WO2024203320A1 - Vehicle headlight - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle headlight (10) comprises: an optical unit (14) that extends in the horizontal direction and the longitudinal direction; a low light source (11); an additional light source (13) that causes light to enter the optical unit (14); and a projection lens (15). The optical unit (14) has: a light guide part (145) for guiding the light from the additional light source (13); and a low light shielding part (141) for shielding the light emitted from the low light source (11) from entering the light guide part (145). A shade part (143) for shielding a part of light emitted from the low light source (11) and made incident on the projection lens (15) and forming a cutoff line (CL) in a light distribution pattern is provided at the end part of the low light shielding part (141) on the projection lens (15) side in the vicinity of the focus of the projection lens (15). The emission surface (146) of the light guide part (145) is provided near the shade part (143) so as to face the projection lens (15). At least a part of the light emitted from the additional light source (13) is output so as to overlap the cutoff line (CL).

Description

Vehicle headlights

This disclosure relates to vehicle headlights.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle lamp that switches between a low beam light distribution pattern and a high beam light distribution pattern with a single lamp. This vehicle lamp includes a projection lens, multiple light sources that emit light to the projection lens, and a shade that blocks a portion of the light emitted from each of the multiple light sources to form a cutoff line.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-149158

In terms of not dazzling oncoming vehicles, it is preferable for the cutoff line of a low-beam light distribution pattern to have a clear contrast between light and dark. On the other hand, if the driver wants to see dark areas in the distance, a cutoff line with a gradual gradient between light and dark is preferable, since if the contrast ratio between light and dark is too large, it will be difficult to see the dark areas.

The present disclosure therefore aims to provide a vehicle headlamp that can switch between a clear cutoff line and a blurred cutoff line while minimizing the increase in the number of parts.

A vehicle headlamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes:
an optical member extending in a horizontal direction and a front-rear direction;
The first light source,
A second light source that causes light to be incident on the optical member;
a projection lens;
The optical member is
A light guide portion that guides light from the second light source;
a first light-shielding portion that blocks the light emitted from the first light source from entering the light-guiding portion,
a shade portion is provided at an end portion of the first light blocking portion on the projection lens side and in the vicinity of a focal point of the projection lens, the shade portion blocking a part of the light emitted from the first light source and entering the projection lens to form a cutoff line in a light distribution pattern,
An exit surface of the light guide is provided near the shade portion so as to face the projection lens, and at least a portion of the light emitted from the second light source is irradiated so as to overlap with the cutoff line.

In the above configuration, the light guide section that guides the light from the second light source is configured integrally with the shade section, which prevents an increase in the number of parts. In addition, since the light guide section has an exit surface located near the shade section, it is easy to irradiate the light from the second light source so that it overlaps with the cutoff line.

A vehicle headlamp according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes:
A vehicle headlamp capable of emitting a light distribution pattern having a cutoff line,
The first light source,
A second light source;
a partition unit separating the first light source and the second light source;
a projection lens;
The partition unit includes:
A third light source;
a light guiding section that guides the light of the third light source to the projection lens;
a first light-shielding portion provided on the first light source side of the light guiding portion and configured to block light from the first light source to the light guiding portion;
a second light-shielding portion provided on the second light source side of the light guiding portion and configured to block light from being incident from the second light source to the light guiding portion,
At the end of the partition unit on the projection lens side, the exit surface of the light-guiding section, which has a shape corresponding to the cutoff line, is exposed between the first shading section and the second shading section, and light emitted from the third light source is irradiated to a position that overlaps at least the cutoff line.

According to the above configuration, a light guide section that guides the light of the third light source is disposed inside the partition unit that blocks the light from the first light source and the second light source, preventing the vehicle headlamp from becoming too large.

In addition, since the exit surface of the light guide is located near the focal point of the projection lens, the shape of the exit surface directly becomes the shape of the light distribution pattern formed by the light emitted from the third light source. Therefore, by making the exit surface of the light guide have a shape corresponding to the cutoff line, it is easy to form a light distribution pattern that overlaps with the cutoff line by the light emitted from the third light source.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle headlamp that can switch between a clear cutoff line and a blurred cutoff line while suppressing an increase in the number of parts.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a vehicle headlamp according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the optical unit as seen from the arrow II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first illumination area that is formed when a low light source of a vehicle headlamp is turned on. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third illumination region that is formed when the additional light source of the vehicle headlamp is turned on. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an illuminated area formed when the low light source and the additional light source of a vehicle headlamp are turned on. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second illumination area that is formed when the high light source of the vehicle headlamp is turned on. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an illumination area formed when the low light source and the high light source of a vehicle headlamp are turned on. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a vehicle headlamp according to a modified example. FIG. 9 is a front view of the projection lens of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a low beam light distribution pattern emitted by a vehicle headlamp according to a modified example.

