JP7584251B2 - Automatic driving signal light - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an autonomous driving indicator light that emits light to inform the surrounding area that a vehicle is autonomously driving.

In recent years, there has been progress in the development of autonomous vehicles that can drive autonomously.

In such autonomous vehicles, it is preferable to install autonomous driving marker lights that emit light to inform those around that the vehicle is autonomous, in order to ensure safety while the vehicle is traveling.

Patent Document 1 describes an automatic driving marker lamp that emits light in this way, which is equipped with a light source and a lens arranged in front of the lamp.

International Publication No. 2020/080133

By adopting autonomous driving marker lights as described in the above-mentioned "Patent Document 1," it is possible to increase safety when a vehicle is traveling autonomously.

However, in order to further improve safety when a vehicle is traveling autonomously, it is desirable to ensure that the lamp visibility angle (i.e., the maximum inclination angle from the front of the lamp at which the autonomous driving signal light can be visually confirmed to be on) is as large as possible, thereby improving the notification function to those in the surrounding area.

To achieve this, it is desirable for the automatic driving signal light to be configured to efficiently illuminate a wide area.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide an autonomous driving marker light that can improve the notification function to the surroundings in an autonomous driving marker light that emits light to notify the surroundings that the vehicle is autonomously driving.

The present invention is an automatic driving marker lamp that is configured with a light source and a lens arranged in front of the lamp, and is designed to achieve the above-mentioned objective by improving the configuration of the lens.

That is, the automatic driving marker lamp according to the present invention is as follows:
An automatic driving marker light that emits light to inform the surroundings that a vehicle is automatically driving,
The lamp includes a light source and a lens disposed on a front side of the light source,
An incident surface for receiving the light emitted from the light source and a pair of first reflecting surfaces for totally reflecting a part of the light incident from the incident surface toward the front of the lamp are formed on a rear surface of the lens,
A first exit surface is formed on the front surface of the lens, which emits the incident light from the incident surface toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of second exit surfaces are formed on both the left and right sides of the first exit surface, which emit the reflected light from the pair of first reflecting surfaces toward the front of the lamp,
At least one of the pair of second exit surfaces has an outer region in the left-right direction that is configured as a side exit region that outputs reflected light from at least one of the pair of first reflecting surfaces laterally,
The first exit surface has a configuration in which a plurality of lens elements extending in a vertical direction are arranged in a vertical stripe pattern,
the plurality of lens elements are formed such that a lens element positioned more outward in the left-right direction has a larger lateral emission angle from a front direction of the lamp when emitting light from the light source that is incident on the entrance surface,
the side emission region includes a second reflecting surface that totally reflects the reflected light from the at least one first reflecting surface laterally, and a third emission surface that emits the reflected light from the second reflecting surface, and the second reflecting surface and the third emission surface are formed to extend in a vertical direction;
The lens has an outer shape of a horizontally elongated rectangle when viewed from the front of the lamp, and each of the first exit surface and the pair of second exit surfaces has a linear vertical cross-sectional shape.

The above-mentioned "light source" is not particularly limited in type or color, so long as it is suitable for notifying the surroundings that the vehicle is in autonomous driving.

The above "side" can refer to the inside or outside of the lens in the left-right direction.

The above phrase "emit light to the side" means that the light is emitted in a direction inclined at 45 degrees or more to the left or right from the front of the lamp.

The "side emission area" is not particularly limited in its specific configuration, so long as it has a configuration that allows the reflected light from the first reflecting surface to be emitted to the side.

The automatic driving marker lamp according to the present invention is configured with a light source and a lens arranged in front of the lamp. The rear surface of the lens is formed with an entrance surface through which light emitted from the light source is incident, and a pair of first reflecting surfaces on both the left and right sides of the entrance surface that totally reflect a portion of the light incident from the entrance surface toward the front of the lamp. The front surface of the lens is formed with a first exit surface that emits the light incident from the entrance surface toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of second exit surfaces on both the left and right sides of the entrance surface that emit the reflected light from the pair of first reflecting surfaces toward the front of the lamp. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of use of the light emitted from the light source and irradiate light forward of the lamp.

In addition, at least one of the pair of second exit surfaces has an area located on the outside in the left-right direction, which is configured as a lateral exit area that outputs reflected light from at least one of the pair of first reflecting surfaces toward the side, so that light can be irradiated over a wide range.

In this case, the side emission area is set as an area located on the outside in the left-right direction of at least one of the second emission surfaces, so that side illumination can be performed while ensuring smooth light illumination from other areas on the first emission surface and the second emission surface. This allows light to be illuminated efficiently over a wide area, thereby improving the function of informing the surroundings.

In this way, the present invention can improve the notification function of autonomous driving marker lights that emit light to notify those around that a vehicle is autonomously driving.

