KR20210055286A - Inner lens for vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle lamp. In one embodiment, the inner lens for the vehicle lamp includes: a light source unit for irradiating light; and a light guide unit emitting light incident from the light source unit. The light guide unit includes: an incident surface on which the light is incident; an exit surface extending perpendicularly to the incident surface and emitting the incident light to the outside; and a reflective surface which is formed to face the emission surface and reflects the incident light to the emission surface. The light guide unit includes a resin matrix and light-diffusing particles dispersed in the resin matrix. The present invention provides the inner lens for the vehicle lamp having excellent flexibility and design freedom.

Description

Inner lens for vehicle lamp {INNER LENS FOR VEHICLE LAMP}

The present invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle lamp. More specifically, the present invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle lamp having an OLED-looking effect, which can implement a lighting image similar to a lamp to which an OLED light source is applied, using a resin containing an LED light source and a light diffusing agent.

Various lamps are mounted on the front and rear of the vehicle to provide vehicle safety and driving convenience. Light emission of such a vehicle lamp may be achieved by using a light diffusing material or by implementing a lighting image in the form of a surface light source using a light guide. Recently, as the design of the vehicle is emphasized, research is being conducted to realize the lighting image of the lamp in a more three-dimensional manner, and recently, research on Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) as the light source of the lamp is in progress. Has become.

The OLED light source injects electrons and holes into the light emitting layer from the electron injection electrode (cathode electrode) and the hole injection electrode (anode electrode), respectively, and when the exciton, in which the injected electrons and holes are combined, falls from an excited state to a ground state. It is a material that uses the principle of emitting light.

The OLED light source has a fast response speed and has a wide viewing angle to ensure high visibility from any direction. In addition, since the OLED light source has strong flexibility and can form various lighting images, the appearance design can be improved.

Lamps using conventional OLED light sources include a substrate that supplies current, an OLED panel layer that emits light by driving a cathode and an anode electrode using the current supplied from the substrate, and guides the light emitted from the OLED panel layer to the outside. Includes a lens. In addition, in order to emphasize the three-dimensional effect and aesthetics of the OLED lamp, a coating layer was formed on the surface of the lens. For example, in order to express a metallic texture, a coating layer having a metallic texture was formed on the surface of the lens using a method such as vapor deposition, and the metallic texture effect was expressed when not lit in addition to the image realization when lighting.

When manufacturing a lamp using an OLED light source, a part to be lit is divided into cells, and therefore, when the vehicle lamp is lit or not lit, the lit image appears only according to the shape of the cell, so there is a problem that the lit image is limited. In addition, OLED is more than 1000 times higher in price than ordinary LEDs, so it is difficult to commercialize through mass production, and there is a problem of low reliability because it is sensitive to external conditions such as oxygen, temperature and moisture. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to apply it as a light source of a vehicle lamp at the present time as sufficient light quantity cannot be secured.

Background technology related to the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2013-0118160 (published on October 29, 2013, title of the invention: serration light guide plate for a liquid crystal display and a backlight unit using the same).

One object of the present invention is to provide an inner lens for a vehicle lamp having excellent flexibility and design freedom.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inner lens for a vehicle lamp having excellent light uniformity during lighting and excellent durability and reliability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inner lens for a vehicle lamp excellent in productivity and economy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp including the inner lens for the vehicle lamp.

One aspect of the present invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle lamp. In one embodiment, the inner lens for a vehicle lamp includes a light source unit for irradiating light; And a light guide unit that emits light incident from the light source unit, wherein the light guide unit is formed extending perpendicularly to an incident surface to which the light is incident, and perpendicular to the incident surface, and emits the incident light to the outside. And a reflective surface formed to face the exit surface and the exit surface to reflect the incident light to the exit surface, and the light guide unit includes a resin matrix and light diffusion particles dispersed in the resin matrix. .

In one embodiment, the resin matrix may include a polyalkyl (meth) acrylate resin.

In one embodiment, the size of the light diffusion particles may be 10㎛ ~ 5mm.

In one embodiment, the light diffusion particles are styrene resin, silicone resin, silica, glassbead, aluminum oxide (Al ₂ 0 ₃ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), barium sulfate (BaSO ₄ ), calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ), magnesium carbonate (MgCO ₃ ), aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH) ₃ ), barium carbonate (BaCO ₃ ), barium titanate (BaTiO ₃ ), and one or more of clay It includes, and the cross section may be circular, oval, polygonal, rhombus, or atypical.

