Optical coupling assembly, optical system with optical coupling assembly and vehicle lamp

Abstract

The invention discloses an optical coupling assembly, an optical system with the optical coupling assembly and a vehicle lamp. The optical coupling assembly is located in the light emitting direction of a point light source. The optical coupling assembly is a free-form surface, light rays emitted by the point light source are refracted on the surface of the optical coupling assembly, the optical coupling assembly collimates the light rays emitted by the point light source in one direction, in the other direction perpendicular to the direction, reverse extension lines of the refracted light rays are converged to a virtual focal line, and the virtual focal line is a straight line. The invention has the advantage of providing an accurate collimation basis for the light emitting assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of vehicle lamps, and specifically relates to an optical component, and more particularly to an optical coupling component, an optical system having the same, and a vehicle lamp. Background Art

[0002] In order to improve the uniformity of projection and the utilization rate of light, car lights usually use spherical lenses to image the light distribution near the focus. However, for high and low beams, the angle in the width direction is required to be much larger than the angle in the height direction. Therefore, a spherical lens cannot easily meet the projection angle of this ratio. In order to adjust this ratio, a first cylindrical surface and a second cylindrical surface perpendicular to each other are set in sequence in the light emitting direction of the light source to perform collimation in two directions respectively to achieve the effect of imaging. However, since the first cylindrical surface close to the light source will inevitably refract in the non-collimated direction, when the second cylindrical surface far away from the light source collimates the light, the reverse extension line of the collimated light after being refracted by the first cylindrical surface is not at the original light source, which makes the collimation effect of the second cylindrical surface poor, reducing the clarity of the imaging. In order to solve this problem, an optical coupling component and an optical system and car lights having the same are proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0004] To this end, the present invention proposes an optical coupling component and an optical system and a vehicle lamp having the same. The optical coupling component has the advantage of providing a precise collimation basis for the light emitting component.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical coupling component is located in the light-emitting direction of the point light source; the optical coupling component is a free-form surface, and the light emitted by the point light source is refracted on the surface of the optical coupling component. The optical coupling component collimates the light emitted by the point light source in one direction, and in another direction perpendicular to the above direction, the reverse extension line of the refracted light converges on a virtual focus line, and the virtual focus line is a straight line.

[0006] An optical system having an optical coupling component, comprising the optical coupling component described in any one of the above items, and further comprising a light output component, wherein the light output component is located in the light output direction of the optical coupling component, the light output component is a curved surface having a real focus line, and the direction of the real focus line is consistent with the direction of a virtual focus line of the optical coupling component, the real focus line and the virtual focus line coincide, and the light output component forms an image of light from the virtual focus line.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting component includes a first contour line, the first contour line of the light emitting component is a curve with a focus, the focus of the first contour line is located on the real focal line of the light emitting component, and the first contour line extends along the direction of the real focal line to form the light emitting component.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light output component is a refraction unit and / or a reflection unit.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a primary optical unit and an LED light source, wherein the LED light source is arranged at the focus of the primary optical unit, and the primary optical unit is used to form the required light distribution of the light emitted by the LED light source at the point light source of the optical coupling component.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a light blocking component is provided at the point light source, and the light blocking component has a shape of a light-dark cut-off line.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a thick-walled member is further included, and the optical coupling component and the light output component are respectively arranged at the light input end and the light output end of the thick-walled member.

[0012] A vehicle lamp comprises any one of the above optical coupling components or an optical system having the optical coupling component.

[0013] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the present invention uses an optical coupling component to refract light emitted by a point light source through the optical coupling component. The optical coupling component collimates the light in one direction, and in the other direction, the reverse extension line of the refracted light converges to form a virtual focus line, providing conditions for precise collimation of the next optical component.

[0014] A light-emitting component is arranged in the light-emitting direction of the optical coupling component, and the light-emitting component has a real focus line and the real focus line is arranged to coincide with the virtual focus line, so that the light-emitting component can collimate the light of the virtual focus line in another direction, thereby completing the projection imaging of the light distribution near the point light source together with the optical coupling component.

[0015] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.

