JP7444037B2 - luminous emblem - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to luminous emblems.

Conventionally, light-emitting emblems have been proposed that can control light distribution by changing the irradiation direction depending on the angle of the light emitted from the LED, and that can efficiently utilize the light from the LED (for example, patents (See Reference 1).

This light-emitting emblem accommodates an LED as a light source and an inner lens having a primary reflective surface and a secondary reflective surface in a space defined by an outer lens and a housing to which the emblem is attached, and from which the LED is emitted. The reflection direction is controlled by the inner lens according to the emission angle of the light, and the periphery of the emblem is made to emit light by the light transmitted through the outer lens with the reflection direction controlled.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-141197

However, in the light emitting emblem disclosed in Patent Document 1, the light emitted from the LED, which is a light source, is reflected primarily and secondarily to illuminate the outer lens and the emblem. For this reason, it is necessary to provide an inner lens, which poses a problem in that it is difficult to make the device thinner.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting emblem that can be made thinner.

[1] The present invention comprises a light emitting element that emits light, a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted, an outer lens that guides the light, and a transmitting part that is attached to the outer lens and that transmits the light. It has an ornament section that performs a light-emitting display, and a housing that holds the outer lens and reflects the light toward the outer lens, and the light-emitting element is mounted on a mounting surface of the substrate facing the housing. Provides a luminous emblem.
[2] The substrate and the housing may have a white color that highly reflects the light.
[3] Furthermore, the outer lens may be welded to the housing with the substrate in between.
[4] Further, the ornament portion may have a design portion such as characters or symbols on which the light-emitting display is performed by the transparent portion, and the substrate may have an area corresponding to the design portion as an opening. good.
[5] Further, the substrate may have a bridge portion without the opening in a region without the design portion.
[6] Furthermore, the substrate may be configured as a single substrate having the two bridge portions arranged on both sides of the opening.
[7] Furthermore, the housing may have a protrusion projecting toward the light emitting element at a position corresponding to the light emitting element.
[8] Further, the outer lens may contain a diffusing material that diffuses the light.
[9] Further, the substrate is configured such that a circuit element other than the light emitting element is mounted on the mounting surface, and the brightness distribution of the light emitting display is adjusted depending on the position where the circuit element is arranged. You can leave it there.

According to the light-emitting emblem of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the thickness.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a light-emitting emblem according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the light-emitting emblem according to the embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the front (the front of the vehicle when mounted on the vehicle). FIG. 2(b) is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2(a). FIG. 3(a) is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2(a), showing a cross section including the bridge portion of the board, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 2(a). FIG. FIG. 4(a) is a front view showing the mounting surface of the board, and FIG. 4(b) is a front view showing the back surface of the board (the back surface of the mounting surface). FIG. 5(a) shows an example of the case where the brightness distribution of the light emitting display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than light emitting elements on the mounting surface of the board when the outer periphery is desired to be darkened. FIG. 5B is a front view of the mounting surface of the board. Figure 6(a) shows an example of adjusting the brightness distribution of the light emitting display by arranging circuit elements other than light emitting elements on the mounting surface of the board when it is desired to darken the design part, which is the logo part. FIG. 6B is a front view of the mounting surface of the board.

[Embodiment of the present invention]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a light-emitting emblem according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the light-emitting emblem according to the embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the front (the front of the vehicle when attached to the vehicle), and FIG. 2(a) is a sectional view taken along line AA.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a light emitting emblem 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light emitting element 10 that emits light, a substrate 20 on which the light emitting element 10 is mounted, and an outer lens that guides the light. 30, an ornament part 40 that is attached to the outer lens 30 and performs a luminescent display using a transmitting part that transmits light, and a housing 50 that holds the outer lens 30 and reflects light toward the outer lens 30, The light emitting element 10 is configured to be mounted on a mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20 facing the housing 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the light-emitting emblem 1 is assembled by overlapping an ornament part 40, an outer lens 30, a substrate 20 on which the light-emitting element 10, etc. are mounted, and a housing 50, and is attached to a vehicle's front grill or the like. It will be installed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light emitting emblem 1 according to the present embodiment has the light emitting element 10 mounted on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20 facing the housing 50, and emits light L1 in the direction of the housing 50. . The emitted light L1 is reflected one or more times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) to become light L2, which is guided by the outer lens 30 to cause the ornament part 40 to emit light. Thereby, the light-emitting emblem 1 does not require an inner lens or the like, and can be made thinner.