In the above configuration, if the side emission area further includes a second reflecting surface that totally reflects the reflected light from at least one of the first reflecting surfaces laterally, and a third emission surface that emits the reflected light from this second reflecting surface, and if the second reflecting surface and the third emission surface are formed to extend in the vertical direction, it becomes possible to efficiently illuminate an area within a required angle range in the horizontal direction from the front direction of the lamp, and also over a required angle range in the vertical direction. This makes it possible to improve the notification function to the surroundings within the limited range of the light source luminous flux.

In this case, the second reflecting surface may be configured with a plurality of reflecting elements that diffusely reflect the light reflected from the first reflecting surface in the vertical direction, and the third exit surface may be configured with a plurality of lens elements that diffusely emit the light reflected from the second reflecting surface in the vertical direction, thereby enabling the light to be irradiated over a wider range in the vertical direction.

In the above configuration, if the side emission area is further configured to have multiple areas arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and the side emission angles of the emitted light from each of these multiple areas are set to different values, it becomes easy to illuminate the light irradiation range from the automatic driving marker light with approximately uniform brightness.

In this case, if the side emission area is configured so that reflected light from at least one of the first reflecting surfaces is emitted inward in the left-right direction, and the multiple areas that make up this area are formed so that the side emission angle of light from the area that is located more outward in the left-right direction is larger, the light irradiation range from the automatic driving marker light can be illuminated with even more uniform brightness.

In the above configuration, if a side emission area is provided on each of the pair of second emission surfaces at positions offset from each other in the front-to-rear direction of the lamp, and the side emission area located on the front side of the lamp is configured to emit reflected light from the first reflecting surface in an inward direction in the left-to-right direction, and the side emission area located on the rear side of the lamp is configured to emit reflected light from the first reflecting surface in an outward direction in the left-to-right direction, it becomes possible to easily increase the brightness of the side illumination light.

In particular, when automated driving marker lights are placed on both the left and right sides of the front or rear end of the vehicle, a translucent cover is placed on the front side of the lens of the lamp, and this translucent cover is often formed so that it extends at an angle toward the rear of the lamp and outward in the vehicle width direction, so adopting such a configuration is particularly effective.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an automatic driving marker lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Cross-sectional view of line II-II in FIG. Cross-sectional view of line III-III in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern formed by light emitted from the automatic driving marker lamp. FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a vehicle equipped with the automatic driving marker lamp; FIG. 1B is a view similar to FIG. 1A showing a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1A is a front view showing a main part of a first modified example of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a front view showing a main part of a second modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, illustrating the operation of the first and second modified examples. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing an automatic driving marker lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, illustrating the operation of the second embodiment.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a front view showing an automatic driving marker lamp 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 1.

In Figures 1 to 3, the direction indicated by X is "forward of the lamp" (also "forward" of the vehicle), the direction indicated by Y is "to the left" ("to the right" when viewed from the front of the lamp), and the direction indicated by Z is "upward." This is the same for the other figures.

Figure 5(a) is a plan view showing a vehicle 2 equipped with an autonomous driving marker light 10 according to this embodiment, with the autonomous driving marker light 10 turned on.

The vehicle 2 shown in FIG. 5(a) is an autonomous vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and the autonomous driving marker light 10 is configured to emit light to inform surrounding pedestrians and drivers of other traveling vehicles that the vehicle 2 is autonomous. The autonomous driving marker light 10 is configured to be used while attached to the center of the front end of the vehicle 2 in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the automatic driving marker lamp 10 is configured with a lamp unit 20 built into a lamp chamber formed by a lamp body 12 and a transparent cover 14 attached to the front end opening of the lamp body 12.

The lighting unit 20 is configured with a light source 30 and a lens 40 arranged on the front side of the light source 30.

The light source 30 is composed of a light-emitting diode that emits turquoise light (i.e., blue-green), and is mounted on the substrate 32 with its light-emitting surface facing toward the front of the lamp.

The substrate 32 is supported by a metal heat sink 34 arranged so as to extend like a plate along a vertical plane perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction of the lamp. The heat sink 34 is formed so that both left and right side portions extend like a plate toward the front of the lamp, and its front end portion is formed as a pair of left and right flange portions 34a extending outward along a vertical plane perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction of the lamp. The heat sink 34 is supported by the lamp body 12 at the pair of left and right flange portions 34a.

The lens 40 is made of a colorless and transparent resin material (e.g., an acrylic resin material) and has a horizontally elongated rectangular shape when viewed from the front of the lamp. A pair of left and right flanges 40c are formed on both the left and right sides of the lens 40, extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction of the lamp. The lens 40 is supported by the lamp body 12 at the pair of left and right flanges 40c via the pair of left and right flanges 34a of the heat sink 34.

