JPH0815002B2 - Fog lights - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp for illumination, and more particularly to a structure of a fog lamp also called an auxiliary headlight.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7 and 8 show an example of the structure of a conventional fog lamp 90 of this kind. First, FIG. 7 shows a light bulb at the focal point of a reflecting mirror 91 formed of a paraboloid of revolution. A light source 92 such as a filament of
And a light source 92 generate parallel light rays, and a lens 9 provided on the front surface
3 mainly diffuses widely in the horizontal direction and has a light distribution characteristic of the fog lamp 90 having a wider irradiation angle than a headlamp.

Further, the fog lamp 80 shown in FIG. 8 has a light source 8 at one focus of a reflecting mirror 81 having a spheroidal surface or a compound elliptic surface.
2 is arranged and the cross-sectional shape of the light beam that converges toward the other one of the focal points is projected in the irradiation direction by the projection lens 83, and the irradiation angle in the horizontal direction obtained by the projection lens 83 alone is not sufficient. Therefore, an outer lens 84 is provided further in front of the projection lens 83, and the outer lens 84 diffuses in the horizontal direction again to obtain a light distribution characteristic.

[0004]

However, as is apparent from the above description, the conventional fog lamps 80 and 90 described above have the light distribution characteristics of a lamp designed to obtain optimum light distribution characteristics as a headlamp. Since it is just a horizontal expansion, it is difficult to set the optimal light distribution characteristics as a fog lamp for the purpose of improving the visibility on the side of the vehicle, for example, and it is possible to obtain sufficient performance as expected. There was a problem that could not be obtained, and the solution of this problem was a problem.

[0005]

As a concrete means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention comprises a light source, a reflecting mirror and a lens, and radiates light emitted from the light source by the reflecting mirror. In a fog lamp that is condensed and reflected in the direction of the lens and adjusted the light distribution characteristics by the lens, the reflecting mirror has the reflecting surface shape, and in the vertical section, one of the upper and lower halves is horizontal and the light source is It is formed by a parabola serving as a focal point, and the other one is formed by a parabola whose focal point is the light source with the axis directed downward by 1 to 2 °. It is characterized in that it is formed by a parabola, and each of both outer sides thereof is formed by an ellipse having a first focus as the light source, a second focus in the vicinity of the lens, and an inclination of 0 to 8 ° outside. Fog lights It solves the problem by providing.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is a fog lamp according to the present invention, and the fog lamp 1 is a light source 2
It is the same as that of the conventional example in that it is basically composed of the reflecting mirror 3 and the lens 4.

Here, in the present invention, the reflecting mirror 3
The light distribution characteristics optimal for the fog lamp 1 are obtained by specifying the shape of FIG.
In a vertical cross section X overlapping with the center line Z ₀ as shown in
It is divided into an upper half vertical curved surface 3A and a lower half vertical curved surface 3B in the vicinity of the intersection P of the central axis Z ₀ and the reflecting mirror 3, and one of them, for example, the upper half vertical curved surface 3A, is the central axis Z 0. It is formed as a parabola having ₀ as the axis Z ₁ and the light source 2 as the focal point.

On the other hand, in the case of this embodiment, the lower half vertical curved surface 3B is formed as a parabola having the axis Z ₂ which passes through the light source 2 and faces downward by 1 to 2 °. The reflection surface forming the lower half vertical curved surface 3B is also supposed to have the light source 2 as a focus, as in the upper half reflection surface 3A.

The above description has been made on the vertical cross section X passing through the light source 2 in both the upper half vertical curved surface 3A and the lower half vertical curved surface 3B, that is, the vertical cross section X overlapping the central axis Z _0. It is formed as a parabola whose focal point is the light source 2 in any vertical section parallel to the axis Z ₀ .

At the same time, the reflecting mirror 3 is divided into a central horizontal curved surface 3C, a left end horizontal curved surface 3D, and a right end horizontal curved surface 3E in a horizontal cross section Y overlapping the central axis Z ₀ , as shown in FIG. . The left-side horizontal curved surface 3D and the right-side horizontal curved surface 3E are referred to in the left-right direction when the fog lamp 1 is viewed from the rear, and the following description will be made in accordance with this state.