In one embodiment, the resin matrix may have a refractive index of 1.3 to 1.8.

In one embodiment, the light guide unit may be manufactured by injection molding a resin composition including a resin matrix and light diffusion particles.

In one embodiment, a metal may be deposited on at least one of the emission surface and the reflection surface.

In one embodiment, the light source unit may include an LED light source and a substrate electrically connected to the LED light source to supply current.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a vehicle lamp including the inner lens for the vehicle lamp.

The inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention may have excellent flexibility and design freedom, excellent light uniformity when lit, excellent durability and reliability, and excellent productivity and economy.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of an inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3(a) is a photo before lighting of the embodiment, FIG. 3(b) is a photo after lighting of the example, FIG. 3(c) is a photo of bending before lighting of the example, and FIG. 3(d) is after lighting of the example It is a curved picture.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention and may vary according to the intention or custom of users or operators, so the definitions should be made based on the contents throughout the present specification describing the present invention.

In the present specification, “(meth)acrylic” may mean “acrylic” and/or “methacrylic”.

Inner lens for vehicle lamp

One aspect of the present invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle lamp. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, the inner lens 1000 for a vehicle lamp includes light sources 200 and 202 for irradiating light; And a light guide unit 100 that emits light incident from the light source units 200 and 202.

In one embodiment, the light guide unit 100 is formed extending orthogonal to the incident surface 110 and the incident surface 110 to which light is incident from the light source units 200 and 202, and emits the incident light to the outside. It is formed to face the exit surface 120 and the exit surface 120, and includes a reflective surface 130 for reflecting the incident light to the exit surface 120. Referring to FIG. 1, the light guide unit 100 includes a resin matrix 102 and light diffusion particles 104 dispersed in the resin matrix 102.

In one embodiment, the light source unit may include an LED light source and a substrate electrically connected to the LED light source to supply current. For example, the LED light source may be arranged in a flip chip method on a printed circuit board. In the above conditions, the light emission efficiency of the light source may be excellent.

In one embodiment, the light guide unit may be formed in a sheet shape. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side surface of the sheet-shaped light guide unit is an incident surface, and light source units may be formed on both side surfaces of the light guide unit. The light source unit may be disposed in contact with the incident surface of the light guide unit or may be disposed spaced apart from each other.

In one embodiment, the height of the light guide unit may be 0.5 to 50 mm. Durability and flexible characteristics may be excellent under the above conditions.

In one embodiment, the resin matrix may include a polyalkyl (meth) acrylate resin. When the above type of resin is included, flexibility and durability may be excellent. For example, it may be 3 to 10 mm.

In one embodiment, the resin matrix may have a refractive index of 1.3 to 1.8.

In one embodiment, the light diffusion particles are styrene resin, silicone resin, silica, glassbead, aluminum oxide (Al ₂ 0 ₃ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), barium sulfate (BaSO ₄ ), calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ), magnesium carbonate (MgCO ₃ ), aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH) ₃ ), barium carbonate (BaCO ₃ ), barium titanate (BaTiO ₃ ), and one or more of clay It may include. When the light diffusion particles are used, the light diffusion effect may be excellent.

In one embodiment, the size of the light diffusion particles may be 10㎛ ~ 5mm. The "size" may mean the "maximum length" of the light diffusing particle. Light diffusivity may be excellent in the above size range.

The light-diffusing particles may have a circular, elliptical, polygonal, rhombic, or irregular cross-section.

In one embodiment, the light guide unit may be formed from a resin composition including 70 to 99.9% by weight of a resin matrix and 0.1 to 30% by weight of light diffusion particles. When included in the above range, durability, flexibility, and light diffusion effects may be excellent.

In one embodiment, the resin composition may further include a pigment to implement a color in the resin matrix.

In one embodiment, a metal may be deposited on at least one of the emission surface and the reflective surface to form a deposition pattern layer. For example, a first deposition pattern layer may be formed by depositing a metal on at least a portion of the emission surface, and a second deposition pattern layer may be formed by depositing a metal on at least a portion of the reflective surface.

The metal may include at least one of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and aluminum (Al).

