JP7539290B2 - Vehicle lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp that is attached to a vehicle.

Conventionally, there are known techniques for improving the appearance of light distribution patterns in vehicle lamps that are attached to vehicles. For example, there is a known technique that uses a reflective film that reflects light from a light source to obtain the main light distribution of a tail lamp, and forms a light-emitting part that diffuses light to achieve surface emission. This type of structure can improve the visual effect of vehicle lamps (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-176982 A

On the other hand, in order to achieve both surface emission, which emits light in a plane, and linear emission, which emits light in a line, a complex internal structure is often required, which poses the problem of increased manufacturing costs and weight. For example, in the structure described in Patent Document 1, a light source for surface emission and a light source for linear emission are provided separately. This results in increased costs and weight not only for the main body of the vehicle lamp, but also for the light sources and wiring.

One of the objectives of this invention was devised in light of the above problems, and is to provide a vehicle lamp that can achieve both surface and line emission with a simple configuration. In addition to this objective, another objective of this invention is to achieve effects that cannot be obtained with conventional technology, which are derived from the configurations shown in the "Mode for carrying out the invention" described below.

The disclosed vehicle lamp includes a surface light emitting region having a textured surface that diffuses light from the light source in a partial region of the inner surface of a lens surrounding a light source, and a line light emitting region having grooves or ridges that converge the light from the light source so that the light appears linear on the outer surface of the lens in a region of the inner surface of the lens without the textured surface. The light source is a single axial light guiding rod that is disposed closer to the line light emitting region than the surface light emitting region.

The disclosed vehicle lamp can achieve both surface and line emission with a simple configuration.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle to which a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment is applied; FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining how the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 lights up. 13A and 13B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the shape of an inner lens as a modified example.

[1. Configuration]
1 is a perspective view of a vehicle 10 to which a vehicle lamp 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vehicle lamp 1 includes not only composite lamps such as front combination lamps and rear combination lamps, but also lamps such as headlights, back-up lamps, tail lamps, brake lamps, and turn signal lamps.

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an enlarged view of a rear combination lamp, which is the vehicle lamp 1 at the left rear shown in Figure 1. This vehicle lamp 1 has a built-in taillight having a surface light emitting portion 11 that emits light in a surface form and a line light emitting portion 12 that emits light in a line form. The surface light emitting portion 11 is a relatively wide area that forms a curved surface that can be seen not only from the rear of the vehicle 10 but also from above and from the left and right sides (the left side in the example of Figure 2). In addition, the line light emitting portion 12 is disposed in an area adjacent to the surface light emitting portion 11 so that the illuminated portion appears linear (line-like). In the example shown in Figure 2, the line light emitting portion 12 includes three lines.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view (A-A cross-sectional view in Figure 2) that shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the vehicle lamp 1 shown in Figure 1. The vehicle lamp 1 is provided with an outer lens 2 made of a highly transparent resin and a housing 6 fixed to the vehicle body. In addition, a light guide rod 4 surrounded by an inner lens 3 and a reflector 5 is disposed in the space surrounded by the outer lens 2 and the housing 6. The light guide rod 4 is an axial light-emitting body that functions as a light source, and is extended along the line of the line light-emitting portion 12. The reflector 5 reflects the light emitted from the light guide rod 4 toward the outside of the vehicle lamp 1 (the outside of the vehicle 10), and is disposed so as to cover the part inside the light guide rod 4.

The inner lens 3 is a member that is disposed inside the outer lens 2, surrounding the light guiding rod 4, and has the function of forming a light distribution pattern. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner lens 3 is provided with a surface light emitting area 8 for forming a light distribution pattern corresponding to the surface light emitting portion 11, and a line light emitting area 9 for forming a light distribution pattern corresponding to the line light emitting portion 12. The surface light emitting area 8 and the line light emitting area 9 are disposed in adjacent positions. The light guiding rod 4 is disposed in a position closer to the line light emitting area 9 than the surface light emitting area 8. The distance relationship with respect to the light guiding rod 4 is not important, and for example, the light guiding rod 4 may be disposed in a position farther from the line light emitting area 9 than the surface light emitting area 8.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the surface light emitting region 8, at least a part of the inner surface (both the inner and outer surfaces in FIG. 3) is formed with a textured surface 7 that diffuses the light of the light guide rod 4. The textured surface 7 is a surface that has the function of diffusing light (expanding the range of visibility), and is, for example, a surface formed with minute unevenness, wrinkles, cut shapes, etc. On the other hand, in the line light emitting region 9, although the textured surface 7 is provided on the outer surface, the textured surface 7 is not formed on the inner surface, and protrusions 13 are provided so that the light of the light guide rod 4 appears linear on the outer surface of the inner lens 3. Note that the textured surface 7 may be formed only on the inner surface in the surface light emitting region 8. Also, the textured surface 7 on the outer surface of the line light emitting region 9 may be omitted.