Below, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of convenience, explanations of components having the same reference numbers as components already explained in the explanation of the embodiments will be omitted. In addition, for the sake of convenience, the dimensions of each component shown in the drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of each component.

In addition, in the description of this embodiment, for convenience of description, the "left-right direction," "up-down direction," and "front-rear direction" may be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the vehicle headlamp 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. Here, the "left-right direction" includes the "left direction" and the "right direction," and is also the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1 on which the vehicle headlamp 10 is mounted. The "up-down direction" includes the "upward direction" and the "downward direction." The "front-rear direction" includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction." The front-rear direction is a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction and the up-down direction. Note that in each figure, the symbol U shown in the figure indicates the upward direction. The symbol D indicates the downward direction. The symbol F indicates the forward direction. The symbol B indicates the rearward direction. The symbol L indicates the leftward direction. The symbol R indicates the rightward direction. The left-right direction is an example of the horizontal direction.

First Embodiment
A vehicle headlamp 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a vehicle headlamp 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle headlamp 10 includes a low light source 11, an additional light source 13, an optical unit 14, a projection lens 15, a first reflector 17, and a base 19. Each component will be described below.

The low light source 11 emits a low beam light distribution pattern LP (see FIG. 3) having a cutoff line CL extending in the left-right direction. The low light source 11 is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) element or an LD (Laser Diode) element. The low light source 11 is an example of a first light source.

The additional light source 13 causes light to enter the optical unit 14 and irradiates the light at a position overlapping the cutoff line CL. The additional light source 13 is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) element or an LD (Laser Diode) element.

The low light source 11 and the additional light source 13 are mounted on a common base 19.

Projection lens 15 refracts light emitted from each light source so that the light is irradiated onto the desired area. Projection lens 15 has a front surface 15F and a back surface 15B located opposite front surface 15F. Front surface 15F is composed of a spherical surface with a single curvature. Back surface 15B is composed of a flat surface.

The first reflector 17 is configured to reflect the light of the low light source 11 towards the projection lens 15. The first reflector 17 has an ellipsoidal first reflecting surface 171. The low light source 11 is provided at a first focal position of the ellipsoidal first reflecting surface 171. The second focal position of the first reflecting surface 171 and the focal position of the lens surface of the surface 15F of the projection lens 15 (the position of the focal point FP of the surface 15F of the projection lens 15) approximately coincide with each other. In addition, a shade portion 143, which will be described later, is located near the second focal position of the first reflecting surface 171.

The first reflector 17 is attached to a base 19 on which the low light source 11 and the additional light source 13 are mounted. In this embodiment, the first reflector 17, the low light source 11, and the additional light source 13 are arranged on the base 19 in this order in the vertical direction (from top to bottom).

Next, the optical unit 14 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the optical unit 14 as seen from the arrow II in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the optical unit 14 extends in the horizontal direction and in the front-rear direction. The optical unit 14 is an example of an optical member.

The optical unit 14 has a light guide section 145 and a low light shielding section 141. The light guide section 145 is configured to guide the light of the additional light source 13. The low light shielding section 141 is configured to block the light emitted from the low light source 11 from entering the light guide section 145. The low light shielding section 141 is, for example, a vapor deposition film formed on the surface of the optical unit 14. The low light shielding section 141 is an example of a first light shielding section.

A shade section 143 is provided at the end of the low light blocking section 141 on the projection lens 15 side, near the focal point FP of the projection lens 15. This shade section 143 is configured to block a portion of the light emitted from the low light source 11 and entering the projection lens 15, and form a cutoff line CL in the light distribution pattern.

The exit surface 146 of the light guide section 145 is provided near the shade section 143 so as to face the projection lens 15. In other words, the exit surface 146 is also provided at the end of the optical unit 14 on the projection lens 15 side.