As described above, when a deposition pattern layer is formed on at least one of the emission surface and the reflection surface, when the inner lens is not lit, a metallic texture image is expressed, and when the inner lens is lit, a light emission image may be expressed. In the case of the inner lens of the present invention, a metallic texture image can be expressed when not lit by depositing a metal on a reflective surface like an OLED panel.

The conventional OLED panel layer could not change the lighting and non-illuminated cells determined during manufacture. On the other hand, the inner lens of the present invention can easily design an area that is light-shielded when lit by the metal deposition, or can easily control the luminance of the emission surface by combining a deposition layer formed on the emission surface and the reflection surface.

In one embodiment, the light guide unit may be manufactured by injection molding a resin composition including a resin matrix and light diffusion particles. Therefore, it is possible to easily implement a light guide unit having excellent flexibility, thereby improving productivity and economy.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a vehicle lamp including the inner lens for the vehicle lamp.

The inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention may have excellent flexibility and design freedom, excellent light uniformity when lit, excellent durability and reliability, and excellent productivity and economy.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described in more detail through preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, this has been presented as a preferred example of the present invention and cannot be construed as limiting the present invention in any sense. Contents not described herein can be sufficiently technically inferred by those skilled in this technical field, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

Example

Incident in which light is incident by injection molding a resin composition containing 95% by weight of a resin matrix (polyalkyl(meth)acrylate) and _{5% by weight of spherical light-diffusing particles (titanium oxide (TiO 2 )) having an average size of 20 μm} A light including a surface, an emission surface extending orthogonal to the incidence surface, and an emission surface that emits the incident light to the outside, and a reflective surface that is formed to face the emission surface and reflects the incident light to the emission surface. A guide unit was manufactured, and light sources were disposed on both sides, which are the incident surfaces of the light guide unit, to manufacture an inner lens as shown in FIG.

3(a) is a photo before lighting of the embodiment, FIG. 3(b) is a photo after lighting of the example, FIG. 3(c) is a photo of bending before lighting of the example, and FIG. 3(d) is after lighting of the example It is a curved picture. Referring to FIG. 3, it was found that the inner lens of the present invention has excellent flexibility and design freedom, expresses a metal texture image when not lit, and expresses a luminous image when lit, so that an OLED panel can be replaced.

Simple modifications or changes of the present invention can be easily implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art, and all such modifications or changes can be considered to be included in the scope of the present invention.

100: light guide unit 102: resin matrix
104: light diffusing particles 110: incident surface
120: exit surface 130: reflective surface
200: light source unit 1000: inner lens for vehicle lamp

Claims (9)

A light source unit that irradiates light; And a light guide unit that emits light incident from the light source unit,
The light guide unit is formed to extend orthogonal to the incident surface and the incident surface to which the light is incident, and is formed to face the exit surface and the exit surface to output the incident light to the outside, and receive the incident light. It includes a reflective surface that reflects to the exit surface,
The light guide unit is an inner lens for a vehicle lamp comprising a resin matrix and light diffusion particles dispersed in the resin matrix.
The inner lens of claim 1, wherein the resin matrix comprises a polyalkyl (meth)acrylate resin.
The inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the size of the light diffusing particles is 10 μm to 5 mm.
The method of claim 1, wherein the light diffusion particles are styrene resin, silicone resin, silica, glassbead, aluminum oxide (Al ₂ 0 ₃ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), Among barium sulfate (BaSO ₄ ), calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ), magnesium carbonate (MgCO ₃ ), aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH) ₃ ), barium carbonate (BaCO ₃ ), barium titanate (BaTiO ₃ ) and clay Contains one or more,
Inner lens for a vehicle lamp, characterized in that the cross-section is circular, oval, polygonal, rhombus or irregular shape.
The inner lens of claim 1, wherein the resin matrix has a refractive index of 1.3 to 1.8.
The inner lens of claim 1, wherein the light guide unit is manufactured by injection molding a resin composition including a resin matrix and light diffusion particles.
The inner lens of claim 1, wherein a metal is deposited on at least one of the emission surface and the reflection surface.
The inner lens of claim 1, wherein the light source unit comprises an LED light source and a substrate electrically connected to the LED light source to supply current.
A vehicle lamp comprising an inner lens for a vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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