An extension panel 16 is provided within the lamp chamber, extending along the translucent cover 14. The extension panel 16 has an opening 16a that surrounds the lamp unit 20 near its front end.

The lamp unit 20 has an optical axis Ax that extends in the front-to-rear direction of the lamp and passes through the light-emitting center of the light source 30.

Lens 40 has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane that includes the optical axis Ax.

The rear surface 40b of the lens 40 is formed with an entrance surface 42A through which the light emitted from the light source 30 is incident, a pair of first reflecting surfaces 42B on both the left and right sides of the entrance surface 42A that totally reflect a portion of the light incident from the entrance surface 42A toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of additional reflecting surfaces 42C on both the top and bottom sides of the first exit surface 44A that totally reflect a portion of the light incident from the entrance surface 42A toward the front of the lamp.

On the other hand, the front surface 40a of the lens 40 is formed with a first exit surface 44A that emits the incident light from the entrance surface 42A directly toward the front of the lamp, a pair of second exit surfaces 44B on both the left and right sides of the first exit surface 44A that emit reflected light from a pair of first reflecting surfaces 42B toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of upper and lower additional exit surfaces 44C on both the top and bottom sides of the first exit surface 44A that emit reflected light from a pair of upper and lower additional reflecting surfaces 42C toward the front of the lamp.

Next, the specific configuration of lens 40 will be described.

First, we will explain the configuration of the rear surface 40b of the lens 40.

The incident surface 42A is composed of a basic incident surface 42A1 and a pair of additional incident surfaces 42A2 located on both the top and bottom sides of the basic incident surface 42A1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the basic incidence surface 42A1 has a horizontal cross-sectional shape that is a concave arc centered on the light emission center of the light source 30. This allows the basic incidence surface 42A1 to allow the light emitted from the light emission center of the light source 30 to enter the lens 40 as is without refracting it in the horizontal plane.

As shown in Fig. 3, the basic incidence surface 42A1 has a vertical cross-sectional shape that is substantially convex and arc-shaped. This allows the basic incidence surface 42A1 to refract light from the light-emitting center of the light source 30 in a vertical plane in a direction closer to the optical axis Ax (specifically, in a direction that spreads slightly upward and downward from a direction parallel to the optical axis Ax).

On the other hand, the pair of upper and lower additional incident surfaces 42A2 are formed in a conical shape close to a horizontal plane on both the upper and lower sides of the basic incident surface 42A1. As a result, the pair of upper and lower additional incident surfaces 42A2 allow the light from the light source 30 to be incident in a manner that refracts the light in a direction away from the optical axis Ax on both the upper and lower sides.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of left and right first reflecting surfaces 42B have a parabolic horizontal cross-sectional shape with the light emission center of the light source 30 as a focus. As a result, the pair of left and right first reflecting surfaces 42B totally reflect a portion of the light from the light source 30 that is incident on the basic incident surface 42A1 toward the front of the lamp as light parallel to the optical axis Ax.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of upper and lower additional reflective surfaces 42C have a parabolic vertical cross-sectional shape with a focus at a point located near the light emission center of the light source 30. As a result, the pair of upper and lower additional reflective surfaces 42C totally reflect the light from the light source 30 that is incident on the pair of upper and lower additional incident surfaces 42A2 in a vertical plane toward the front of the lamp as light approximately parallel to the optical axis Ax.

Next, the configuration of the front surface 40a of the lens 40 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first light exit surface 44A is configured with multiple lens elements 44As extending in the vertical direction and arranged in vertical stripes.

The lens elements 44As are formed so that the lateral emission angle from the front direction of the lamp becomes larger when light from the light source 30 incident on the basic incident surface 42A1 is emitted from the lens elements 44As located farther to the left and right from the optical axis Ax. As a result, the first emission surface 44A as a whole emits the incident light from the basic incident surface 42A1 toward the front of the lamp as light that is diffused to the left and right with the front direction of the lamp as the center.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light from the light source 30 that enters through the basic entrance surface 42A1 is incident as light that spreads slightly in the vertical direction, so the light that exits from the first exit surface 44A also spreads slightly in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, each of the pair of left and right second emission surfaces 44B consists of a basic emission area 44B1 and a lateral emission area 44B2 located outside the basic emission area 44B1 in the left-right direction (i.e., on the side farther from the optical axis Ax).

The basic emission area 44B1 is configured with two lens elements 44B1s arranged in a vertical stripe pattern. Each lens element 44B1s is configured with a convex cylindrical curved surface extending in the vertical direction, and emits reflected light from the first reflecting surface 42B toward the front of the lamp as light that is diffused to both the left and right sides with the front direction of the lamp as the center. At this time, the two lens elements 44B1s are arranged in such a way that the lens element 44B1s located on the outer side is displaced toward the front of the lamp compared to the lens element 44B1s located on the inner side in the left-right direction.