At least a portion of the light emitted from the additional light source 13 passes through the light guide section 145 and is emitted from the exit surface 146 so as to overlap with the cutoff line CL. Furthermore, the exit surface 146 has a shape corresponding to the cutoff line CL (Figure 2). In this embodiment, the exit surface 146 has a first plane 147, a second plane 148, and a third plane 149.

The first plane 147 extends in the horizontal direction and is located to the right of the exit surface 146. The third plane 149 extends in the horizontal direction and is located to the left of the exit surface 146. In the vertical direction, the first plane 147 and the third plane 149 are located at the same position.

The second plane 148 extends horizontally and is located between the first plane 147 and the third plane 149. The planar portion 148M of the second plane 148 is located higher than the first plane 147 and the third plane 149. The second plane 148 has a right inclined portion 148R at its right end and a left inclined portion 148L on its left side. The right inclined portion 148R is connected to the first plane 147. The connection between the first plane 147 and the right inclined portion 148R corresponds to the V-V line in the center of the illumination range of the vehicle headlamp 10, which will be described later. The left inclined portion 148L is connected to the third plane 149.

Next, the light distribution pattern emitted by the vehicle headlamp 10 will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5. Figures 3 to 5 are diagrams illustrating light distribution patterns that can be formed when each light source is turned on. These light distribution patterns can be formed on a virtual screen in front of the vehicle 1 (for example, 25 m ahead). Figures 3 to 5 show a V-V line indicating the vertical direction (the up-down direction on the virtual screen in each figure) of the center of the illumination range of the vehicle headlamp 10, and a H-H line that is perpendicular to the V-V line and extends in the horizontal direction (the left-right direction on the virtual screen in each figure).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first irradiation area R1 formed when the low light source 11 of the vehicle headlamp 10 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 3, when the low light source 11 is turned on, a part of the light emitted from the low light source 11 is blocked by the shade portion 143. Therefore, a cutoff line CL1 that extends in the left-right direction and has a relatively large contrast ratio between light and dark is formed. On the other hand, another part of the light emitted from the low light source 11 is irradiated through the projection lens 15 to an area including the area below the cutoff line CL1. In this way, when the low light source 11 is turned on, light is irradiated to the first irradiation area R1 having a relatively clear and sharp cutoff line CL1. In the following description, this first irradiation area R1 may be referred to as a first low beam light distribution pattern LP1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third illumination region R3 that is formed when the additional light source 13 of the vehicle headlamp 10 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 4, when the additional light source 13 is turned on, the light emitted from the additional light source 13 passes through the light guiding section 145 of the optical unit 14 and is guided to the projection lens 15. The light that has passed through the projection lens 15 is irradiated to a position that overlaps with the cutoff line CL. Note that since the light guiding section 145 extends in the left-right direction, the light emitted from the additional light source 13 is diffused in the left-right direction by passing through the light guiding section 145. The third illumination region R3 is longer in the left-right direction than in the up-down direction.

However, unlike the light emitted from the low light source 11, the light emitted from the additional light source 13 does not pass through the first reflector 17 having the first ellipsoidal reflecting surface 171, but directly enters the light guide section 145 of the optical unit 14. For this reason, the degree of concentration of the light emitted from the additional light source 13 is low. Therefore, compared to the cutoff line CL1 of the first irradiation region R1 formed by the light emitted from the low light source 11, the outline of the third irradiation region R3 formed by the light emitted from the additional light source 13 is blurred.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the illumination area formed when the low light source 11 and additional light source 13 of the vehicle headlamp 10 are turned on. As shown in FIG. 5, when the low light source 11 and additional light source 13 are turned on, the first illumination area R1 and the third illumination area R3 are illuminated. In this way, the vehicle headlamp 10 of this embodiment is capable of emitting the second low beam light distribution pattern LP2 shown in FIG. 5. In other words, when emitting the second low beam light distribution pattern LP2, the low light source 11 and the additional light source 13 are turned on.

In this second low beam distribution pattern LP2, a third illumination region R3 with a blurred outline is illuminated at a position overlapping the cutoff line CL. Therefore, compared to the first low beam distribution pattern LP1 when only the low light source 11 is lit, the cutoff line CL is blurred. In this way, the vehicle headlamp 10 of this embodiment can form the second low beam distribution pattern LP2 with a blurred cutoff line CL2.