(Light emitting element 10)
Although various light sources can be used for the light emitting element 10, in particular, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is used as a light emitting element that emits visible light. The light emitting element 10 in this embodiment uses an LED that emits white light with high brightness and excellent design and visibility.

Note that the light emitting element 10 can use LEDs that emit light of various colors, and can also use an LED that includes RGB light emitting chips and can emit any visible light color. Thereby, the light-emitting emblem 1 can be caused to emit light in a desired color.

The light emitting element 10 uses a surface mount type element in order to be mounted on a mounting surface 21 of a substrate 20, which will be described later. Thereby, it can be placed at any position on the mounting surface 21 of the board 20, and the brightness distribution can be easily adjusted.

(Substrate 20)
The substrate 20 is an insulating epoxy substrate or the like on which a necessary circuit pattern is formed. On the substrate 20, the above-described light emitting element 10, circuits necessary for controlling the light emitting element 10, and the like are arranged and mounted. The substrate 20 can be fixed to the outer lens 30, the housing 50, etc.

At least the mounting surface 21 side of the substrate 20 is white to reflect light. It is preferable that the reflectance is, for example, 80% or more. Note that white is preferably colored by the material of the substrate 20 from the viewpoint of cost, but it may be made white by resist or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4A, for example, four light emitting elements 10 (LEDs) are mounted on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20. A plurality of other circuit elements 15 necessary for controlling the LEDs are also mounted.

In this embodiment, as described above, the light is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) to equalize the intensity of the light. As a result, light is guided by the outer lens 30 to cause the ornament part 40 to emit light, making it possible to configure the light emitting emblem 1 with a small number of light emitting elements 10 (LEDs).

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the substrate 20 is a plate-shaped body with a circular outer peripheral portion 25 and an opening 23 in the center. The opening 23 is formed by punching the substrate 20, for example. The opening 23 is, for example, an opening that allows the light L2 reflected by the housing 50 to pass toward the outer lens 30, as shown in FIG. 2(b). Therefore, the substrate 20 has an opening 23 in a region corresponding to the design section 45 for displaying characters, symbols, etc. of the ornament section 40.

Further, between the opening 23 and the outer circumferential portion 25, there is a bridge portion 24 that connects the first substrate portion 20a and the second substrate portion 20b of the substrate 20. Thereby, the substrate 20 is configured as a single substrate in which the first substrate section 20a and the second substrate section 20b arranged on both sides of the opening 23 are connected by two bridge sections 24. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the light L2 reflected by the housing 50 cannot be transmitted toward the outer lens 30 at the bridge portion 24 and is blocked. Therefore, the bridge portion 24 is formed so as to be located in an area where there is no design portion 45 in which characters, symbols, etc. are arranged.

On the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20, the light emitting element 10 (LED) is arranged, and circuit elements 15 other than the light emitting element 10 are also mounted. The circuit element 15 can adjust (adjust) the luminance distribution of the light emitting display depending on the position where it is arranged. This brightness distribution adjustment will be described later.

