JP7390244B2 - Vehicle lights - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vehicle lamps that are mounted on a vehicle are known that combine a light source such as a light emitting diode (LED) and a rod-shaped or plate-shaped light guide lens (light guide). In this type of vehicle lamp, the light emitted from the light source enters the base end of the light guide lens, and while repeating reflection inside the light guide lens, the light is guided toward the front end of the light guide lens. let Further, the light reflected by the plurality of reflection cuts provided on the back side of the light guide lens is emitted from the front side of the light guide lens. Thereby, it is possible to cause the light emitting section provided on the front side of the light guiding lens to emit light in a line shape or a planar shape.

Furthermore, some vehicle lamps are equipped with a light guide lens in which a plate-shaped light guide part is integrally formed between two branched bar-shaped light guide parts (for example, the following (See Patent Documents 1 and 2.) In a vehicle lamp equipped with such a light guide lens, the light emitted from the light source is guided toward the rod-shaped and plate-shaped light guide parts of the light guide lens, and these light guide parts are arranged in a line shape and a plate shape. Light is emitted in a planar manner.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-178059 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-147102

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional vehicle lamp, a dark area occurs at the boundary between the bar-shaped light guiding part and the plate-shaped light guiding part, and the sense of connection between the line-shaped light emitting part and the planar light-emitting part is lost. Due to its absence, the appearance when lit may deteriorate.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp that can emit light with good appearance.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
[1] Light source and
comprising a light guide lens that guides the light emitted from the light source,
The light guide lens includes a first light guide, a rod-shaped second light guide connected to the first light guide, and the first light guide and the second light guide. and a plate-shaped third light guide connected to the
The first light guide section includes an entrance section into which the light emitted from the light source enters,
The second light guiding section includes a plurality of first reflective cuts provided on the back side thereof and a plurality of first reflective cuts provided on the front side thereof, and the light reflected by the plurality of first reflective cuts forms a linear shape. A first light emitting part that emits light;
The third light guiding section includes a plurality of second reflective cuts provided on the back side thereof, and a plurality of second reflective cuts provided on the front side thereof, and is formed into a planar shape by the light reflected by the plurality of second reflective cuts. a second light emitting section that emits light;
The second light guide part is provided so as to protrude further to the front side than the third light guide part,
A plurality of step surfaces are provided on the front side of the second light guide section along the boundary with the third light guide section, and are arranged in a step-like manner toward the boundary, and A vehicle lamp characterized in that a space between each surface constitutes a surface perpendicular to the stepped surface.
[2] The vehicle lamp according to [1], wherein the step surface is formed of a convex or concave curved surface.
[3] The light guide lens has a shape in which the third light guide part is provided between a pair of the second light guide parts branched from the first light guide part. The vehicle lamp according to [1] or [2] above.
[4] At least a portion of the plurality of first reflection cuts and the plurality of second reflection cuts are continuous between the second light guide section and the third light guide section. The vehicular lamp according to any one of [1] to [3] above, characterized in that the vehicle lamp is provided in parallel with the above.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle lamp that can emit light with good appearance.

1 is a front view showing the configuration of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of a light source and a light guiding lens included in the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the light guiding lens shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged rear view of a part of the light guiding lens shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the light guide lens taken along line AA shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a light guide lens of Comparative Example 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a light guide lens of Comparative Example 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a brake lamp.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
In addition, in the drawings used in the following explanation, dimensions may be shown at different scales depending on the component in order to make each component easier to see, and the dimensional ratio of each component may not be the same as in reality. do not have.

In addition, in the drawings shown below, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the X-axis direction is the front-rear direction (length direction) of the vehicle lamp, the Y-axis direction is the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle lamp, and the Z-axis direction is shall be shown as the vertical direction (height direction) of the vehicle lamp.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle lamp 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, for example, will be described.
Note that FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of the vehicle lamp 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the light source 2 and light guide lens 3 included in the vehicle lamp 1. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the light guiding lens 3. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged rear view of a part of the light guiding lens 3. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the light guide lens 3 taken along line AA shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment constitutes a rear combination lamp RCL that is mounted on both corners of the rear end of a vehicle (not shown).