As described above, the vehicle headlamp 10 of this embodiment includes an optical unit 14 (optical member) extending in the horizontal direction and the front-rear direction, a low light source 11 (first light source), an additional light source 13 (second light source) that inputs light to the optical unit 14, and a projection lens 15. The optical unit 14 has a light guide section 145 that guides the light of the additional light source 13, and a low light blocking section 141 that blocks the light emitted from the low light source 11 from entering the light guide section 145. A shade section 143 is provided at the end of the low light blocking section 141 on the projection lens 15 side near the focal point of the projection lens 15, blocking a portion of the light emitted from the low light source 11 and entering the projection lens 15, and forming a cutoff line CL in the light distribution pattern. An exit surface 146 of the light guide section 145 is provided near the shade section 143 so as to face the projection lens 15. At least a portion of the light emitted from the additional light source 13 is irradiated so as to overlap with the cutoff line CL.

With this configuration, the optical unit 14 has a light guide section 145 that guides the light from the additional light source 13, and a shade section 143 that forms a cutoff line CL in the light distribution pattern. Because the light guide section 145 is configured integrally with the shade section 143, an increase in the number of parts is suppressed. In addition, the exit surface 146 of the light guide section 145 is provided near the shade section 143. This makes it easy to irradiate the light from the additional light source 13 so that it overlaps with the cutoff line CL.

When both the low light source 11 and the additional light source 13 are turned on, a second low beam distribution pattern LP2 having a blurred cutoff line CL2 can be emitted, and when only the low light source 11 is turned on, a first low beam distribution pattern LP1 having a clear cutoff line CL1 is emitted. In this way, the vehicle headlamp 10 of this embodiment can easily switch between the first low beam distribution pattern LP1 and the second low beam distribution pattern LP2.

The exit surface 146 of the light guide 145 has a shape that corresponds to the cutoff line CL. This makes it easier to irradiate the light emitted from the additional light source 13 so that it overlaps with the cutoff line CL.

In this embodiment, the exit surface 146 has a first plane 147, a second plane 148, and a third plane 149, and the connection between the first plane 147 and the left inclined portion 148L of the second plane corresponds to the V-V line in the center of the illumination range of the vehicle headlamp 10. This makes it possible to reduce glare for traffic participants to the right front of the vehicle 1.

Because the surface of the optical unit 14 functions as the low light shielding portion 141 and the shade portion 143, it is preferable to position the exit surface 146 of the light guide portion 145 as close as possible to the shade portion 143. If the low light shielding portion 141 were made of a thick material such as sheet metal, the exit surface 146 would be separated from the shade portion 143. However, in this embodiment, the low light shielding portion 141 is a vapor deposition film formed on the surface of the optical unit 14. Because the low light shielding portion 141 is made of a vapor deposition film, the exit surface 146 can be positioned close to the shade portion 143.

The vehicle headlamp 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a third light source (high light source 12) on the opposite side of the optical member to the first light source, and light emitted from the third light source is irradiated above the cutoff line by a projection lens. More specifically, the high light source 12 is attached to a base 19 on which the low light source 11 and the additional light source 13 are mounted. In the vertical direction (from top to bottom), the low light source 11, the additional light source 13, and the high light source 12 are arranged on the base 19 in this order.

The high light source 12 irradiates light to an area above the cutoff line CL. The high light source 12 is, for example, a plurality of micro LED light-emitting elements. The lighting state of these multiple micro LED light-emitting elements can be changed independently of each other. In other words, the vehicle headlamp 10 can perform ON/OFF control and brightness adjustment for each of the micro LED light-emitting elements included in the high light source 12.

Next, the light distribution pattern emitted by the high light source 12 of the vehicle headlamp 10 will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. In the configuration shown in Figures 6 and 7, the same components as those shown in Figure 3 are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the second illumination region R2 that is formed when the high light source 12 of the vehicle headlamp 10 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 6, when the high light source 12 is turned on, the light emitted from the high light source 12 is irradiated by the projection lens 15 onto an area that includes the area above the cutoff line CL. In this way, when the high light source 12 is turned on, light is irradiated onto an area that includes the area above the cutoff line CL.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the illumination area formed when the low light source 11 and high light source 12 of the vehicle headlamp 10 are turned on. As shown in FIG. 7, when the low light source 11 and high light source 12 are turned on, the illumination area shown in FIG. 3 and the illumination area shown in FIG. 6 are combined. In this way, a high beam light distribution pattern HP is formed that has an area that includes an area below the cutoff line CL and an area that includes an area above the cutoff line CL.