(Outer lens 30)
The outer lens 30 is a transparent member that guides light, particularly the light L2 reflected by the housing 50, to the ornament part 40. The outer lens 30 is preferably made of, for example, acrylic resin such as polymethyl methacrylate resin, or transparent resin such as polycarbonate PC (Polycarbonate) resin. In addition, in order to increase the light diffusivity, a diffusing material such as a filler can be blended into the molten resin during molding.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the outer lens 30 has light emitting parts 32a and 32b formed as convex parts as parts that emit light to the outside from the opening 47 of the ornament part 40, and as a whole, the outer lens 30 40 and the housing 50.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the part of the light emitting part 32a that emits light from the opening 47a of the ornament part 40 emits light from the design part 45 of the ornament part 40 that displays characters, symbols, etc. as a logo part. let Further, the portion of the light emitting portion 32b that emits light from the opening 47b of the ornament portion 40 causes the outer peripheral portion 46 of the ornament portion 40 to emit light.

In the outer lens 30, the substrate 20 is sandwiched between the housing 50 and the peripheral edge 51 of the housing 50 and the periphery 35 are fitted and welded together. This increases waterproofness and protects the substrate 20 housed inside from water droplets and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the outer lens 30 is formed with inclined portions 30a and 30b so that reflected light from the housing 50 can easily enter the outer lens 30. The inclined parts 30a and 30b are arranged so as not to be covered by the substrate 20. Thereby, the reflected light from the housing 50 can enter the outer lens 30 without being blocked by the substrate 20. Further, the central inclined portion 30a shown in FIG. 2(b) is arranged between the opening 47a of the ornament portion 40 and the substrate 20. The opening 47a has a large area in order to illuminate the design part 45, and if there is a slope 30a directly below it, the light will be uneven in the characters, but it is possible to arrange the central slope 30a as described above. This makes it possible to suppress and prevent light unevenness within characters.

(Ornament part 40)
The ornament section 40 is attached to the outer lens 30 and performs a light emitting display using a transmitting section that transmits light. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, openings 47a and 47b are formed as the transmission section. The area other than the openings 47a and 47b is an opaque area 48 through which light does not pass.

The ornament part 40 can be formed of various resins, such as PC (Polycarbonate) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) resin. Further, the non-transparent regions other than the above-mentioned openings 47a and 47b are painted, plated, or the like. In this embodiment, the outer lens 30 and the ornament part 40, which is a separate member, are arranged. However, by painting or plating the surface of the outer lens 30 as an opaque area, the outer lens 30 You may add that function to

The design section 45 of the ornament section 40 has an opening 47a formed in a shape to display characters, symbols, etc. The opening 47a is provided inside the substrate 20 at a position corresponding to the central portion. The light emitting part 32a of the outer lens 30 is fitted into the opening 47a, and the light emitting element 10 emits light, so that the design part 45 of the ornament part 40, which displays characters, symbols, etc. as a logo part, emits light.

Further, in this embodiment, an opening 47b is provided so as to surround the design section 45 of the ornament section 40. The opening 47b is provided on the outside of the substrate 20 at a position corresponding to the periphery. The light emitting part 32b of the outer lens 30 fits into the opening 47b, and the light emitting element 10 emits light, so that the periphery of the designed part 45 emits light in a substantially circular shape.

From the above, the openings 47a and 47b as the transmitting parts of the ornament part 40 function as light emitting parts through which the light guided by the outer lens 30 passes through and emits light. For example, the display parts such as the design part 45, which is a logo part, shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are not painted or plated, but have openings 47a and 47b. In the ornament part 40, a part of the outer lens 30 is exposed in the openings 47a and 47b, and the light guided by the outer lens 30 causes the design part 45 and its surroundings to emit light, so that the ornament part 40 is displayed as a light-emitting emblem 1. can be done.

(Housing 50)
The housing 50 is, for example, a resin case that holds the outer lens 30 and reflects light toward the outer lens 30 side.

As shown in FIG. 1 etc., the housing 50 includes a peripheral portion 51 that fits and holds the outer lens 30, a reflective portion 52 that reflects the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10, and a light emitted from the light emitting element 10. It has a protrusion 53 for diffusing and reflecting L1.

