Lighting device

Abstract

The present invention provides a lighting device that is installed in the dashboard of a vehicle interior and used as indirect lighting, and the direction of light illumination can be freely set. A lighting device (1) is provided that is installed in the dashboard (20) of a vehicle interior and used as an indirect lighting device that emits light that reflects off the surface of the dashboard, and is provided in the space inside the dashboard (20) isolated from the gap (23) of the dashboard (20) that serves as a light outlet.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to an illumination device used in a vehicle interior. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, an illumination device (refer to Patent Document 1) that is provided to an instrument panel in a vehicle interior and used as indirect illumination is known. The illumination device described in Patent Document 1 is provided in a manner of being buried in an appearance decorative surface of the instrument panel, and light emitted from the illumination device is reflected at a step lower surface of the instrument panel.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-184668 SUMMARY

[0004] The illumination device described in Patent Document 1 is provided in a manner of being buried in an appearance decorative surface of the instrument panel as described above, and thus in order to adjust the light emission direction, only a change in the setting position along the appearance decorative surface of the instrument panel can be easily performed to this extent. In this way, the light emission direction is greatly dependent on the shape of the appearance decorative surface of the instrument panel, and thus the design of the instrument panel and the like is greatly limited.

[0005] An object of the present application is to provide an illumination device that is provided to an instrument panel in a vehicle interior and used as indirect illumination, and that can freely set a light emission direction.

[0006] One embodiment of the present application provides the following [1] and [2] in order to achieve the above object.

[0007] [1] An illumination device that is provided to an instrument panel in a vehicle interior and used as indirect illumination that emits light that reflects a surface of the instrument panel, wherein the illumination device is provided to a space on a back side of the instrument panel in isolation from a gap of the instrument panel that is a light extraction port.

[0008] [2] The illumination device described in the above [1], wherein the illumination device has a first fixing portion for fixing to a portion of the instrument panel that is more on an upper side than the gap, and a second fixing portion for fixing to a portion of the instrument panel that is more on a lower side than the gap.

[0009] EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

[0010] According to the present application, an illumination device that is provided to an instrument panel in a vehicle interior and used as indirect illumination, and that can freely set a light emission direction can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle interior around the dashboard, used to illustrate the location of the lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a vertical cross-sectional view of a dashboard equipped with the lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 4 It is a graph showing the relationship between the width W of the irradiated area in the depth direction and the brightness of interest, obtained through experiments involved in the embodiments of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] [Implementation Method]

[0016] The lighting device 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention is a lighting device installed in a dashboard inside a vehicle interior, used as an indirect lighting device that emits light that reflects off the surface of the dashboard. Hereinafter, as a typical example of an embodiment of the present invention, a method of indirect lighting by reflecting light off the lower panel, which is part of the dashboard, will be described.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle interior surrounding the dashboard 20, used to indicate the location of the lighting device 1. Figure 2 (a) and (b) are vertical cross-sectional views of the instrument panel 20 equipped with lighting device 1. Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of lighting device 1.

[0018] The instrument panel 20 is a vehicle interior component located in front of the seats 26 (driver's seat 26a, front passenger seat 26b), which houses vehicle measuring instruments, air conditioning vents, and the like. The instrument panel 20 has an upper panel 21 forming its upper part and a lower panel 22 forming its lower part. For example, the glove box 24 and the like are located on the lower panel 22 in front of the front passenger seat, and the air conditioning vents 25 and the like are located on the upper panel 21.

[0019] like Figure 2 As shown in (a) and (b), a gap 23 is provided between the upper panel 21 of the instrument panel 20 and the lower panel 22 disposed below it, serving as a light extraction outlet for extracting light emitted from the lighting device 1. That is, the upper panel 21 corresponds to the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is higher than the gap 23, and the lower panel 22 corresponds to the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is lower than the gap 23. The upper edge of the gap 23 is formed by the edge 211 of the upper panel 21, and the lower edge of the gap 23 is formed by the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22.

[0020] The illumination device 1 is disposed in a space on the inner side of the instrument panel 20 (a space that cannot be visually confirmed from the occupant on the opposite side of the exterior trim surface). Light emitted from the illumination device 1 is reflected by the gap 23 on the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 that constitutes the lower side of the gap 23, and the reflected light is visually confirmed by the occupant seated on the seat 26 as indirect light.