In addition, in FIG. 1, among the rear combination lamps RCL arranged symmetrically in the rear part of the vehicle, the rear combination lamp RCL arranged on the right side of the rear part is illustrated.

In addition, in the following description, the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "top", and "bottom" refer to when the vehicle light 1 is viewed from the front (back of the vehicle) unless otherwise specified. shall mean the respective directions. Therefore, the respective directions when the vehicle is viewed from the front (vehicle front) are the directions in which the front, rear, left, and right directions are reversed.

The rear combination lamp RCL has, as functional lamps, a tail lamp TLL that emits red light, a brake lamp (stop lamp) BRL that emits red light, and a turn lamp TRL that emits orange light.

When the rear combination lamp RCL is viewed from the front, the tail lamp TLL has an inverted C-shape as a whole, with a portion extending horizontally on both sides of the rear combination lamp and a portion extending vertically on the right side. It is formed in the shape of

When the rear combination lamp RCL is viewed from the front, the brake lamp BRL is provided in contact with the upper and lower both sides and the inside of the right side portion of the tail lamp TLL.

The turn lamp TRL is provided inside the upper and lower both sides of the tail lamp TLL and the brake lamp BRL when the rear combination lamp RCL is viewed from the front.

Of these, the tail lamp TLL and the brake lamp BRL are integrally constituted by the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment.

The vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment includes a plurality of (four in this embodiment) light sources 2 as shown in FIG. 2 and a light guide lens 3 inside a lamp H shown in FIG. .

Note that the lamp H includes a housing with an open front and a transparent lens cover (outer lens) that covers the opening of the housing. Note that the shape of the lamp body H can be changed as appropriate to match the design of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of light sources 2 are composed of, for example, LEDs that emit red light (hereinafter simply referred to as light). The plurality of light sources 2 are mounted on the front side (+X-axis side) of a circuit board 4 provided with a drive circuit (not shown) for driving the LEDs, and emit light radially toward the light guide lens 3. do. That is, these plurality of light sources 2 are provided on the same surface of the same circuit board 4 and are configured to radially emit light in the same direction.

Note that in this embodiment, the LEDs that constitute the plurality of light sources 2 described above and the drive circuit that drives these plurality of LEDs are mounted on the circuit board 4, but the plurality of LEDs are mounted on the circuit board 4. The mounted board and the circuit board provided with the drive circuit for driving these plurality of LEDs are placed separately, and the mounted board and the circuit board are electrically connected via a wiring cord called a harness. , a configuration may be adopted in which the drive circuit is protected from heat generated by the plurality of LEDs.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the light guiding lens 3 is made of a light-transmitting member having a higher refractive index than air, such as transparent resin such as polycarbonate or acrylic, or glass. The light guide lens 3 includes a rod-shaped first light guide part 5 and a pair of rod-shaped second light guide parts 6A and 6B connected to the first light guide part 5, corresponding to the above-mentioned tail lamp TLL. and a plate-shaped third light guide section 7 connected to the first light guide section 5 and the pair of second light guide sections 6A, 6B.

The first light guide section 5 is located at the end on the proximal side facing the plurality of light sources 2, and has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) light guide sections into which the light L emitted from each light source 2 enters. It has an entrance section 8. The plurality of incidence sections 8 are configured by a plane (incidence surface) facing each light source 2 .

On the other hand, the entrance section 8 is not limited to the above-mentioned plane, but may have a shape that allows the light L emitted radially from each light source 2 to enter the inside of the first light guide section 5 while collimating or condensing it. Good too.

For example, the entrance part 8 is located at the center of the part facing the light source 2, and includes a convex first condensing incident surface on which a part of the light L emitted from the light source 2 enters, and a first condensing entrance surface. A substantially cylindrical second condensing and incident surface, which is located on the inner circumferential side of a portion that protrudes toward the light source 2 from a position surrounding the light incident surface, and onto which a part of the light L emitted from the light source 2 enters. and a truncated cone-shaped light collecting and reflecting surface that is located on the outer circumferential side of the protruding portion and reflects the light L incident from the second light collecting and entering surface. It may also be configured such that the light L incident from the second condensing incident surface is condensed toward the optical axis, and the light L incident from the second condensing incident surface is reflected by the condensing reflection surface to condense the light toward the optical axis.

