JPH10183541A - Self light emitting device for traffic sign - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self light emitting device which efficiently improves visibililty of a display body of a traffic sign at night, is hard to be broken by contact, etc., of a vehicle, easy in maintenance, and easily fitted to an existing road-sign. SOLUTION: A device is so fitted as surrounding a display body 12 of a traffic-sign and provided with a frame body 3 whose front face is formed into a ring light emitting face 31. It is constituted of a solar cell 5, a storage battery 6 for charging the electric power generated by the solar cell 5, a light emitting diode 7 for emitting light by the electric power from the storage battery 6, a control part 8 which feeds the electric power from the storage battery 6 to the light emitting diode 7 at night and emits the light emitting diode 7, and a plurality of optical fibers 9 whose one ends are bundled, their end faces 91 are opposed to the light emitting diode 7, the other faces 92 are faced to the outside and distribtedly arranged at appropriate intervals in the light emitting face 31 of the frame body, guide the light of the light emitting diode 7, and disperse and emit it from the light emitting face 31 to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a road reflector such as a road reflector, a traffic sign, an information board, a billboard, etc., which is installed around a road, to improve the nighttime visibility of the display body of the road sign. The present invention relates to a self-luminous device for a road sign that can be improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a road sign, a road reflector called a so-called curve mirror is provided so that a place which cannot be directly seen due to reflection of a mirror body can be seen at a corner or an intersection where visibility is poor. Around the road, various traffic signs and the like for displaying road information and traffic regulations are installed, and play a role of traffic safety. In the case of such a road sign, for example, taking a road reflector as an example, the one in which the visibility at night is improved so that its presence can be recognized even in a dark place at night is conventionally a part of a frame supporting the mirror. A retroreflective sheet is adhered to the headlight, and the light of the illuminated headlight is retroreflected so that it shines brightly.Also, a frame, an electric bulb, a light-emitting diode, an electroluminescent or chemical light, etc. The self-luminous body which emits light is arranged, and the self-luminous body is made to emit light and blink so as to be conspicuous.

[0003]

However, the one to which the retroreflective sheet is adhered has a problem in the durability of the reflective sheet, and the headlight is not turned on at the time of twilight or dusk. You can't expect that effect. In addition, since the mounting position of the mirror body is above the position where the headlight irradiates, the light of the headlight is difficult to irradiate the retroreflective sheet and may not be reflected well. In some cases, it is dazzling due to high reflection and planar reflection, and the mirror body is rather difficult to see.

[0004] In the case where the self-luminous body is arranged, a large number of self-luminous bodies need to be arranged around the mirror body, so that a great deal of labor and cost are required for production, and the self-luminous body is exposed. The self-luminous body is easily damaged by contact with a vehicle and the like, and therefore has a problem in durability. Further, maintenance work such as replacement of the damaged self-luminous body has been difficult. It is also very difficult to retrofit a self-luminous body to an existing road mirror. Such a problem is present not only in road reflectors but also in road signs such as other traffic signs.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems,
The visibility of the road sign display body can be effectively improved at night, and the road sign is hardly damaged by contact with a vehicle, etc., and maintenance is easy, and it can be easily attached to an existing road sign. It is intended to provide a self-luminous device for road signs.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, the self-luminous device for a road sign according to the present invention is a self-luminous device attached to a road sign in order to enhance visibility at night. A frame made as a surface, a solar cell, a storage battery for charging the power generated by the solar cell, a light emitting diode emitting light by the power from the storage battery, and supplying power from the storage battery to the light emitting diode at night to emit light. A control unit for causing the diode to emit light, one end of which is bundled and the end face thereof is opposed to the light emitting diode, and the other end face is directed to the outside and is disposed at an appropriate interval on the light emitting surface of the frame, and is dispersed. And a plurality of optical fibers for guiding light and dispersing and emitting the light to the outside from the light emitting surface.

According to the present invention, the frame of the self-luminous device according to the present invention is mounted along the outer peripheral edge of a road sign display such as a mirror of a road reflector so as to surround the display at night, Since the emitted light of the light emitting diode is guided by the optical fiber and dispersed and emitted from the light emitting surface of the frame body,
The shape of the display body is bordered by the emitted light, so that the display body is clearly and easily understood, and the visibility is improved. Therefore, by attaching the self-luminous device according to the present invention to a road sign such as a road reflector, visibility at night can be easily improved, and retrofitting and maintenance of existing road signs are also easy.

Further, since the light is dispersed and emitted from the light emitting surface in a point-like manner by the optical fiber, glare is suppressed as compared with the conventional retroreflective sheet which reflects in the form of a plane. It is not difficult to see.

Further, the light emitting diode is not exposed on the light emitting surface, and the end surface of the flexible optical fiber which is hardly damaged on the light emitting surface is merely arranged in a distributed manner toward the outside.
The light emitting diode is hardly damaged by contact with a vehicle or the like, and therefore, maintenance work such as replacement due to damage of the light emitting diode is reduced.