[0016] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, preferred embodiments are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the optical coupling component of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic side view of an optical coupling assembly of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of points constituting the optical coupling assembly of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the light path of the optical coupling assembly of the present invention when viewed from above;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the position of point O when the optical coupling component and the light output component of the present invention are combined;

[0023] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the light path when the primary optical unit of the optical system of the present invention is a condenser;

[0024] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the light path when the light emitting component of the present invention is a reflective unit;

[0025] Reference numerals:

[0026] 1. Optical coupling component; 2. Point light source; 3. Light output component; 4. Primary optical unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following describes embodiments of the present invention in detail. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended only to explain the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0030] The optical coupling assembly, the optical system and the vehicle lamp having the same according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] like Figure 1-7 As shown, according to an optical coupling component of an embodiment of the present invention, the optical coupling component 1 is located in the light emitting direction of the point light source 2; the optical coupling component 1 is a free-form surface, and the optical coupling component 1 collimates the light emitted by the point light source 2 in the horizontal direction, and in the vertical direction, after the light is refracted by the optical coupling component 1, its reverse extension line converges to form a virtual focus line, which is a straight line.

[0032] In this embodiment, light emitted by the point light source 2 is collimated in the horizontal direction after passing through the optical coupling assembly 1, while continuing to diffuse in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the reverse extension lines of the light rays after refraction by the optical coupling assembly 1 converge to form a virtual focus line. The virtual focus line provides a basis for vertical collimation for other optical components of the headlight. In other words, the optical coupling assembly 1 alone achieves both horizontal collimation and vertical diffusion. This allows for the subsequent arrangement of a vertical collimating light-emitting element in the light-emitting direction of the optical coupling assembly 1 to form different projection angles in the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0033] Furthermore, the horizontal and vertical directions are merely used to indicate two perpendicular directions and do not limit their specific orientations. In other words, the optical coupling assembly 1 can be adjusted according to the size ratio of the illuminated area. For example, the optical coupling assembly 1 can be rotated 90 degrees around the optical axis to collimate the light in the vertical direction.

[0034] The material of the optical coupling component 1 includes but is not limited to transparent materials such as PC and PMMA.

[0035] The point light source 2 is set at the focus of the optical coupling component 1. The optical coupling component 1 is composed of multiple points. In the vertical plane, the light emitted by the point light source 2 is refracted after passing through the point, and the reverse extension line of the refracted light passes through the virtual focus line.

[0036] In this embodiment, the position of the point light source 2 is defined as point O, the actual focal distance between the point light source 2 and the optical coupling component 1 is f, and the position of the virtual focus line L' is defined; then a point on the virtual focus line L' is taken, and in a plane passing through the point and perpendicular to the virtual focus line L', such as Figure 3 In the coordinate system, we can obtain an arbitrary straight line b1. b1 forms an arbitrary angle with the Z axis in the plane, but is parallel to the plane where L' is located in the horizontal plane. b1 is a refracted light ray passing through the optical coupling component 1. At any point A1 on b1, connecting A1 and point O can obtain the incident light ray a1 passing through point O. After selecting the material of the optical coupling component 1 and determining the refractive index of the optical coupling component 1, we can obtain the normal c1 passing through A1 according to the law of refraction. In the same plane as the above b1, we can obtain many b lines passing through the same point but at different angles to the Z axis. n , thereby obtaining multiple points on the optical coupling assembly 1 and the normals of the corresponding points in the vertical plane. Using the above method, other points on the virtual focus line L' are used to continue searching for points on the optical coupling assembly 1 and the normals of the corresponding points. The specific shape of the optical coupling assembly 1 is obtained by combining the multiple points found on the optical coupling assembly 1.

[0037] A vehicle lamp with an optical coupling component adopts the above-mentioned optical coupling component and also includes a light output component 3. The light output component 3 is located in the light output direction of the optical coupling component 1. The light output component 3 is a curved surface having a real focus line in the horizontal direction, and the direction of the real focus line is consistent with the direction of the virtual focus line of the optical coupling component 1. The real focus line and the virtual focus line coincide with each other. The light output component 3 images the light distribution at the virtual focus line.