The pair of second light guide portions 6A and 6B are provided branching from the distal end side of the first light guide portion 5. Among the pair of second light guide parts 6A and 6B, one second light guide part 6A is provided corresponding to the right side and upper part of the tail lamp TLL. On the other hand, the other second light guide portion 6B is provided corresponding to the lower portion of the tail lamp TLL.

The pair of second light guiding parts 6A, 6B includes a plurality of first reflection cuts 9 located on the back side of the light guiding lens 3, and a first light emitting part 10 located on the front side of the light guiding lens 3. have.

The plurality of first reflection cuts 9 emit the light L incident on the back side of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B from the front side of the light guide lens 3 to the outside of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B. The shape, size, number, etc. thereof are not particularly limited as long as they are reflected at an angle at which the light is transmitted. In this embodiment, for example, the grooves serving as the first reflective cuts 9 extend in the width direction of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B and are arranged in the axial direction of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B. It is configured.

The first light emitting section 10 emits the light L reflected by the plurality of first reflection cuts 9 from the front side of the light guide lens 3 to the outside of the second light guide sections 6A and 6B. It has a surface 10a. The first emission surface 10a is provided with a plurality of diffusion cuts 11 for diffusing the light L emitted outward from the first emission surface 10a.

Examples of the diffusion cut 11 include a lens cut called a flute cut or a fisheye cut, and an uneven structure formed by knurling, graining, or the like. In this embodiment, for example, a convexly curved flute cut serving as the diffusion cut 11 extends in the axial direction of each second light guide section 6A, 6B, and the width of each second light guide section 6A, 6B is It is constructed by lining up in the direction. Further, in the first output surface 10a, by adjusting the shape of the diffusion cut 11, etc., it is possible to control the degree of diffusion of the light L emitted from the first output surface 10a.

The third light guide section 7 extends between the first light guide section 5 and the pair of second light guide sections 6A and 6B branched from the first light guide section 5. It is formed integrally with the optical parts 6A and 6B. The third light guide section 7 is provided corresponding to the brake lamp BRL.

The third light guide section 7 includes a plurality of second reflection cuts 12 located on the back side of the light guide lens 3 and a second light emitting section 13 located on the front side of the light guide lens 3. There is.

The plurality of second reflection cuts 12 emit (transmit) the light L incident on the back side of the third light guide section 7 from the front side of the light guide lens 3 to the outside of the third light guide section 7. The shape, size, number, etc. of the light beams are not particularly limited as long as the light beams are reflected at an angle. In this embodiment, for example, the grooves serving as the second reflective cuts 12 are arranged side by side.

Among these, between the base end sides of the pair of second light guide parts 6A and 6B, a groove part forming a plurality of first reflection cuts 9 and a groove part forming a plurality of second reflection cuts 12 are formed. are arranged in a continuous manner between the pair of second light guide parts 6A, 6B and the third light guide part 7.

On the other hand, the grooves constituting the plurality of second reflection cuts 12 extend from the continuous portion between the pair of second light guide parts 6A, 6B and the third light guide part 7 to the second light guide part 7. They are provided intermittently lined up between the pair of second light guide parts 6A, 6B toward the distal ends of the parts 6A, 6B.

The second light emitting section 13 has a second output surface 13a that outputs the light L reflected by the plurality of second reflection cuts 12 from the front side of the light guide lens 3 to the outside of the third light guide section 7. have. The second exit surface 13a is formed of a flat surface.

On the other hand, a plurality of the above-mentioned diffusion cuts 11 are provided in a part of the second emission surface 13a. The plurality of diffusion cuts 11 provided on the second emission surface 13a are provided continuously with the plurality of diffusion cuts 11 provided on the first emission surface 10a on the other second light guide section 6B side. There is.