The housing 50 is integrally molded with a synthetic resin such as PC (Polycarbonate), ASA (Acrylate Styrene Acrylonitrile), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), AES (Acrylonitrile Ethylene Styrene), etc. so as to have the above-described configuration. .

The housing 50 is white in color so that the reflection portion 52 highly reflects the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10. It is preferable that the reflectance is, for example, 80% or more. Note that white is preferably colored by the material of the substrate 20 from the viewpoint of cost, but high reflectance may be achieved by painting or the like.

The housing 50 has a protrusion 53 that protrudes from the reflective section 52 toward the light emitting element 10 at a position corresponding to the light emitting element 10 . The protrusion 53 is, for example, a protrusion with a cone-shaped inclined surface in order to reflect the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 so as to diffuse it to the surroundings. Thereby, the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected so as to be diffused into the surroundings, and the light L2 is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 and the board 20 (mounting surface 21). It becomes easier.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the housing 50 is formed with inclined surfaces 50a and 50b facing the openings 47a and 47b of the ornament portion 40, respectively. Thereby, the housing 50 can actively reflect the light reflected by the inclined surfaces 50a and 50b toward the openings 47a and 47b.

As shown in FIG. 3(b), the housing 50 preferably has a support portion 55 for supporting the bridge portion 24 of the substrate 20 described above. The support portion 55 is formed integrally with the housing 50 as a substrate holding mechanism, and supports the bridge portion 24 . This makes it possible to strengthen the bridge portion 24 of the thin and easily broken substrate 20 by supporting it.

(Light-emitting operation of light-emitting emblem 1)
The vehicle can control the light emitting operation of the light emitting emblem 1. The light emitting element 10 emits light in response to a control signal from the vehicle side, for example. The light emitting element 10 can emit light by setting the intensity, color, etc. of the light.

Light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 (reflector 52) and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) to become light L2, which is guided by the outer lens 30. The ornament section 40 is displayed by emitting light. The ornament part 40 can perform a light-emitting display as the light-emitting emblem 1 by causing the light guided by the outer lens 30 to cause the design part 45 and its surroundings to emit light.

(Adjustment and adjustment of luminance distribution of luminescent display)
FIG. 5(a) shows an example of the case where the brightness distribution of the light emitting display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than light emitting elements on the mounting surface of the board when the outer periphery is desired to be darkened. FIG. 5B is a front view of the mounting surface of the board.

Adjustment (adjustment) of the luminance distribution of the light emitting display refers to control such as emitting light at a targeted portion of the ornament section and adjusting (adjustment) uniform light emission.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), if you want to make the outer peripheral part 49 emitted by the light emitting part 32b darker than the design part 45 emitted by the light emitting part 32a, as shown in FIG. 5(b), Circuit elements 15 other than the light emitting element 10 are arranged on the outer peripheral part 21a of the substrate 20. This reduces the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element 10 that reaches the light emitting portion 32b of the outer lens 30, making it possible to darken the outer peripheral portion 49.

Figure 6(a) shows an example of adjusting the brightness distribution of the light emitting display by arranging circuit elements other than light emitting elements on the mounting surface of the board when it is desired to darken the design part, which is the logo part. FIG. 6B is a front view of the mounting surface of the board.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), if you want to make the design part 45 that emits light from the light emitting part 32a darker than the outer peripheral part 49 that emits light from the light emitting part 32b, as shown in FIG. 6(b), Circuit elements 15 other than the light emitting element 10 are arranged in a region 21b near the opening 23 of the substrate 20. Of the light emitted from the light emitting element 10, the amount of light that reaches the light emitting section 32a of the outer lens 30 is reduced, making it possible to darken the designed section 45.