The lateral emission region 44B2 is located in front of the lamp from the basic emission region 44B1 and is composed of two regions 44B2A, 44B2B that extend in the vertical direction and are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. In this case, the outer region 44B2B is arranged in a state where it is displaced further forward than the inner region 44B2A.

Each region 44B2A, 44B2B is composed of a second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1 that totally reflects the light reflected from the first reflecting surface 42B to the side, and a third exit surface 44B2A2, 44B2B2 that emits the light reflected from the second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1.

The second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1 of each region 44B2A, 44B2B is configured as a convex cylindrical curved surface extending in the vertical direction with a large outward inclination in the left-right direction. On the other hand, the third emission surface 44B2A2, 44B2B2 of each region 44B2A, 44B2B is configured as a plane that is slightly inclined outward toward the front of the lamp with respect to a vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax.

In this case, the second reflecting surface 44B2B1 of the outer region 44B2B is set to a smaller outward inclination angle than the second reflecting surface 44B2A1 of the inner region 44B2A. As a result, the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from the side emission region 44B2 is set to be larger for the light emitted from region 44B2B than for the light emitted from region 44B2A. Specifically, the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from region 44B2A is set to a value of approximately 40 to 60° relative to the front direction of the lamp, and the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from region 44B2B is set to a value of approximately 50 to 70° relative to the front direction of the lamp.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the pair of upper and lower additional emission surfaces 44C are formed to extend in the left-right direction on both the upper and lower sides of the first emission surface 44A.

In this case, the pair of upper and lower additional emission surfaces 44C are formed in the same position in the front-to-rear direction of the lamp as the two lens elements 44B1s that make up the basic emission area 44B1 in the pair of left and right second emission surfaces 44B. Each additional emission surface 44C is formed of a convex cylindrical curved surface extending in the horizontal direction, and is designed to emit reflected light from the additional reflective surface 42C toward the front of the lamp as light that is diffused to both the top and bottom with the front direction of the lamp as the center.

Figure 4 shows the light distribution pattern P1 formed by the light emitted from the automatic driving marker lamp 10.

In FIG. 4, the horizontally long rectangular area Z indicated by the two-dot chain line is an area where it is desirable to emit light to notify the surroundings that the vehicle 2 is in autonomous driving. Specifically, this horizontally long rectangular area Z is set, for example, within a range of 60° on both the left and right sides of a V-V line that passes vertically through H-V, which is the vanishing point in front of the lamp, and within a range of 30° on both the top and bottom sides of an H-H line that passes horizontally through H-V.

Light distribution pattern P1 is a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern centered on H-V and is formed to a size that covers the horizontally elongated rectangular area Z.

The light distribution pattern P1 is formed by light emitted from the first exit surface 44A constituting the front surface 40a of the lens 40, the pair of left and right second exit surfaces 44B, and the pair of upper and lower additional exit surfaces 44C, and both left and right ends P1a are formed by light emitted from the lateral exit regions 44B2 of the pair of left and right second exit surfaces 44B.

In this case, the light distribution pattern P1 is slightly narrower in the vertical width at both ends compared to the center in the horizontal direction, but is formed with an overall outline shape that is roughly horizontally elongated. This is because each of the pair of left and right side emission areas 44B2 is composed of two areas 44B2A, 44B2B that extend in the vertical direction, and as a result, a certain degree of vertically diffused light is emitted even at both left and right ends P1a.

The light distribution pattern P1 is formed with a substantially uniform brightness not only in the center in the left-right direction but also at both left and right ends P1a. This is because the lateral emission angles of the light emitted from the two regions 44B2A, 44B2B that make up each lateral emission region 44B2 are set to different values.

Next, we will explain the effects of this embodiment.

The automatic driving marker lamp 10 according to this embodiment is configured to include a light source 30 and a lens 40 arranged in front of the light source. The rear surface 40b of the lens 40 is formed with an entrance surface 42A through which the light emitted from the light source 30 is incident, and a pair of first reflecting surfaces 42B on both the left and right sides of the entrance surface 42A that totally reflect a portion of the light incident from the entrance surface 42A toward the front of the lamp. The front surface 40a of the lens 40 is formed with a first exit surface 44A that emits the light incident from the entrance surface 42A toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of second exit surfaces 44B on both the left and right sides that emit the reflected light from the pair of first reflecting surfaces 42B toward the front of the lamp. This allows the light emitted from the light source 30 to be irradiated toward the front of the lamp with improved efficiency.

