JPH05289623A - Lighting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate variance in light emission, to prevent glass from being broken, and to optionally set the shape of a discharging duct by cutting one continuous line which shows characters in a glass substrate, and covering both the top and reverse surfaces of the substrate with cover bodies. CONSTITUTION:The characters are cut in the substrate 1 made of glass by laser machining and mutually connected with a continuous path 7, so that the respective characters are formed of the one continuous path 2. The cover plates 3 and 4 made of glass are adhered to the top and reverse of the substrate 1, the air in the continuous path 2 is discharged, and rare gas, etc., such as neon is charged. Then, electrodes 5 connected to a high-voltage power source are arranged at the terminal parts of the continuous path 2 and then the continuous path 2 is formed into a light emission duct 6 which performs neon discharge, thereby providing surface light emission which is high in brightness and good in efficiency corresponding to the kind of the charged gas. Namely, the light emission duct 6 in an optional shape can be formed by cutting with high precision and the current density and temperature distribution become uniform; and there is not variance in brightness and the materials are prevented from being broken.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present application relates to a neon lighting type lighting device, and particularly to a bus, a truck, a passenger car, a train, etc.
It is useful for a vehicle with a tight mounting space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many luminaires are used in vehicles for displaying necessary items or for illuminating. An incandescent lamp or a fluorescent lamp is used as a light source in the conventional lighting device.

As disclosed in US Pat. No. 1,825,399, neon in which a groove formed on the surface of glass is covered with another glass plate to seal the groove, and a rare gas such as neon is sealed in the groove. Light-emitting type lighting device
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 050 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 8031/1993, a glass plate is bulged, and the bulging portion is covered with a glass plate to form a groove.

[0004]

The conventional device having an incandescent lamp or a fluorescent lamp as a light source is large in size because it requires a case for accommodating the light source and a glove for covering the light emitting surface side in addition to the large light source itself. Therefore, the mounting place is limited, and in addition, there is a problem that it is not possible to meet various demands such as multicolor of illumination light and high brightness.

On the other hand, the conventional device disclosed in the USP can solve the problems of the conventional device using an incandescent light bulb or a fluorescent lamp, however, this conventional device does not use a single glass plate. Since the groove for providing a groove (not a cutout but a groove having a bottom with a predetermined depth) is covered with glass for a cover, there are the following problems.

1. Since it is difficult to process a groove with a uniform depth and width, the current density in the discharge tube changes, the brightness varies, and the amount of heat generated during discharge becomes uneven, resulting in variations in the temperature distribution of each part. , The glass plate may crack.

2. Since the glass plate to be grooved cannot be thinned beyond a certain limit in terms of strength, the portion other than the groove tends to have an unnecessarily large thickness, and since glass for a cover is required for this, the whole weight becomes heavy.

3. In the case of grooving, there are many unnecessary parts that do not discharge, and in order to reduce this waste, the grooves must be deep grooves, resulting in an increase in the cost associated with the increase in the machining amount and an increase in the weight as described above. ..

In addition, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-60050, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3
In No. 8031, it is more difficult than USP to solve the above problems 1, 2, and 3.

[0010]

The present application has been made in order to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, in which a continuous path representing at least one character or pattern is cut out on a substrate made of a glass plate, and By covering both the front and back sides of the substrate with cover plates, the continuous path becomes a closed conduit, and at least a pair of discharge electrodes connected to a high voltage power source are provided while enclosing a rare gas such as neon in this conduit. The above-mentioned conduit is a discharge conduit.

[0011]

According to the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned structure, when the discharge conduit is energized, the conduit emits light and becomes a light source, and this light is radiated through the cover plate. In the light emission in the present application, since there is no variation in the light emission and the amount of heat generated is uniform, the glass is not damaged, and the color of the light emitted and the shape of the discharge tube line serving as the light source can be arbitrarily set.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing embodiments. In FIG. 1, 1 is a glass substrate,
Characters A, B, and C are cut out by laser processing on this substrate 1, and the characters A and C are connected by a communication path 7 so that each character A and C is a continuous path 2 of a so-called one-stroke book. Is configured as.

The continuous path 2 cut out on the substrate 1 as described above is formed by adhering the cover plates 3 and 4 made of glass on both front and back sides of the substrate 1 to form a continuous continuous path 2 in a sealed state. Air is evacuated, and a rare gas such as neon or argon is further enclosed in the continuous passage 2. In the case of argon, fluorescent paint is applied to the continuous passage 2 according to the color to be emitted, and the end of the continuous passage 2 is filled. By disposing the electrode 5 connected to the high voltage power source in a part, each of the continuous paths 2 described above is formed into an arc tube 6 for performing neon discharge, and when the electrode 5 is connected to the high voltage power source, each arc tube is formed. No. 6 performs surface emission and surface illumination with high brightness and high efficiency according to the type of the enclosed gas, and naturally the emitted colors are also different. The portion of the connecting path 7 is covered with an opaque paint or the like so that light emission is not visible.

Although not shown in the drawing, a more effective effect can be obtained by applying a reflection sheet or coating a reflection coating on a necessary portion other than the cover plate 4 and the light projecting surface on the back side. Lighting can be performed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, in contrast to the case where the pattern is displayed in FIG. 1, the arc tube 6 is meandering to increase the light emitting area in order to enhance the illumination effect. Next, the fourth
Another embodiment of the present application shown in the drawings will be described. In the other embodiment, the substrate shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
In contrast to the structure in which the entire front and back surfaces are covered with the cover plates 3 and 4, only the minimum necessary part where the continuous path 2 is cut out is covered with the cover plates 3 and 4.
Is the same as the above embodiment except that the entire weight is reduced.

As a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,
Either the front side or the back side, the entire surface is covered with a cover plate,
The opposite side may cover only the necessary portion as in FIG.

Since the present application employs the configuration described in detail above,
Since it is possible to cut out the continuous path 2 with high accuracy that shows not only letters but also figures and patterns, it is possible to perform light emission with uniform current density and temperature distribution and no variation in brightness. .. Further, when the cover plates 3 and 4 are made of glass having a higher strength than the substrate 1, not only can the overall thickness be reduced, but also the overall weight can be reduced.

Further, the practice of the present application is not limited to the above. For example, the substrate 1 and the cover plates 3 and 4 may be replaced with glass to be translucent plastic, or the cover plate 4 on the reflection side, that is, the back side may be coated with a coating agent. It is also possible to use a ceramic material with closed pores, and it is also possible to make appropriate changes within the scope of the technical idea of the present application, such as making the entire shape a curved surface instead of the flat shape as in the above embodiment. It is a thing.

[0019]

As described above in detail, in the present application, since it is possible to form the arc tube of any shape with high precision by the cutting process, the current density and the temperature distribution become uniform and the brightness varies. In addition, it has an excellent effect that the material can be prevented from being damaged, efficient surface emission and surface illumination can be performed, and that a product that is lightweight, has an elegant external appearance, and has a high interior property can be obtained at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present application with a part cut away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate, 2 continuous paths, 3, 4 cover plate, 5 electrodes, 6
Arc tube

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate (1) made of a glass plate is cut out with at least one continuous path (2) representing a letter or a pattern, and both front and back surfaces of the substrate (1) are covered with a cover plate (3) (4). By covering the continuous passage (2) with a closed pipe, and enclosing a rare gas such as neon in the pipe, and disposing at least a pair of discharge electrodes (5) connected to a high-voltage power source, A lighting device for a vehicle, wherein the conduit is a discharge conduit (6).