The central horizontal curved surface 3C is the central axis Z.₀ 
With a maximum width of 20 left and right around the intersection P between the
In the range of up to 30 mm, a parabola with the light source 2 as a focal point
Formed as described above, and as described above.
A parabola with the light source 2 as the focal point is also set on the vertical section X side.
Therefore, the central horizontal curved surface 3C and the upper half
The upper central reflecting surface 31 in the range where the straight curved surface 3A and the straight curved surface 3A are combined is
Axis Z as shown in FIG. ₁ (Ie center axis Z₀ ) And the rotation axis
It becomes a paraboloid of rotation, and the central horizontal curved surface 3C and the lower half
Lower central reflecting surface 3 in a range where the vertical curved surface 3B is combined with
2 is the axis Z₂ It becomes a paraboloid of revolution with the axis of rotation as.

In setting the upper central reflecting surface 31 and the lower central reflecting surface 32, each may be set as a semicircle as shown in FIG. 4, or in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. It may be set as a certain width,
This is set as an appropriate shape in accordance with the light amount of the central illuminance in the light distribution characteristic described later.

The left end horizontal curved surface 3D and the right end horizontal curved surface 3E are formed as an ellipse having the light source 2 as a first focal point and a second focal point in the vicinity of the lens 4,
At this time, the axis Z ₃ of the left end horizontal curved surface 3D is inclined outward from the central axis Z _{0 in} the range of 0 to 8 ° to be outward, and similarly the axis Z ₄ of the right end horizontal curved surface 3E is left. 0 to 8
It is tilted outward in the range of °.

Therefore, in the range where the upper half vertical curved surface 3A in the vertical cross section X and the left end horizontal curved surface 3D in the horizontal cross section Y are combined, a parabola whose axis is horizontal appears on the vertical cross section side and outside on the horizontal cross section side. The upper left end reflecting surface 33 in which the orientation ellipse appears is formed, and thereafter, the lower left end reflecting surface 34, the upper right end reflecting surface 35, and the lower right end reflecting surface 36 are similarly obtained.

At this time, as described above, when the upper central reflecting surface 31 and the lower central reflecting surface 32 do not reach the upper and lower ends of the reflecting mirror 3, the upper left end reflecting surface 33 and the upper right end reflecting surface in this portion. The surface 35 is in contact with the vertical cross section X as a boundary, and the lower left end reflective surface 34 and the lower right end reflective surface 36 are in contact with each other.
Both are in contact with each other (see FIG. 4).

Next, the operation and effect of the fog lamp 1 of the present invention having the above structure will be described. FIG. 6 shows the state of the spot projected forward from the reflecting mirror 3. First, in the spot S31 from the upper central reflecting surface 31, this upper central reflecting surface 31 makes the axis Z ₁ horizontal. Since it is a paraboloid of revolution, it is projected at a position centered on the intersection Q of the horizontal line H and the vertical line V and with a narrow radiation angle, and the axis Z ₂ is downward and the lower central reflecting surface 32 of the same configuration.
The spot S32 from is projected slightly below the spot S31.

Further, the upper left end reflecting surface 33 has an elliptical cross section in the horizontal direction and is inclined to the right,
The spot S33 from the upper left end reflecting surface 33 is diffused and projected from the left side to the right side of the vertical line V on the horizontal line H (see also FIG. 4), which is similar to the case of the lower central reflecting surface 32. The spot S34 from the lower left end reflecting surface 34 is projected below the spot S33, and the spot S35 from the upper right end reflecting surface 35 is the spot S3.
3 is projected at a position where the vertical line V is line-symmetric with respect to 3, and similarly, the spot S36 from the lower right end reflection surface 36 is projected at a position symmetrical to the spot S34.