[0021] Light reflected on the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 travels obliquely upward toward a space at a height at which the head of the occupant seated on the seat 26 is located. Therefore, the light is easily visually confirmed in a state in which the occupant seated on the seat 26 directs his or her line of sight toward a position lower than the front, such as a state in which the driver directs his or her line of sight to the screen of a smartphone held in the hand while stopped due to a red light.

[0022] Therefore, for example, indirect illumination by the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 is used for notification of the start of the preceding vehicle, so that the occupant can be notified that the preceding vehicle has started even in a state in which the occupant is not facing the front while stopped. More specifically, for example, notification based on indirect illumination of the illumination device 1 is performed immediately after detection of the start of the preceding vehicle in combination with notification of the start of the preceding vehicle based on sound, and notification based on sound is performed when the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle reaches a prescribed distance (for example, 4 m).

[0023] The illumination device 1 has a light emitting device 10 as a light source, a rod-shaped light guide 11 that takes in light emitted from the light emitting device 10 and causes it to propagate inside and be emitted, and a housing 12 for housing the light guide 11 and fixing the light emitting device 10 to both ends of the light guide 11. The illumination device 1 is installed in the space on the inner side of the instrument panel 20 in such a manner that the length direction of the light guide 11 is along the length direction (vehicle width direction) of the gap 23.

[0024] The light emitting device 10 includes a light emitting element such as an LED. The light emitting element included in the light emitting device 10 is, for example, an LED called a full-color LED in which three colors of red, green, and blue LEDs are packaged as one component, in which case the desired color of light can be emitted by PWM control and the like from a vehicle-mounted ECU (Electronic Control Unit) via a vehicle-mounted network.

[0025] The light guide 11 is composed of a transparent material such as acrylic that can transmit light emitted from the light emitting device 10. In addition, the light guide 11 has a prism 111 for reflecting light propagating inside and emitting it to the outside. The prism 111 is provided along the length direction of the rod-shaped light guide 11.

[0026] The prism 111 is, for example, composed of a group of linear grooves arranged on a plane facing the gap 23, each extending in a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the light guide 11. The linear grooves constituting the prism 111 are, for example, straight grooves with a V-shaped cross-section. Alternatively, the prism 111 can be constructed by replacing the linear groove group with a group of linear protrusions. In this case, the linear protrusions are, for example, straight protrusions with a triangular cross-section.

[0027] A prism 111 is provided on a rod-shaped light guide 11, which has a polygonal or circular cross-section perpendicular to its length direction. Figure 2 In the examples shown in (a) and (b), the cross-section of the light guide 11 perpendicular to the length direction is square. Furthermore, the light guide 11 can be bent accordingly to the surface shape of the instrument panel 20.

[0028] exist Figure 3 In the structure shown, the end faces 112 on both sides of the light guide 11 are light-intake surfaces. Light emitted from the light-emitting device 10 enters the interior of the light guide 11 from the end faces 112 on both sides and propagates along the length of the light guide 11. If the light propagating inside the light guide 11 is reflected by the prism 111, it is emitted from the light guide 11 toward the gap 23.

[0029] The housing 12 is made of a material such as PCABS that does not allow light emitted from the light-emitting device 10 to pass through and is colored black or white.

[0030] The lighting device 1 is disposed in the space inside the instrument panel 20, isolated from the gap 23. Because it is disposed isolated from the gap 23, the position and angle of the lighting device 1, i.e., the position and angle of the light guide 11, can be freely set. Furthermore, in order to increase the degree of freedom in setting the position and angle of the lighting device 1, it is preferable that the distance between the lighting device 1 and the gap 23 is greater than or equal to 10 mm.

[0031] Moreover, such as Figure 2 As shown in (a) and (b), by adjusting the position and angle of the lighting device 1, the width W of the area (orthogonal to the length direction of the gap 23) of the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 illuminated by the lighting device 1 (hereinafter referred to as the lighting area) can be adjusted in the depth direction. Figure 2 In the examples shown in (a) and (b), and Figure 2 Compared to the lighting device 1 shown in (a), Figure 2 (b) The angle of the prism 111 of the light guide 11 of the lighting device 1 is closer to the direction of the plumb bob, so the light emitted from the light guide 11 is closer to the horizontal direction, resulting in an increase in the width W of the lighting area.

[0032] For example, the width W of the illumination area can be freely adjusted between 10 and 40 mm. If the width W is 10 to 40 mm, even during the day when the illumination is not noticeable compared to nighttime, or when the occupant's gaze is fixed on an area not under illumination, such as a smartphone screen, the illumination will still be noticeable. Therefore, the indirect illumination of the lighting device 1 can be used for notification functions such as warning or attracting the attention of occupants. Furthermore, the indirect lighting currently used in vehicle interiors is usually integrated into the surrounding environment, known as ambient lighting, and is therefore not noticeable, making it unsuitable for notification functions.

