteristics of a single light emitting unit 100B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the position of the light emitting surface on the front side of the single light emitting unit 100B (that is, the position in the width direction of the light emitting surface) and the luminance. As shown in FIG. 12, in the light-emitting unit 100B, a gentler luminance peak exists at a position passing through the center of the notch 32 from the LED section 20 compared to the light-emitting unit 100 according to the first embodiment. . That is, the lens 30B according to the third embodiment emits diffused light with less luminance unevenness than the lens 30 according to the first embodiment.

Further, FIG. 13 shows luminance characteristics when a plurality of light emitting units 100B according to the third embodiment are arranged at a predetermined arrangement interval (d). FIG. 13 shows the relationship between the positions of the light-emitting surfaces on the front side of the plurality of light-emitting units 100B (that is, the positions in the width direction of the light-emitting surfaces) and the luminance. As shown in FIG. 13, by adjusting the arrangement interval of the light-emitting units 100B, a luminance peak also exists between positions facing the light-emitting units 100B. By adjusting the arrangement interval of the light-emitting units 100B in this manner and causing a peak to exist between positions facing the light-emitting units 100B on the light-emitting surface, it is possible to reduce uneven brightness on the light-emitting surface.

As described above, regarding the light emitting unit mounted on the vehicle light emitting device, by changing the R shape of the lens that diffuses the light incident from the LED portion, the diffusion of the light from the lens changes. . For example, in the vehicle light emitting device 1 according to the first embodiment, the curvature of the outer periphery of the lens is made smaller than that of the lens in the third embodiment, so that the light emitting unit is miniaturized. It is possible to reduce the size of the vehicle light emitting device. By setting the R shape of the lens in this way, it is possible to adapt the vehicular light-emitting device in which luminance unevenness is suppressed so as to match the size of the space required by the vehicle.

The vehicle light emitting devices according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention have been mainly described above. However, the above embodiment is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

1, 1A, 1B Vehicle Light Emitting Device 10, 10A, 10B Holder 11 Reflecting Part 12 Convex Part 13 Plane Parts 14, 15 Insertion Holes 16, 16A, 16B Holder Base Area 17, 17B LED Mounting Area 18 Lens Fixing Area 19, 19B Reflecting portion forming area 20 LED portions 30, 30B Lenses 31, 31B Lens body portions 32, 32B Notch portion 33 Light source introducing portion 34 Mounting structure portion 35 Locking claw portion 36 Rib 37 Connecting portion 50, 50A, 50B Covers 51, 51A , 51B window portion 60 concave portion 100, 100B light emitting unit 101 light emitting unit group

Claims (9)

A light source and a lens that diffuses and emits light incident from the light sourcewith multiple side-by-sidelight emitting unitWhen,
a holding portion that holds the plurality of light emitting units and has a substantially U-shaped cross section;
a cover covering the plurality of light emitting units and having a light emitting surface through which light emitted from the light source via the lens passes;
Said multiplefromOne or more luminance peak values exist between light unitsdeath,
The holding portion has a U-shape in which a reflecting portion that reflects the light emitted from the lens toward the light emitting surface and an extension portion of the light source that extends toward the holding portion are arranged therein. a mounting recess;
In the holding portion, a base extending substantially parallel to the lens from the mounting recess is arranged closer to the lens than the mounting recess. A vehicle light emitting device characterized by: the light emitted from the lens of the light emitting unit has a plurality of luminance peaks in the light spreading direction,
2. The arrangement interval of the plurality of light emitting units is set so that the plurality of luminance peaks of the light emitted from the plurality of light emitting units are arranged at approximately equal intervals. Vehicle light emitting device. 3. The vehicular light emitting device according to claim 1 , wherein the reflecting portion has a convex portion at a position facing the light source. The vehicular light emitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the holding portion has recesses formed between regions for holding the plurality of light emitting units. 5. The cover according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the cover engages with the holding portion and has a shape that is closest to the lens at an end of the lens on the light emitting side. 1. Vehicle light-emitting device according to item 1. The vehicular light emitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the lens has engaging claw portions at both ends, and is snap-fixed to the holding portion by the engaging claw portions. . The vehicle light emitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the lens is formed with a rib that restricts rotation with respect to the holding portion. The vehicle light emitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the lens has a notch at a position facing the light source. 9. The vehicle light emitting device according to claim 8 , wherein the lens is provided on both sides of the notch and has a light source introducing portion projecting toward the light source.

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