(Effects of embodiments of the present invention)
With the above configuration, the light emitting emblem 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) The light-emitting emblem 1 includes a light-emitting element 10 that emits light, a substrate 20 on which the light-emitting element 10 is mounted, an outer lens 30 that guides light, and a light-emitting emblem 1 that is attached to the outer lens 30 and transmits light. The light-emitting element 10 is mounted on the mounting surface of the substrate 20 facing the housing 50. It is implemented and configured in 21. The light emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21), and is guided by the outer lens 30, causing the ornament part 40 to emit light. The light-emitting emblem 1 according to the present embodiment has a structure that utilizes such reflection to ensure a sufficient optical path length for light, so the depth can be reduced, leading to a reduction in thickness and weight.
(2) Furthermore, since the light emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21), the optical path length becomes large and the light is efficiently diffused. This allows the ornament section 40 to emit light with uniform light.
(3) The board and housing are white, which highly reflects light. Thereby, the reflection efficiency of the LED light is high, and the ornament part 40 can emit light with high brightness. Further, even when the LED light is emitted in a color other than white, the substrate and housing are white, so the reflectance is high and the reflection efficiency is high.
(4) For example, in order to adjust the display brightness of the design portion 45 and the outer peripheral portion 49, the arrangement of circuit elements on the mounting surface 21 of the board 20 can be changed and mounted. By simulating or actually measuring the arrangement of circuit elements and the brightness of the display on the ornament section 40, it becomes possible to emit light at a targeted part of the ornament section and to adjust (adjust) uniform light emission. .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, the above embodiments do not limit the claimed invention. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for solving the problems of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Light emitting emblem, 10... Light emitting element, 15... Circuit element, 20... Board, 20a... First board part, 20b... Second board part, 21... Mounting surface, 21a... Outer peripheral part, 21b... Region, 23... Opening Part, 24... Bridge part, 25... Outer periphery, 30... Outer lens, 30a, 30b... Inclined surface, 32a... Light emitting part, 32b... Light emitting part, 40... Ornament part, 45... Design part, 46... Outer periphery, 47 ...opening, 47a...opening, 47b...opening, 48...opaque region, 49...outer periphery, 50...housing, 50a, 50b...slanted surface, 51...periphery, 52...reflection part, 53...protrusion , L1, L2...light

Claims (10)

a light emitting element that emits light;
a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted;
an outer lens that guides the light;
an ornament section that is attached to the outer lens and performs a luminescent display using a transmission section that transmits the light;
a housing that holds the outer lens and reflects the light toward the outer lens;
The light emitting element is mounted on a mounting surface of the substrate facing the housing,
The ornament part has an opening as the transparent part,
A light-emitting emblem, wherein a convex portion formed on the outer lens is fitted into the opening portion as a light-emitting portion . The light-emitting emblem according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the housing are white and highly reflect the light. The light-emitting emblem according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer lens is welded to the housing with the substrate in between. Claims 1 to 3, wherein the ornament part has a design part such as a character, a symbol, etc. in which the light-emitting display is performed by the transparent part, and the substrate has an opening in a region corresponding to the design part. The luminescent emblem according to any one of the above. 5. The light-emitting emblem according to claim 4, wherein the substrate has a bridge portion without the opening in a region without the design portion. 6. The light-emitting emblem according to claim 5, wherein the substrate is configured as a single substrate having the two bridge portions arranged on both sides of the opening. The light-emitting emblem according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the housing has a protrusion projecting toward the light-emitting element at a position corresponding to the light-emitting element. The light-emitting emblem according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the housing has an inclined surface formed opposite to the opening of the ornament part. The light-emitting emblem according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the outer lens contains a diffusing material that diffuses the light. The board has a circuit element other than the light emitting element mounted on the mounting surface, and the arrangement of the circuit element and the brightness of the light emitting display of the ornament part are determined in advance by simulation or actual measurement. According to any one of claims 1 to 9 , the light reaching the light emitting part of the outer lens is adjusted depending on the position where the light emitting part is placed, and the brightness distribution of the light emitting display of the ornament part is adjusted. luminous emblem.

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