[0033] When the indirect lighting based on the lighting device 1 is used for notification purposes, it is preferable that the light emission color of the light emission device 10 (the light emission color of the lighting device 1) is a color that is easy to visually confirm. For example, if the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 is black, it is preferable to be white or light blue (cyan-white).

[0034] The light intensity of the lighting device 1 is set according to the width W of the lighting area on the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22. For example, when the indirect lighting based on the lighting device 1 is used for the aforementioned notification function, the brightness of the center of the lighting area is set to 18 to 50 cd / mm² when the width W is 10 mm, 20 mm, or 40 mm, respectively. 2 12~30cd / mm 2 4~30cd / mm 2 The amount of light.

[0035] Furthermore, the lighting device 1 can also be configured to reduce the light intensity to 1 / 5 to 1 / 10 of the light intensity for example, when used for notification purposes, and be used as ambient lighting. That is, the lighting device 1 can be used for both notification purposes and ambient lighting purposes.

[0036] Furthermore, when the width W of the set lighting area is increased to some extent, such as Figure 2 As shown in (b), compared to the case of reducing the set width W, the width of the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 in the width W direction can be increased.

[0037] Additionally, the lighting device 1 is fixed to the instrument panel 20, but preferably to both the upper panel 21 and the lower panel 22. The lighting device 1 is isolated from the gap 23, so the positioning relative to the gap 23 is important in order for light to pass through the gap 23 accurately. By fixing the lighting device 1 to both the upper panel 21 and the lower panel 22, the positioning can be more accurate.

[0038] Furthermore, by fixing the lighting device 1 to both the upper panel 21 and the lower panel 22, the relative positioning of the upper panel 21 and the lower panel 22 can be achieved, thereby enabling the accurate setting of the width (height) of the gap 23.

[0039] When the lighting device 1 is fixed to both the upper panel 21 and the lower panel 22, the housing 12 has: a first fixing part 122 for fixing the housing 12 to the upper panel 21; and a second fixing part 123 for fixing the housing 12 to the lower panel 22.

[0040] The first fixing part 122 and the second fixing part 123 are, for example, protrusions protruding from the main body 121 of the housing 12 used to house the light guide 11 for screw fixing and pin fixing. The lighting device 1 is particularly preferably securely fixed to the lower panel 22 side; therefore, the second fixing part 123 is preferably a protrusion for screw fixing. Furthermore, when fixing the screw to the lower panel 22 using the second fixing part 123, such as... Figure 2 As shown in (a) and (b), the position of the light guide 11 can be moved away from the lower panel 22 (ensuring height), thus facilitating the adjustment of the position of the light guide 11.

[0041] exist Figure 2 In the examples shown in (a) and (b), the first fixing part 122 is a protrusion for pin fixing, which is inserted into the groove of the pin fixing part 212 provided on the inner side of the upper plate 21. In addition, the second fixing part 123 is a plate-shaped protrusion for screw fixing, which has a hole for the screw 30 to pass through, and is fixed to the screw fixing part 222 provided on the lower plate 22 by means of the screw 30.

[0042] Furthermore, the instrument panel 20 may be a continuous panel with an opening serving as a gap 23, without being divided into an upper panel 21 and a lower panel 22. In this case, it is sufficient to replace the upper panel 21 of this embodiment with the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is higher than the gap 23, and replace the lower panel 22 with the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is lower than the gap 23. For example, the fixing part 212 is provided in the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is higher than the gap 23, and the fixing part 222 is provided in the portion of the instrument panel 20 that is lower than the gap 23.

[0043] (Effects of the implementation method)

[0044] In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the lighting device 1 and the gap 23 are isolated and disposed in the space inside the instrument panel 20, thus allowing for free setting of its position and angle. Therefore, the design freedom of the instrument panel 20 and the like is not compromised, and the direction of illumination of the light emitted from the lighting device can be easily adjusted. Furthermore, by increasing the width in the depth direction of the illumination area of ​​the surface that reflects the light emitted from the lighting device 1 (for example, greater than or equal to 10 mm), the indirect lighting based on the lighting device 1 can be used for notification functions such as warning or attracting the attention of occupants.