As described above, the vehicle headlamp 10 further includes the high light source 12, which is provided on the opposite side of the optical unit 14 from the low light source 11. Light emitted from the high light source 12 is irradiated above the cutoff line CL by the projection lens 15. When both the low light source 11 and the high light source 12 are turned on, the high beam light distribution pattern HP is irradiated. In this way, the vehicle headlamp 10 can irradiate not only the low beam light distribution pattern LP, but also the high beam light distribution pattern HP.

In addition to the low light shielding portion 141 (first light shielding portion) and the light guiding portion 145, the optical unit 14 has a high light shielding portion 142 (third light shielding portion) that blocks the light emitted from the high light source 12 from entering the light guiding portion 145. The high light shielding portion 142 is, for example, a vapor deposition film formed on the surface of the optical unit 14. The light guiding portion 145 is located between the low light shielding portion 141 and the high light shielding portion 142, and the exit surface 146 of the light guiding portion 145 is exposed from between the low light shielding portion 141 and the high light shielding portion 142. In this way, the light guiding portion 145 that guides the light of the additional light source 13 and its exit surface 146 are arranged between the two light shielding portions (low light shielding portion 141 and high light shielding portion 142) that block the light from the low light source 11 and the high light source 12, respectively, so that the size of the vehicle headlamp 10 is suppressed.

The above-described vehicle headlamp 10 can also be expressed as follows.
The vehicle headlamp 10 is capable of emitting a light distribution pattern having a cutoff line CL. The vehicle headlamp 10 includes a low light source 11 (first light source), a high light source 12 (second light source), an optical unit 14 (partition unit) that separates the low light source 11 and the high light source 12, and a projection lens 15. The optical unit 14 has an additional light source 13 (third light source), a light guiding section 145 that guides light from the additional light source 13 to the projection lens 15, a low light shielding section 141 (first light shielding section) that is provided on the low light source 11 side of the light guiding section 145 (the upper surface of the optical unit 14 in FIG. 2) and blocks light from entering the light guiding section 145 from the low light source 11, and a high light shielding section 142 (second light shielding section) that is provided on the high light source 12 side of the light guiding section 145 (the lower surface of the optical unit 14 in FIG. 2) and blocks light from entering the light guiding section 145 from the high light source 12. At the end of the optical unit 14 on the projection lens 15 side, an exit surface 146 of the light guiding section 145 having a shape corresponding to the cutoff line CL is exposed between the low light shielding section 141 and the high light shielding section 142, and light emitted from the additional light source 13 is irradiated to a position that overlaps at least the cutoff line CL.

With this configuration, the light guide 145 that guides the light of the additional light source 13 is disposed in the optical unit 14 that blocks the light emitted from each of the low light source 11 and the high light source 12. This prevents the vehicle headlamp 10 from becoming too large. Furthermore, since the exit surface 146 of the light guide 145 is provided near the focal point FP of the projection lens 15, the shape of the exit surface 146 can directly become the shape of the light distribution pattern formed by the light emitted from the additional light source 13. For this reason, by making the exit surface 146 of the light guide 145 have a shape that corresponds to the cutoff line CL, it is easy to form a light distribution pattern that overlaps the cutoff line CL by the light emitted from the additional light source 13.

A shade section 143 is provided at the end of the low light shielding section 141 on the projection lens 15 side, near the focal point FP of the projection lens 15, to block a portion of the light emitted from the low light source 11 and entering the projection lens 15. This allows a cutoff line CL to be formed in the light distribution pattern.

The exit surface 146 of the light guide section 145 is provided near the shade section 143 so as to face the projection lens 15. This makes it easy to irradiate the light from the additional light source 13 so that it overlaps with the cutoff line CL.

The low light source 11, additional light source 13, and high light source 12 are mounted on a common base 19. Since multiple light sources are unitized by the base 19, assembly is easy.

The vehicle headlamp 10 has a second reflector 18 in addition to a first reflector 17. The first reflector 17, which reflects the light emitted from the low light source 11 toward the projection lens 15, and the second reflector 18, which reflects the light emitted from the high light source 12 toward the projection lens 15, are fixed to a common base 19.