In addition, each second emission surface 44B has an outer region in the left-right direction that is configured as a lateral emission region 44B2 that emits reflected light from each first reflection surface 42B to the side, allowing light to be emitted over a wide range. In other words, a light distribution pattern P1 can be formed that covers a horizontally elongated rectangular region Z where light should be emitted to notify the surrounding area that the vehicle 2 is in autonomous driving.

In this case, each side emission area 44B2 is set as an area located on the outside in the left-right direction of each second emission surface 44B, so that side illumination can be performed while ensuring smooth light illumination from other areas on the first emission surface 44A and the second emission surface 44B. Therefore, light can be efficiently illuminated over a wide area, thereby improving the function of informing the surroundings.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the automatic driving marker light 10, which emits light to notify the surroundings that the vehicle 2 is in automatic driving, can improve the notification function to the surroundings.

The automatic driving marker light 10 according to this embodiment is configured to be used while being attached to the center of the vehicle width at the front end of the vehicle 2, but since the automatic driving marker light 10 emits side illumination in both the left and right directions, it can adequately enhance the notification function to the surroundings.

In addition, in this embodiment, each of the pair of left and right side emission areas 44B2 has two areas 44B2A, 44B2B arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and the two areas 44B2A, 44B2B have side emission angles of the emitted light set to different values, so that it is easy to illuminate the light irradiation range from the automatic driving marker light 2 with approximately uniform brightness.

In this case, each region 44B2A, 44B2B has a second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1 that totally reflects the reflected light from the first reflecting surface 42B toward the side, and a third exit surface 44B2A2, 44B2B2 that emits the reflected light from the second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1. Furthermore, since the second reflecting surface 44B2A1, 44B2B1 and the third exit surface 44B2A2, 44B2B2 are formed to extend in the vertical direction, it is possible to efficiently illuminate an area including the horizontally elongated rectangular area Z as the light irradiation range from the automatic driving marker light 10. This makes it possible to improve the notification function to the surroundings within the limited range of the light source luminous flux.

Furthermore, the two regions 44B2A, 44B2B constituting each side emission region 44B2 are configured to emit the reflected light from each first reflecting surface 42B inward in the left-right direction, and are formed so that the light emitted from the region 44B2B located on the outside has a larger lateral emission angle than the region 44B2A located on the inside in the left-right direction. This allows the light irradiation range from the automatic driving marker light 10 to be illuminated with even more uniform brightness.

In the above embodiment, each side emission region 44B2 is described as having two regions 44B2A and 44B2B, but it is also possible to configure it with a single region or three or more regions.

In the above embodiment, a side emission area 44B2 is formed on each of the pair of left and right second emission surfaces 44B, but it is also possible to configure the side emission area 44B2 to be formed on only one of them.

In the above embodiment, the automatic driving marker lamp 10 is described as being mounted on the front end of the vehicle 2, but it is also possible to configure it to be used in a state where it is mounted in another location (for example, the rear end of the vehicle 2).

Next, we will explain a variation of the above embodiment.

First, we will explain the first variation of the above embodiment.

Figure 6(a) is a front view showing the main parts of the lighting unit 120 of the automatic driving marker lamp according to this modified example.

In this modified example, the basic configuration of the lamp unit 120 is the same as that of the lamp unit 20 in the first embodiment, but the configuration of the side emission area 144B2 in the lens 140 is partially different from that in the first embodiment.

That is, the side emission region 144B2 of this modified example also has two regions 144B2A, 144B2B, and each region 144B2A, 144B2B is composed of a second reflecting surface 144B2A1, 144B2B1 and a third emission surface 144B2A2, 144B2B2. However, in this modified example, the second reflecting surfaces 144B2A1, 144B2B1 are formed with a plurality of reflecting elements 144B2A1s, 144B2B1s that diffusely reflect the reflected light from the first reflecting surface 42B (see FIG. 2) in the vertical direction, which is different from the first embodiment. The configuration of the third emission surfaces 144B2A2, 144B2B2 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Figure 7 shows the light distribution pattern P2 formed by the light emitted from the lighting unit 120 of the autonomous driving marker lamp according to this modified example.

As shown in FIG. 7, the light distribution pattern P2 is formed as a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern large enough to cover the horizontally elongated rectangular area Z, similar to the light distribution pattern P1 shown in FIG. 4, but is formed with a vertical width slightly larger than that of the light distribution pattern P1, and is formed with an outer shape closer to a horizontal rectangle than the light distribution pattern P1.

This is because the light emitted from the third emission surfaces 144B2A2, 144B2B2 is diffused in the vertical direction by the multiple reflective elements 144B2A1s, 144B2B1s formed on the second reflective surfaces 144B2A1, 144B2B1 of the two regions 144B2A, 144B2B that make up the side emission region 144B2, thereby expanding the vertical width of both the left and right ends P2a of the light distribution pattern P2.