[0045]

Example

[0046] Implementation and utilization Figure 2 Tests were conducted on a physical model of the instrument panel 20 and lighting device 1, which reproduced the structure of the instrument panel 20 shown. The relationship between the width W of the lighting area in the depth direction on the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 and the attention susceptibility of indirect light from the lighting area was evaluated.

[0047] In this experiment, the material of the upper surface 221 of the lower panel 22 was set to black, the light emission color of the lighting device 1 was set to light blue, the width of the lighting area in the longitudinal direction (the longitudinal direction of the gap 23) was set to 350 mm, the width W in the depth direction of the lighting area was set to 10-40 mm, and the brightness of the indirect light in the center of the lighting area was set to 10-200 cd / mm². 2 Set the ambient illuminance to 3000 lx (imagine a cloudy daytime).

[0048] The subjects were set as 12 individuals: 5 men aged 50 or older, 6 men aged 40 or younger, and 1 woman aged 30 or younger. Additionally, the relative position of the subjects' eyes to the illuminated area was set so that the angle (downward angle) of their gaze when observing the illuminated area was 30°, assuming they were seated in seat 26.

[0049] Furthermore, the study investigated whether participants noticed indirect light while their gaze was fixed on the screen of a handheld smartphone. Here, the luminance of the indirect light in the center of the illuminated area was set from 10 cd / mm². 2 The brightness was gradually increased until more than 50% (more than or equal to 6) of the test subjects noticed the indirect light, which was then set as the "brightness of concern".

[0050] Figure 4 This is a graph showing the relationship between the width W of the irradiated area in the depth direction and the brightness of interest, obtained through the experiments involved in this embodiment. Additionally, in Figure 4 In the example shown, test results were also presented when direct light with a width of 2 mm was used instead of indirect light.

[0051] according to Figure 4 It can be seen that the luminance of interest is 18 cd / mm when the width W of the irradiated area is 10 mm, 20 mm, and 40 mm, respectively. 2 12cd / mm 2 4cd / mm 2The larger the width W, the less noticeable the brightness. According to this result, if it is direct lighting with a large amount of light, even a width of 2mm will be noticed by the occupants. However, even indirect lighting with a smaller amount of light compared to direct lighting can be used to make the occupants notice the lighting if the width W is about 10 to 40mm, which is the purpose of notifying the occupants.

[0052] Furthermore, as a result of the experiment, when the width W of the illumination area was 10 mm, 20 mm, and 40 mm, the luminance of the indirect light in the center of the illumination area was greater than or equal to 50 cd / mm². 2 ≥30 cd / mm 2 ≥30 cd / mm 2 During the experiment, all subjects noticed the indirect light. Sometimes, brightness greater than or equal to the desired level caused a feeling of annoyance. Therefore, based on this result, it can be concluded that the optimal indirect light brightness at the center of the illumination area with a width W of 10mm, 20mm, and 40mm is 18–50 cd / mm², respectively. 2 12~30cd / mm 2 4~30cd / mm 2 .

[0053] Furthermore, when the width W of the illumination area is 10–40 mm, the luminance of the indirect light in the center of the illumination area is preferably 18–30 cd / mm². 2 When the width W of the illumination area is 20-40 mm, the luminance of the indirect light in the center of the illumination area is preferably 12-30 cd / mm². 2 .

[0054] The embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the structural elements of the above embodiments and examples can be arbitrarily combined without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0055] Furthermore, the above embodiments and examples do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. Additionally, it should be noted that not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments and examples are essential to the method for solving the problems of the invention.

[0056] Explanation of the label

[0057] 1…Lighting device

[0058] 10…Light-emitting device

[0059] 11…Light guide

[0060] 111…Prism

[0061] 12…shell

[0062] 122…First Fixed Part

[0063] 123…Second Fixed Part

[0064] 20…Dashboard

[0065] 21…Top panel

[0066] 22… Bottom panel

[0067] 221… Upper surface

[0068] 23…gap

Claims

1. A lighting device disposed in the space inside a dashboard in a vehicle interior, the dashboard having a gap (23) between an upper panel (21) constituting its upper part and a lower panel (22) constituting its lower part, wherein, The lighting device has: Light-emitting device (10); A light guide (11) extending along the length of the instrument panel, propagating and emitting light from the light-emitting device; and The housing (12) houses the light guide. The housing (12) has: The main body (121) has a groove that exposes and accommodates a portion of the light guide; A first fixing part (122) protrudes from multiple locations of the main body in a manner that allows it to be fixed to the inside of the upper panel; and The second fixing part (123) protrudes from multiple locations of the main body in such a way that it can be fixed to the inside of the lower panel.

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