The second reflector 18 has a second reflecting surface 181 that is an ellipsoid. The high light source 12 is provided at the first focal position of the second reflecting surface 181. The second focal position of the second reflecting surface 181 does not coincide with the focal position of the lens surface of the surface 15F of the projection lens 15.

The second reflector 18 is also attached to the base 19. In this embodiment, the first reflector 17, low light source 11, additional light source 13, high light source 12, and second reflector 18 are arranged on the base 19 in this order in the vertical direction (from top to bottom). The two reflectors are unitized by the base 19 together with the multiple light sources, making assembly easier.

The vehicle headlamp 10 of this embodiment can emit an ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) light distribution pattern. The ADB light distribution pattern is a light distribution pattern that does not emit light to areas of the high beam light distribution pattern HP where objects such as a vehicle ahead or an oncoming vehicle exist, and changes the non-illuminated area depending on the presence or absence and position of the object. The vehicle headlamp 10 can dim any area above the cutoff line CL by controlling the ON/OFF and adjusting the brightness of each of the micro LED light emitting elements that make up the high light source 12, and can emit an ADB light distribution pattern. In this specification, "dimming" includes at least one of blocking at least a part of the light emitted from the high light source 12 and weakening the intensity of the light emitted from the high light source 12.

The above describes an embodiment of the present disclosure, but it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of this embodiment. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment are possible within the scope of the disclosure described in the claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure should be determined based on the scope of the disclosure described in the claims and its equivalents.

In the above-described embodiment, the projection lens 15 may have a plurality of portions for guiding the light emitted from each light source. The projection lens 15 may have a first portion 151, a second portion 152, and a third portion 153 (FIG. 1). The first portion 151 is configured to guide the light emitted from the low light source 11 below the cutoff line CL. The second portion 152 is configured to guide the light emitted from the high light source 12 above the cutoff line CL. The third portion 153 is configured to guide the light emitted from the additional light source 13 to a position overlapping the cutoff line CL. Each of the first portion 151, the second portion 152, and the third portion 153 is formed as an uneven shape provided on one surface of the projection lens 15. They may be formed as uneven shapes provided on one surface of the projection lens 15. For example, the first portion 151, the second portion 152, and the third portion 153 may be configured as a textured portion provided on the front surface 15F or the back surface 15B of the projection lens 15. The textured portion can be composed of minute irregularities provided on the front surface 15F or rear surface 15B of the projection lens 15.

Furthermore, such textured portion (uneven shape) may be formed asymmetrically in the horizontal direction. For example, the degree of diffusion may be different between the right and left portions of the surface 15F of the projection lens 15. If the textured portion is configured to guide the light that passes through it onto the cutoff line CL, a low beam light distribution pattern LP can be formed in which the degree of blurring differs between the areas to the right and left of point O of the cutoff line CL, as shown in FIG. 5.

(Modification)
A vehicle headlamp 10A according to a modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the vehicle headlamp 10A according to the modified example. In the configuration shown in Fig. 8, the same components as those shown in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle headlamp 10A of this modified example differs from the vehicle headlamp 10 of the embodiment described above in that it does not have an additional light source 13, a light guide section 145, or an exit surface 146.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the projection lens 15A. As shown in FIG. 9, a first texture portion T1 and a second texture portion T2 are provided on the surface of the projection lens 15A. Each texture portion is composed of minute irregularities provided on the surface 15F of the projection lens 15A. Each texture portion refracts light passing through it in a desired direction.

The first texture portion T1 is provided in the upper left region of the surface 15F (upper right region from the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle 1) when viewed from the front of the projection lens 15A. The first texture portion T1 is provided to the left of the center line of the left-right direction of the projection lens 15A. The second texture portion T2 is provided in the upper right region of the surface 15F (upper left region from the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle 1) when viewed from the front of the projection lens 15A. The second texture portion T2 is provided to the right of the center line of the left-right direction of the projection lens 15A.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third low beam light distribution pattern LP3 emitted by a vehicle headlamp 10A of this modified example. The vehicle headlamp 10A of this modified example will be described as a vehicle headlamp mounted on a vehicle 1 that travels in an area where the right lane is the driving lane.

In this example, in the upper part of the third low beam distribution pattern LP3 including the cutoff line CL, a first region RA to the left of the V-V line is illuminated by light that has passed through the first texture portion T1. Also, in the upper part of the third low beam distribution pattern LP3 including the cutoff line CL, a second region RB to the right of the V-V line is illuminated by light that has passed through the second texture portion T2.