In the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment having the above configuration, after the light L emitted from the plurality of light sources 2 enters the inside of the first light guide part 5 from the entrance part 8, The light is guided toward the light guide sections 6A, 6B and the third light guide section 7. Furthermore, the light L that has entered the pair of second light guides 6A, 6B from the first light guide 5 is guided toward the tips of the second light guides 6A, 6B. Furthermore, the light L incident on the inside of the third light guide part 7 from the first light guide part 5 and the pair of second light guide parts 6A, 6B is directed toward the tip side of the third light guide part 7. light is guided.

In the vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment, the light L guided inside the second light guide portions 6A and 6B is reflected by the plurality of first reflection cuts 9, so that the light L guided inside the second light guide portions 6A and 6B is The light L reflected by the reflection cut 9 is emitted from the first output surface 10a to the outside of the second light guide portions 6A, 6B. Thereby, it is possible to cause the first light emitting section 10 to emit light in a line.

Further, in the vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment, the light L guided inside the third light guide section 7 is reflected by the plurality of second reflection cuts 12, so that the light L guided inside the third light guide section 7 is reflected by the plurality of second reflection cuts 12. The light L reflected by the reflection cut 12 is emitted from the second output surface 13a to the outside of the third light guide section 7. Thereby, it is possible to cause the second light emitting section 13 to emit light in a planar manner.

Therefore, in this vehicle lamp 1, by causing the first light emitting section 10 and the second light emitting section 13 to emit light, it is possible to cause the tail lamp TLL of the rear combination lamp RCL shown in FIG. 1 described above to emit red light. It is.

By the way, in the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the second light guide parts 6A and 6B are provided so as to protrude further to the front side than the third light guide part 7. Further, on the front side of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B, a plurality of stepped surfaces 14 are provided along the boundary with the third light guide part 3 and are arranged in a step-like manner toward the boundary. Further, a space between each of the plurality of step surfaces 14 constitutes a surface (hereinafter referred to as a vertical surface) 15 perpendicular to the step surface 14 .

Here, FIG. 6 shows a light guide lens 3A serving as Comparative Example 1. Further, FIG. 7 shows a light guide lens 3B as Comparative Example 2. Note that FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the light guiding lens 3A of Comparative Example 1. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a light guide lens 3B of Comparative Example 2. Furthermore, regarding the light guide lenses 3A and 3B, the description of the same parts as the light guide lens 3 will be omitted, and the same reference numerals will be given in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light guide lens 3A of Comparative Example 1 is provided with second light guide parts 6A and 6B that protrude further to the front side than the third light guide part 7, and the second light guide Side surfaces 16 of the light sections 6A and 6B on the side facing the third light guide section 7 constitute a convexly curved surface.

In the case of this configuration, among the light L reflected by the plurality of first reflection cuts 9, the light L' incident on the side surface 16 of the second light guide portions 6A, 6B is refracted while passing through the first output surface. The light L is emitted from 10a in a different direction. At this time, a dark portion occurs at the boundary between the second light guide portions 6A, 6B and the third light guide portion 7. As a result, there is no sense of connection between the first light emitting section 10 that emits light in a line shape and the second light emitting section 13 that emits light in a planar manner, resulting in poor appearance when lit.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the light guide lens 3B of Comparative Example 2, the second light guide parts 6A and 6B are provided to protrude further to the front side than the third light guide part 7, and the second light guide Side surfaces 17 of the light sections 6A and 6B facing the third light guide section 7 constitute a surface perpendicular to the first output surface 10a.

In the case of this configuration, among the light L reflected by the plurality of first reflection cuts 9, the light L' incident on the side surface 17 of the second light guide parts 6A, 6B is (totally) reflected while the light L' The light L is emitted from the exit surface 10a in a direction different from that of the light L. At this time, a dark portion occurs at the boundary between the second light guide portions 6A, 6B and the third light guide portion 7. As a result, there is no sense of connection between the first light emitting section 10 that emits light in a line shape and the second light emitting section 13 that emits light in a planar manner, resulting in poor appearance when lit.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, in the light guide lens 3 of this embodiment, among the light L reflected by the plurality of first reflection cuts 9, each of the second light guide parts 6A and 6B is The light L' incident on the stepped surface 14 is emitted in the same direction as the light L emitted from the first emitting surface 10a.