[0010]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is mounted, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway sectional view.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a road sign indicating a road reflector, and a support 11 made of a metal such as iron, which stands on a road surface, and a composite of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum, acrylic resin, polycarbonate, or the like. A display body 12 such as a mirror body made of resin or the like is provided, and an eave 13 is provided above the display body 12 to avoid sunlight and rainwater.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a self-luminous device according to the present invention mounted on the road sign 1, wherein a frame 3 is disposed on the front surface.
A control box 4 is attached to the back side of the frame 3. The frame body 3 has a light emitting surface 3 having an annular front surface.
The light-emitting surface 31 is mounted along the outer peripheral edge of the display body 12 by a mounting bracket 32 or the like so as to surround the display body 12.

In the control box 4, a solar cell 5 is disposed on the upper part, and a storage battery 6 for charging the power generated by the solar cell 5 and a light emitting diode 7 for emitting light by the power from the storage battery 6 are provided inside. And day and night are determined based on the electromotive force of the solar cell 5 and the like.
A control section 8 for causing the light emitting diode 7 to emit light is housed.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a plurality of optical fibers, and one end of the optical fiber 9 is bundled into one and inserted into the control box 4;
The end face 91 faces the light emitting diode 7 so that the emitted light of the light emitting diode 7 is incident on each optical fiber 9 from the end face 91.
The other end of the optical fiber 9 is extended along the inside of the frame 3, and is dispersed and disposed at appropriate intervals on the light emitting surface 31 of the frame 3 with its end face 92 facing the outside. The light of the light emitting diode 7 incident on the optical fiber 7 as described above is guided to the optical fiber 7 and dispersed and emitted to the outside from the end face 92.

That is, in the daytime, the electromotive force of the solar cell 5 generated by the sunlight charges the storage battery 6. Then, when the electromotive force of the solar cell 5 decreases at night, the control unit 8 determines that the nighttime occurs due to the decrease in the electromotive force, supplies the power from the storage battery 6 to the light emitting diode 7, and causes the light emitting diode 7 to emit light. Next light emitting diode 7
Is incident on the optical fiber 9 from one end face 91 of the optical fiber 9 facing the light fiber, and is scattered and emitted to the outside from another end face 92 distributed on the light emitting surface 31 of the frame 3.

In this embodiment, one end of the optical fiber 9 is inserted into the control box 4 and the end face 91 thereof is directly opposed to the light emitting diode 7. However, between the light emitting diode 7 and the end face 91 of the optical fiber 9, Other light transmitting means may be interposed between the light emitting diode 7 and the end face 91 of the optical fiber 9 through the light transmitting means, and the light emitting diode 7 may be interposed through a color filter. May be changed to colored light and incident on the optical fiber 9. In this embodiment, the control box 4 is mounted on the back side of the frame 3, but may be mounted on the support 11 or the like separately from the frame 3. In addition, it is preferable that the self-luminous device according to the present invention be detachably attached to the road sign 1 because maintenance and replacement become easy.

As described above, the present embodiment has been described with respect to the case where the vehicle is mounted on the road sign 1 which is a road reflector. However, the present invention is not limited to the road reflector. Can be attached to signs.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the frame of the self-luminous device according to the present invention is mounted along the outer peripheral edge of a road sign display, such as a mirror of a road reflector, so as to surround the display. At night, the emitted light of the light emitting diode is guided by the optical fiber and dispersed and emitted from the light emitting surface of the frame body to the outside,
The shape of the display body is bordered by the emitted light, so that the display body is clearly and easily understood, and the visibility is improved. Therefore, by attaching the self-luminous device according to the present invention to a road sign such as a road reflector, visibility at night can be easily improved, and retrofitting and maintenance of existing road signs are also easy.

Further, since the light is dispersed and emitted from the light emitting surface in a point-like manner by the optical fiber, glare is suppressed as compared with the conventional retroreflective sheet which reflects in the form of a plane. It is not difficult to see.

Further, since the light emitting diode is not exposed on the light emitting surface, and the end face of the flexible optical fiber which is hard to be damaged on the light emitting surface is merely dispersed toward the outside,
The light emitting diode is hardly damaged by contact with a vehicle or the like, and therefore, maintenance work such as replacement due to damage of the light emitting diode is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment in a state where the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway sectional view of FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 Road sign 11 Prop 12 Display 2 Self-luminous device 3 Frame 31 Light emitting surface 32 Mounting bracket 4 Control box 5 Solar cell 6 Storage battery 7 Light emitting diode 8 Control section 9 Optical fiber 91 End face 92 End face

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A self-luminous device attached to a road sign to enhance visibility at night, the frame being attached to surround a display body of the road sign and having a front surface formed as an annular light-emitting surface; A solar battery, a storage battery that charges power generated by the solar battery, a light-emitting diode that emits light by power from the storage battery, and a control unit that supplies power from the storage battery to the light-emitting diode at night and causes the light-emitting diode to emit light. One end is bundled, the end face is opposed to the light emitting diode, and the other end face is directed to the outside, and is disposed at appropriate intervals on the light emitting surface of the frame, and guides the light of the light emitting diode to the outside from the light emitting surface. A self-luminous device for a road sign, comprising: a plurality of optical fibers for dispersing and emitting light. 2. The road sign is a road reflector, and the display body is a mirror attached to the road reflector.
The self-luminous device for a road sign described in the above.