By adopting the configuration of this modified example, the light distribution pattern P2 can be formed as a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern large enough to reliably and efficiently cover the horizontally elongated rectangular area Z, thereby further enhancing the function of informing the surrounding area.

Next, we will explain the second variation of the above embodiment.

Figure 6(b) is a front view showing the main parts of the lighting unit 220 of the automated driving marker lamp according to this modified example.

In this modified example, the basic configuration of the lamp unit 220 is the same as that of the lamp unit 20 in the first embodiment, but the configuration of the side emission area 244B2 in the lens 240 is partially different from that in the first embodiment.

That is, the side emission region 244B2 of this modified example also has two regions 244B2A, 244B2B, and each region 244B2A, 244B2B is composed of a second reflecting surface 244B2A1, 244B2B1 and a third emission surface 244B2A2, 244B2B2. However, in this modified example, the third emission surface 244B2A2, 244B2B2 is formed with a plurality of lens elements 244B2A2s, 244B2B2s that diffuse and emit the reflected light from the second reflecting surface 244B2A1, 244B2B1 in the vertical direction, which is different from the first embodiment. The configuration of the second reflecting surfaces 244B2A1, 244B2B1 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In this modified example, the multiple lens elements 244B2A2s, 244B2B2s formed on the third emission surfaces 244B2A2, 244B2B2 of the two regions 244B2A, 244B2B that constitute the side emission region 244B2 increase the vertical irradiation width of the emitted light from the side emission region 244B2, so that a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern of a size that reliably and efficiently covers the horizontally elongated rectangular region Z can be formed, similar to the light distribution pattern P2 shown in FIG. 7, and this further enhances the function of informing the surroundings.

Next, we will explain the second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5(b) is a diagram similar to Figure 5(a) showing a vehicle 502 equipped with two autonomous driving marker lights 510L, 510R according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), the two automatic driving marker lights 510L and 510R are configured to be used while being mounted on both the left and right sides of the front end of the vehicle 502.

The two automatic driving marker lights 510L, 510R have a symmetrical configuration. Therefore, the following describes the configuration of the automatic driving marker light 510L located on the left side.

Figure 8 is a diagram similar to Figure 2, showing the automatic driving marker light 510L.

As shown in FIG. 8, the automatic driving marker lamp 510L is configured such that three lamp units 520 are installed side by side in the vehicle width direction within a lamp chamber formed by a lamp body 512 and a transparent cover 514 attached to the front end opening of the lamp body 512.

The translucent cover 514 is formed so that it extends at an angle from the inside of the vehicle width direction to the outside of the vehicle width direction toward the rear of the lamp, and therefore the three lamp units 520 are positioned in such a way that the more outwardly they are positioned in the vehicle width direction, the more displaced they are toward the rear of the lamp.

Each lighting unit 520 includes a light source 530 and a lens 540 arranged on the front side of the light source 530, and the light source 530 is mounted on a substrate 532.

Each lighting unit 520 has the same configuration, and its basic configuration is the same as that of the lighting unit 20 of the first embodiment described above, but the configuration of the lens 540 is partially different from that of the first embodiment described above.

The lenses 540 of the three lamp units 520 are integrally formed as a single light-transmitting member 550. The light-transmitting member 550 is formed with connecting walls 550a, 550b that connect adjacent lenses 540, and a pair of left and right flanges 550c are formed on both ends of the light-transmitting member 550, extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the lamp.

The substrates 532 of the three lamp units 520 are supported by a common heat sink 534. The heat sink 534 supports the light-transmitting member 550 from the rear side of the lamp while abutting against each of the connecting walls 550a, 550b and the pair of left and right flanges 550c of the light-transmitting member 550. The light-transmitting member 550 is supported by the lamp body 512 via the heat sink 534 at the pair of left and right flanges 550c.

In the automatic driving marker lamp 510L according to this embodiment, an extension panel 516 is provided in the lamp chamber so as to extend along the translucent cover 514. The extension panel 516 has an opening 516a that surrounds the three lamp units 520 near their front ends.

Next, the specific configuration of the lens 540 of each lighting unit 520 will be described.

Lens 540 has a configuration substantially similar to lens 40 in the first embodiment described above, but the configuration of its front surface 540a is partially different from that in the first embodiment described above.

That is, the front surface 540a of the lens 540 is formed with a first exit surface 544A that emits the incident light from the entrance surface 542A directly toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of second exit surfaces 544B on both the left and right sides of the first exit surface 544A that emit reflected light from the pair of first reflecting surfaces 542B toward the front of the lamp. Also, each of the pair of second exit surfaces 544B is composed of a basic exit region 544B1 and a lateral exit region 544B2, but the configuration of the lateral exit region 544B2 is partially different from that of the first embodiment.