Thereby, in the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent dark areas from occurring at the boundaries between the second light guide parts 6A, 6B and the third light guide part 7. As a result, it is possible to obtain a sense of connection between the first light emitting section 10 that emits light in a line shape and the second light emitting section 13 that emits light in a planar manner, and it is possible to improve the appearance when lit.

Further, in the vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the step surface 14 may be formed of a convex or concave (convex in the present embodiment) curved surface. In the case of this configuration, it is possible to emit the light L' emitted from the stepped surface 14 while being diffused in the same direction as the light L emitted from the first emitting surface 10a. Note that in this configuration, the vertical surface 14 is parallel to the central axis of the stepped surface 14.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to improve the appearance when the light guide lens 3 emits light.

Furthermore, in the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a light source unit 20 for the brake lamp BRL is arranged on the back side of the third light guide section 7. In the vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment, the light L emitted from the light source unit 20 passes through the third light guide 7, thereby making it possible to cause the brake lamp BRL shown in FIG. 1 described above to emit red light. It is.

The vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the light L emitted from the light source unit 20 is transmitted through a portion of the third light guide section 7 where a plurality of second reflective cuts 12 are intermittently arranged. It has become. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the light L emitted from the light source unit 20 from being diffused by the plurality of second reflection cuts 12, and to ensure the luminous intensity as the brake lamp BRL.

Note that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the light guide lens 3 is limited to the third light guide 7 provided between the pair of second light guides 6A and 6B branched from the first light guide 5 described above. First, a configuration may be adopted in which only one of the pair of second light guide portions 6A and 6B is provided.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the above-mentioned vehicle lamp 1 is applied to the above-mentioned rear combination lamp RCL is exemplified. However, the present invention can also be applied to a vehicle lamp on the front side.

That is, in addition to the above-mentioned tail lamps and brake lamps, vehicle lamps to which the present invention is applied include back lamps, daytime running lamps (DRLs), vehicle width lamps (position lamps), and direction indicators (turn lamps). The present invention can be widely applied to vehicle lamps such as the following. Further, the color of the light emitted by the light source is not limited to the above-mentioned red light, but can be changed to white light, orange light, etc. as appropriate depending on the use of the vehicle lamp.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vehicle lamp 2... Light source 3... Light guide lens 4... Circuit board 5... First light guide part 6A... One second light guide part 6B... Other second light guide part 7... Third light guide part Light guiding part 8...Incidence part 9...First reflection cut 10...First light emitting part 11...Diffusion cut 12...Second reflection cut 13...Second light emission part 14...Step surface 15...Vertical surface 16, 17 …Side side 20…Light source unit RCL…Rear combination lamp TLL…Tail lamp BRL…Brake lamp TRL…Turn lamp L…Light

Claims (4)

a light source and
comprising a light guide lens that guides the light emitted from the light source,
The light guide lens includes a first light guide, a rod-shaped second light guide connected to the first light guide, and the first light guide and the second light guide. and a plate-shaped third light guide connected to the
The first light guide section includes an entrance section into which the light emitted from the light source enters,
The second light guiding section includes a plurality of first reflective cuts provided on the back side thereof and a plurality of first reflective cuts provided on the front side thereof, and the light reflected by the plurality of first reflective cuts forms a linear shape. A first light emitting part that emits light;
The third light guiding section includes a plurality of second reflective cuts provided on the back side thereof, and a plurality of second reflective cuts provided on the front side thereof, and is formed into a planar shape by the light reflected by the plurality of second reflective cuts. a second light emitting section that emits light;
The second light guide part is provided so as to protrude further to the front side than the third light guide part,
A plurality of step surfaces are provided on the front side of the second light guide section along the boundary with the third light guide section, and are arranged in a step-like manner toward the boundary, and A vehicular lamp characterized in that a space between each surface constitutes a surface perpendicular to the stepped surface. 2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the stepped surface is formed of a convex or concave curved surface. 1 . The light guide lens has a shape in which the third light guide part is provided between a pair of the second light guide parts branched from the first light guide part. Or the vehicle lamp according to 2. At least a portion of the plurality of first reflection cuts and the plurality of second reflection cuts are arranged so as to be continuous between the second light guide part and the third light guide part. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a vehicular lamp.

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