The ridges 13 are linear protrusions formed on the inner surface of the inner lens 3 to converge the light from the light guide rod 4 so that it appears linear on the outer surface of the inner lens 3. In the example shown in Figure 3, three ridges 13 are formed. These ridges 13 extend along the extension direction of the light guide rod 4.

The ridge 13 shown in FIG. 3 has three types of surfaces 14-16. These surfaces 14-16 are formed so that the angles of incidence of light from the light guide rod 4 are different. In other words, the cross section of the ridge 13 is formed in a trapezoidal shape. As a result, the light that passes through each ridge 13 forms a light distribution pattern that shines linearly along the extension direction of the ridge 13. In this way, the ridge 13 is formed in a shape that concaves (or convexly) the inner surface of the inner lens 3 in a V-shape in a cross section perpendicular to the inner surface of the inner lens 3.

The first surface 14 is a planar portion that is approximately parallel to the outer surface of the linear light emission region 9. The second surface 15 is a planar portion that is disposed adjacent to the right side of the first surface 14 in the cross section shown in FIG. 3. The normal of the second surface 15 is set to face a direction rotated several tens of degrees counterclockwise from the normal of the first surface 14 in FIG. 3, for example. On the other hand, the third surface 16 is a planar portion that is disposed adjacent to the left side of the first surface 14 in the cross section shown in FIG. 3. The normal of the third surface 16 is set to face a direction rotated several tens of degrees clockwise from the normal of the first surface 14 in FIG. 3. The light that passes through these surfaces 14 to 16 converges on the outer surface of the linear light emission region 9 into a linear range that is narrower than the area of incidence, as shown in FIG. 4.

The direction of light irradiation of the light guide rod 4 on the ridge 13 is set to be inclined with respect to the outer surface of the inner lens 3 in the line light emission region 9. For example, in FIG. 3, the direction of light irradiation of the light guide rod 4 is set to intersect with the normal line of the first surface 14. Preferably, the direction of light irradiation of the light guide rod 4 is set to be parallel to the normal line of either the second surface 15 or the third surface 16. In other words, the face angle is set so that either the first surface 14 and the second surface 15 or the third surface 16 faces the light guide rod 4, and the face angle is set so that the other of the second surface 15 or the third surface 16 does not face the light guide rod 4. By setting the shape of the ridge 13 in this way, the convergence of light on the outer surface of the line light emission region 9 is improved by utilizing the properties of light (straight travel, refraction, reflection, etc.), and the visibility of the line light emission section 12 is improved. Here, "facing" includes not only a state in which the surface faces the light guide rod 4, but also a state in which the surface faces the light guide rod 4.

[2. Actions and Effects]
(1) The vehicle lamp 1 of this embodiment is provided with a surface light emitting region 8 and a line light emitting region 9. The surface light emitting region 8 has a textured surface 7 in at least a portion of the inner surface of the inner lens 3. The textured surface 7 functions to diffuse the light of the light guide rod 4, which is the light source. In addition, in the line light emitting region 9, a protrusion 13 is formed in an area of the inner surface of the inner lens 3 where the textured surface 7 is not formed. The protrusion 13 functions to converge the light so that the light appears linear on the outer surface of the inner lens 3. With this structure, the surface light emitting section 11 and the line light emitting section 12 can be formed with a simple configuration, and both surface light emission and line light emission can be realized.

(2) In the above vehicle lamp 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the axial light guide rod 4 serving as the light source is positioned closer to the line light emission area 9 than to the surface light emission area 8. By positioning the surface light emission area 8 at a position relatively far from the light source, the diffusivity of the light from the light source can be increased, and the appearance and visual effect of the surface light emission area 11 can be improved. In addition, by positioning the line light emission area 9 at a position relatively close to the light source, the convergence of the light from the light source can be increased to achieve clear line emission, and the appearance and visual effect of the line light emission area 12 can be improved.