Specifically, the pair of left and right side emission areas 544B2 are formed outside the pair of left and right basic emission areas 544B1 in the left-right direction (i.e., on the side farther from the optical axis Ax), as in the first embodiment described above, but the side emission area 544B2 located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction is displaced toward the rear of the lamp relative to the side emission area 544B2 located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction.

The side emission area 544B2, located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction, has a configuration substantially similar to the side emission area 44B2 of the first embodiment described above.

That is, the lateral emission region 544B2 is composed of two regions 544B2A, 544B2B that are arranged side by side in the left-right direction and extend in the up-down direction, with the region 544B2B located on the outside being located closer to the front of the lamp than the region 544B2A located on the inside with respect to the optical axis Ax.

Each region 544B2A, 544B2B is composed of a second reflecting surface 544B2A1, 544B2B1 that totally reflects the light reflected from the first reflecting surface 542B to the side, and a third exit surface 544B2A2, 544B2B2 that emits the light reflected from the second reflecting surface 544B2A1, 544B2B1.

The second reflecting surface 544B2A1, 544B2B1 of each region 544B2A, 544B2B is configured as a convex cylindrical curved surface extending in the vertical direction with a large outward inclination in the left-right direction. On the other hand, the third emission surface 544B2A2, 544B2B2 of each region 544B2A, 544B2B is configured as a plane that is slightly inclined outward toward the front of the lamp with respect to a vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax.

In this case, the second reflecting surface 544B2B1 of region 544B2B is set to have a smaller outward inclination angle than the second reflecting surface 544B2A1 of region 544B2A. As a result, the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from the side emission region 544B2 is set to be larger for the light emitted from region 544B2B than for the light emitted from region 544B2A. Specifically, the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from region 544B2A is set to a value of approximately 50 to 70° relative to the front direction of the lamp, and the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from region 544B2B is set to a value of approximately 60 to 80° relative to the front direction of the lamp.

On the other hand, the side emission area 544B2 located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction has a shape that is a translation of the side emission area 544B2 located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction.

As a result, in this embodiment, the pair of left and right side emission areas 544B2 are configured to emit reflected light from the first reflecting surface 42B outward in the vehicle width direction.

Figure 9 (c) is a diagram showing the light distribution pattern P3 formed by the light emitted from the lighting units 120 of the pair of left and right autonomous driving marker lights 510L and 510R according to this embodiment.

The light distribution pattern P3 shown in FIG. 9(c) is formed as a light distribution pattern in which a pair of left and right light distribution patterns P3L and P3R partially overlap.

As shown in FIG. 9(a), the light distribution pattern P3L formed by the light emitted from the automatic driving marker lamp 510L located on the left side is formed as a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern that is more diffused to the left than to the right with respect to the V-V line, and its left end P3La is formed by the light emitted from the pair of left and right lateral emission areas 544B2.

As shown in FIG. 9(b), the light distribution pattern P3R formed by the light emitted from the automatic driving marker lamp 510R located on the right side has a shape symmetrical to the light distribution pattern P3L with respect to the V-V line.

As shown in FIG. 9(c), the light distribution pattern P3 is formed such that a pair of left and right light distribution patterns P3L and P3R overlap in areas other than the left end P3La of the light distribution pattern P3L and the right end P3Ra of the light distribution pattern P3R.

In this case, the lateral emission angle to the left from the automatic driving marker light 510L and the lateral emission angle to the right from the automatic driving marker light 510R are set to values larger than those in the first embodiment described above, so that the light distribution pattern P3 is formed as a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern large enough to cover the horizontally elongated rectangular area Z with a margin, and is formed as a sufficiently bright light distribution pattern.

Next, we will explain the effects of this embodiment.

In the automatic driving marker lamp 510L according to this embodiment, the lens 540 of each lamp unit 520 has a side emission area 544B2 located on the inside in the vehicle width direction and in front of the lamp, which emits reflected light from the first reflecting surface 542B inward in the left-right direction, and a side emission area 544B2 located on the outside in the vehicle width direction and to the rear of the lamp, which emits reflected light from the first reflecting surface 542B inward in the left-right direction, so that the following effects can be obtained.

In other words, the reflected light from the first reflecting surface 42B can be efficiently emitted outward in the vehicle width direction in the pair of left and right side emission regions 544B2, thereby increasing the brightness of the side illumination light. Moreover, since the automatic driving marker lamp 510L according to this embodiment is equipped with three lamp units 520, the brightness of the side illumination light can be further increased.