The first texture portion T1 and the second texture portion T2 are configured so that light passing through the second texture portion T2 is more diffuse than light passing through the first texture portion T1. For example, the degree of diffusion of light passing through the texture can be adjusted by varying the size and density of the unevenness. As a result, as shown in Figure 10, a third low beam light distribution pattern LP3 can be formed having a cutoff line CL3 with different degrees of blurring to the right and left of point O.

In the vehicle headlamp 10A of this modified example, a first texture portion T1 and a second texture portion T2 with different degrees of diffusion are provided in the left-right direction on at least one of the front surface 15F or the back surface 15B of the projection lens 15A. With such a simple configuration, a third low-beam light distribution pattern LP3 can be formed having a cutoff line CL3 with different degrees of blurring to the right and left of point O. In addition, in this case, there is no need to mount an additional light source 13 as in the above-mentioned embodiment.

This application claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2023-053554, filed on March 29, 2023, and incorporates by reference all of the contents of said Japanese application.

Claims (13)

an optical member extending in a horizontal direction and a front-rear direction;
The first light source,
A second light source that causes light to be incident on the optical member;
a projection lens;
The optical member is
A light guide portion that guides light from the second light source;
a first light-shielding portion that blocks the light emitted from the first light source from entering the light-guiding portion,
a shade portion is provided at an end portion of the first light blocking portion on the projection lens side and in the vicinity of a focal point of the projection lens, the shade portion blocking a part of the light emitted from the first light source and entering the projection lens to form a cutoff line in a light distribution pattern,
A vehicle headlamp, wherein an exit surface of the light guiding portion is provided near the shade portion so as to face the projection lens, and at least a portion of the light emitted from the second light source is irradiated so as to overlap with the cutoff line. a third light source is provided on the opposite side of the optical member from the first light source;
The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1 , wherein the light emitted from the third light source is irradiated above the cut-off line by the projection lens. The optical member is
a third light-shielding portion that blocks light emitted from the third light source from entering the light-guiding portion,
The vehicle headlamp according to claim 2 , wherein the light exit surface of the light guide portion is exposed between the first light blocking portion and the third light blocking portion. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the exit surface of the light guide has a shape corresponding to the cutoff line. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the first light-shielding portion is a vapor deposition film formed on the surface of the optical member. A vehicle headlamp capable of emitting a light distribution pattern having a cutoff line,
The first light source,
A second light source;
a partition unit separating the first light source and the second light source;
a projection lens;
The partition unit includes:
A third light source;
a light guiding section that guides the light of the third light source to the projection lens;
a first light-shielding portion provided on the first light source side of the light guiding portion and configured to block light from the first light source to the light guiding portion;
a second light-shielding portion provided on the second light source side of the light guiding portion and configured to block light from being incident from the second light source to the light guiding portion,
A vehicle headlamp, wherein an exit surface of the light-guiding section having a shape corresponding to the cutoff line at an end portion of the partition unit on the projection lens side is exposed between the first shading section and the second shading section, and light emitted from the third light source is irradiated to a position that overlaps at least the cutoff line. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 6, wherein a shade portion is provided at the end of the first light blocking portion on the projection lens side near the focal point of the projection lens, blocking a portion of the light emitted from the first light source and entering the projection lens to form the cutoff line in the light distribution pattern. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 7, wherein the exit surface of the light guide is provided near the shade portion so as to face the projection lens. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 6, wherein the first light source, the second light source, and the third light source are mounted on a common base. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 9, wherein a first reflector that reflects the light emitted from the first light source toward the projection lens and a second reflector that reflects the light emitted from the second light source toward the projection lens are fixed to the common base. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 6, wherein the first light-shielding portion is a vapor-deposited film formed on the surface of the partition unit. The projection lens is
A first portion that guides light emitted from the first light source below the cutoff line;
A second portion that guides the light emitted from the second light source above the cutoff line;
A third portion that guides the light emitted from the third light source to a position overlapping the cutoff line,
The vehicle headlamp according to claim 6 , wherein each of the first portion, the second portion, and the third portion is formed as an uneven shape provided on one surface of the projection lens. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 12, wherein the uneven shape is formed asymmetrically in the horizontal direction.

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