(3) The protrusions 13 extend along the extension direction of the light guiding rod 4 (for example, parallel to the light guiding rod 4). This makes it possible to make the brightness uniform in the extension direction of the line emission in the line emission area 9, thereby improving the appearance and visual effect of the line emission unit 12. Also, in the surface emission area 8 adjacent to the line emission area 9, the brightness of the surface emission can be made uniform, thereby improving the appearance and visual effect of the surface emission unit 11.

(4) In the above vehicle lamp 1, both the surface light emitting area 8 and the line light emitting area 9 have a textured surface 7 on the outer surface of the inner lens 3 that diffuses the light of the light guide rod 4. By forming the textured surface 7 on the outer surface of the inner lens 3, the light can be diffused in various directions. In addition, even if the viewing angle of the vehicle lamp 1 (the direction of the line of sight when viewing the vehicle lamp 1 from outside the vehicle 10) changes, the brightness of the surface light emitting area 11 and the line light emitting area 12 is less likely to change, improving visibility.

(5) In the above vehicle lamp 1, the direction of light emitted from the light guide rod 4 is set to be inclined with respect to the outer surface of the inner lens 3 in the line light emission area 9. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the light tends to converge on the outer surface of the line light emission area 9 into a linear range that is narrower than the area into which it is incident. Therefore, a clear line emission can be easily formed, and the visibility of the line light emission section 12 can be further improved.

(6) In the above vehicle lamp 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 13 is formed in a V-shaped recess on the inner surface of the inner lens 3. This structure makes it easy to form the three types of surface portions 14 to 16, and allows light to be focused in a line on the outer surface of the line light emission area portion 9. Therefore, a clear line emission can be easily formed, and the visibility of the line light emission portion 12 can be further improved.

(7) As shown in FIG. 3, in the above-mentioned vehicle lamp 1, the protrusion 13 has a surface facing the light guide rod 4 (first surface 14, second surface 15) and a surface not facing the light guide rod 4 (third surface 16). This can improve the convergence of light on the outer surface of the line light emission area 9, and can improve the visibility of the line light emission area 9.

3. Modifications
The above embodiment is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude the application of various modifications and techniques not specified in the embodiment. Each configuration of the embodiment can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the embodiment. In addition, they can be selected or appropriately combined as necessary. For example, in the above embodiment, a structure in which a protrusion 13 having a trapezoidal cross section is formed in the line light emission region 9 is exemplified, but a triangular protrusion 17 may be formed as shown in FIG. 5(A). Alternatively, a groove 18 may be formed instead of the protrusion 13 as shown in FIG. 5(B). By forming irregularities that converge light linearly at least on the inner surface of the inner lens 3, the same action and effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

1 Vehicle lamp 2 Outer lens 3 Inner lens (lens)
4. Light guide rod (light source)
Reference Signs List 5 Reflector 6 Housing 7 Textured surface 8 Surface light emitting area 9 Line light emitting area 10 Vehicle 11 Surface light emitting area 12 Line light emitting area 13, 17 Protrusion 14 First surface 15 Second surface 16 Third surface 18 Groove

Claims (6)

a surface light emitting region having a textured surface that diffuses light from the light source in a partial region of an inner surface of a lens surrounding the light source;
a linear light emitting region having grooves or protrusions in an area of the inner surface of the lens that does not have the textured surface, the linear light emitting region having grooves or protrusions that converge the light from the light source so that the light appears linear on the outer surface of the lens ;
Equipped with
The light source is a single axial light guide rod disposed closer to the line light emission area than to the surface light emission area.
A vehicle lamp comprising: 2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the groove or the protrusion is provided to extend along an extending direction of the light guide rod. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein both the surface light emitting region and the line light emitting region have textured surfaces on the outer surfaces of the lenses for diffusing the light of the light source. 4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein a direction of irradiation of light from the light source is set to be inclined with respect to an outer surface of the lens in the line light emission region. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the groove or the protrusion is formed in a shape such that the inner surface of the lens is concave or convex in a V-shape in a cross section perpendicular to the inner surface of the lens. 6. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the groove or the protrusion has a surface facing the light source and a surface not facing the light source.

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