Furthermore, in the autonomous driving marker lamp 510L according to this embodiment, the translucent cover 514 is formed so as to extend at an angle toward the rear of the lamp toward the outside in the vehicle width direction, so that the lateral emission angle of the light emitted from the pair of left and right lateral emission areas 544B2 in the lens 540 of each lamp unit 520 can be made sufficiently large.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the automatic driving marker light 510L and the automatic driving marker light 510R, which has a symmetrical configuration, are arranged on both the left and right sides of the front end of the vehicle, thereby further improving the notification function to the surroundings.

Note that the numerical values shown as the specifications in the above embodiments and their modified examples are merely examples, and it goes without saying that these may be set to different values as appropriate.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments and their modified examples, and various other modified configurations can be adopted.

2 Vehicle 10 Automatic driving marker lamp 12 Lamp body 14 Light-transmitting cover 16 Extension panel 16a Opening 20, 120, 220 Lamp unit 30 Light source 32 Substrate 34 Heat sink 34a Flange portion 40, 140, 240 Lens 40a Front surface 40b Rear surface 40c Flange portion 42A Incident surface 42A1 Basic incident surface 42A2 Additional incident surface 42B First reflecting surface 42C Additional reflecting surface 44A First exit surface 44As Lens element 44B Second exit surface 44B1 Basic exit area 44B1s Lens element 44B2, 144B2, 244B2 Side exit area 44B2A, 44B2B, 144B2A, 144B2B, 244B2A, 244B2B Area 44B2A1, 44B2B1, 144B2A1, 144B2B1, 244B2A1, 244B2B1 Second reflection surface 44B2A2, 44B2B2, 144B2A2, 144B2B2, 244B2A2, 244B2B2 Third exit surface 44C Additional exit surface 144B2A1s, 144B2B1s Reflection element 244B2A2s, 244B2B2s Lens element 502 Vehicle 510L, 510R Automatic driving sign lamp 512 Lamp body 514 Translucent cover 516 Extension panel 516a Opening 520 Lamp unit 530 Light source 532 Substrate 534 Heat sink 540 Lens 550 Light-transmitting member 550a, 550b Connecting wall portion 550c Flange portion 540a Front surface 542A Incident surface 542B First reflecting surface 544A First exit surface 544B Second exit surface 544B1 Basic exit area 544B2 Side exit area 544B2A, 544B2B Area 544B2A1, 544B2B1 Second reflecting surface 544B2A2, 544B2B2 Third exit surface Ax Optical axis P1, P2, P3, P3L, P3R Light distribution pattern P1a, P2a Left and right ends P3La Left end P3Ra Right end Z Horizontal rectangular area

Claims (4)

An automatic driving marker light that emits light to inform the surroundings that a vehicle is automatically driving,
The lamp includes a light source and a lens disposed on a front side of the light source,
An incident surface for receiving the light emitted from the light source and a pair of first reflecting surfaces for totally reflecting a part of the light incident from the incident surface toward the front of the lamp are formed on a rear surface of the lens,
A first exit surface is formed on the front surface of the lens, which emits the incident light from the incident surface toward the front of the lamp, and a pair of second exit surfaces are formed on both the left and right sides of the first exit surface, which emit the reflected light from the pair of first reflecting surfaces toward the front of the lamp,
At least one of the pair of second exit surfaces has an outer region in the left-right direction that is configured as a side exit region that outputs reflected light from at least one of the pair of first reflecting surfaces laterally,
The first exit surface has a configuration in which a plurality of lens elements extending in a vertical direction are arranged in a vertical stripe pattern,
the plurality of lens elements are formed such that a lens element positioned more outward in the left-right direction has a larger lateral emission angle from a front direction of the lamp when emitting light from the light source that is incident on the entrance surface,
the side emission region includes a second reflecting surface that totally reflects the reflected light from the at least one first reflecting surface laterally, and a third emission surface that emits the reflected light from the second reflecting surface, and the second reflecting surface and the third emission surface are formed to extend in a vertical direction;
The lens has a horizontally elongated rectangular outer shape when viewed from the front of the lamp, and each of the first exit surface and the pair of second exit surfaces has a linear vertical cross-sectional shape. The side emission region includes a plurality of regions arranged side by side in the left-right direction,
2. The automatic operation marker lamp according to claim 1, wherein the lateral emission angles of the emitted light from the plurality of regions are set to different values. the side emission region is configured to emit the reflected light from the at least one first reflection surface toward an inner direction in the left-right direction,
3. The automatic driving marker lamp according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of regions are formed such that the lateral emission angle of light emitted from the region located more outward in the left-right direction is larger. The side emission regions are provided at positions shifted from each other in a front-rear direction of the lamp on each of the pair of second emission surfaces,
the side emission region located on the front side of the lamp is configured to emit the reflected light from the first reflection surface toward an inner direction in the left-right direction,
The automatic driving marker lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lateral emission area located on the rear side of the lamp is configured to emit reflected light from the first reflective surface toward the outside in the left-right direction.

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