Therefore, spot S31 and spot S3
3, Spot S35 (and Spot S32, Spot S
34 and spots S36) overlap each other in the vicinity of the intersection point Q to provide high illuminance, and the integrated shape is wide in the horizontal direction, which is extremely close to the light distribution characteristics required for the fog lamp 1. The lens 4 has a reduced burden on the generation of the light distribution characteristic, and specifically, the lens cut 4a or the like to be made may be a slight one. For example, when the lens 4 is tilted, The droop of light characteristics is eliminated.

At this time, spot S33 and spot S3
5 (and the spot S34 and the spot S36) are diffused in the horizontal direction by an ellipse, so that the illuminance is relatively uniform and a sufficient amount of light is distributed to the periphery. The light distribution characteristics suitable for the fog lamp 1 which requires the visibility are obtained.

Further, on the lamp side, since the upper and lower left end reflecting surfaces 33, 34 and the right end reflecting surfaces 35, 36 are elliptical, the reflected light when passing through the lens 4 is in a converged state (see FIG. 4). It is possible to set the area of the lens 4 smaller than the area of the reflecting mirror 3, and it is possible to secure sufficient brightness for the fog lamp 1 that does not normally have a large opening on the vehicle body surface compared to the headlamp. Become.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a reflecting mirror has a reflecting surface formed by a parabola whose vertical section has one of the upper and lower halves as a horizontal axis and the light source as a focal point. One of them is formed by a parabola whose axis is directed downward by 1 to 2 °, and in the horizontal section, a central range of 20 to 30 mm is formed by a parabola whose focal point is the light source, and both sides of the parabola outside the center are formed. The first focus is the light source, the second focus is the vicinity of the lens, and the fog lamp is composed of an ellipse that is tilted outward by 0 to 8 °. Therefore, it is possible to realize a light distribution characteristic with high illuminance to the periphery due to the ellipse. As a fog lamp that requires visibility especially in the peripheral area, it provides optimum performance and has an extremely excellent effect on performance improvement.

Further, with the above configuration, it is assumed that most of the light distribution characteristic shape, illuminance distribution, etc. are constructed by the reflected light from the reflecting mirror, the burden on the lens side is reduced, and the lens for this lens is reduced. (EN) It is possible to produce a product that can be mounted regardless of the vehicle body shape and improve versatility by making the cut shallow so as not to hang the light distribution characteristic when the lens is tilted along the vehicle body shape.

Further, with the above configuration, the reflected light from the reflecting mirror is converged when it passes through the lens, and the area of the lens is narrower than the area of the reflecting mirror. The fog lamp, which has a narrower vehicle body opening than the headlamp, can be set to a brighter illuminance, which is effective for improving practical performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a fog lamp according to the present invention.

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

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a reflecting mirror of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a reflecting mirror of another embodiment of the fog lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view similarly showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Fog lamp 2 ... Light source 3 ... Reflector 31 ... Upper center reflective surface 32 ... Lower center reflective surface 33 ... Upper left end reflective surface 34 ... Lower left end reflective surface 35 ... Upper right end reflective surface 36 ... ... Lower right end reflective surface 3A ...... Upper half vertical curved surface 3B ...... Lower half vertical curved surface 3C ...... Central horizontal curved surface 3D ...... Left end horizontal curved surface 3E ...... Right end horizontal curved surface 4 ...... Lens Z ₀ ...... Center axis Z _{1 to} Z ₄ …… Axis S 31 to S 36 …… Spot X …… Vertical cross section Y …… Horizontal cross section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source, a reflecting mirror, and a lens,
In a fog lamp in which the light emitted from the light source is condensed and reflected in the lens direction by the reflecting mirror and the light distribution characteristics are adjusted by the lens, the reflecting mirror has a reflecting surface shape of a vertical half section. One of them is formed by a parabola whose axis is horizontal and the light source is a focal point, and the other one is formed by a parabola whose focal point is the light source whose axis is oriented downward by 1 to 2 °. A range of 20 to 30 mm is formed by a parabola whose focal point is the light source, and both outer sides of the parabola are the first focal point as the light source, the second focal point is near the lens, and 0 to 8 ° outside. A fog lamp characterized by being composed of an inclined ellipse.