[0038] In this embodiment, the light emitting component 3 is a refraction unit, and the light emitting component 3 includes a first contour line. The first contour line of the light emitting component 3 is a curve with a focus. The focus of the first contour line is located on the real focal line of the light emitting component 3. The first contour line extends in the direction of the real focal line to form the light emitting component 3. The optical coupling component 1 is used to collimate the light emitted by the point light source 2 in the horizontal direction, and the reverse extension line of the refracted light is converged at the virtual focal line in the vertical direction. Since the real focal line of the set light emitting component 3 coincides with the virtual focal line of the optical coupling component 1, the light emitting component 3 collimates the light refracted by the optical coupling component 1 in the vertical direction. That is, the light emitting component 3 and the optical coupling component 1 together constitute an imaging unit, so as to project the light distribution at the point light source 2 through the imaging unit for imaging, and this setting can flexibly set the focal length of the optical coupling component 1 and the light emitting component 3, that is, the projection angles in the horizontal and vertical directions can be controlled respectively. By setting the optical coupling component 1, since the virtual focus line of the light emitting component 3 virtually overlaps with the virtual focus formed by the light refracted by the optical coupling component 1, the collimation effect is more precise, thereby improving the clarity of the imaging.

[0039] The light output component 3 includes but is not limited to a refraction unit or a reflection unit or a combination of refraction and reflection; wherein the refraction unit may be a lens, and the reflection unit may be a reflector, etc.

[0040] When the light output component 3 is a refraction unit, the material includes but is not limited to transparent materials such as PC, PMMA, PMMI, and glass.

[0041] On the basis of the above, a primary optical unit 4 and an LED light source can be added. The LED light source is set at the focus of the primary optical unit 4. The primary optical unit 4 is used to form the required light distribution at the point light source 2 of the optical coupling component 1 with the light emitted by the LED light source.

[0042] Furthermore, the primary optical unit 4 includes but is not limited to a combination of one or more of a condenser, a reflector, a lens, or other optical units that can perform preliminary shaping and form the desired light distribution.

[0043] When the primary optical unit 4 is provided, a light blocking component is provided at the point light source 2 of the optical coupling component 1 , and the light blocking component has a shape of a light-dark cut-off line.

[0044] In this embodiment, the required light distribution is formed at the focus of the optical coupling component 1 through the primary optical unit 4 to facilitate setting the light and dark cutoff line. It is applied to a low beam optical system or a high beam system with a cutoff line shape requirement. The primary optical unit 4 is used to first form the required light distribution near the point light source 2 emitted by the LED light source to achieve primary shaping of the light. Compared with directly setting the LED light source at point O, the amount of light blocked by the light blocking component is reduced, and the utilization rate of the light is improved.

[0045] It also includes a thick-walled part, and the optical coupling component 1 and the light output component 3 are respectively arranged at the light input end and the light output end of the thick-walled part.

[0046] In this embodiment, the thick-walled parts are formed as one piece by injection molding. By integrating the optical coupling component 1 and the light output component 3, the assembly steps are reduced, the need to focus the optical coupling component 1 and the light output component 3 during assembly is avoided, and the difficulty of assembly is reduced.

[0047] like Figure 6 As shown, when the light-emitting component 3 is a reflective unit; the optical coupling unit 1 has a virtual focal line in the horizontal direction, the point light source 2 is at point O, the light-emitting component 3 is a reflective unit, the reflective unit has a real focal line, the real focal line coincides with the virtual focal line of the light coupling unit, and the reflective unit is formed by extending a contour line with a parabolic feature along the normal direction of the contour line; a refractive light-emitting unit 5 is provided in the light-emitting direction of the reflective unit, which is used to make the optical coupling unit 1, the light-emitting component 3 and the refractive light-emitting unit 5 as an integral thick-walled part, and the reflective unit 3 is realized by total internal reflection.

[0048] like Figure 5As shown, a beam of antiparallel light parallel to the light emitting direction passes through the refracting light emitting unit 5, the light emitting component 3 and the optical coupling unit 1 in sequence and converges at point O. Then the focus of the thick-walled part is point O, and the optical coupling unit 1, the light emitting component 3 and the refracting light emitting unit 5 together constitute the imaging part of the optical system.

[0049] In addition, the reflective unit 3 may also have reflective properties by aluminum plating on the outer surface.

[0050] Throughout this specification, reference to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples" means that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in conjunction with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, illustrative uses of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0051] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An optical coupling component, characterized in that: The optical coupling component (1) is located in the light emitting direction of the point light source (2); the optical coupling component (1) is a free-form surface, and the light emitted by the point light source (2) is refracted on the surface of the optical coupling component (1). The optical coupling component (1) collimates the light emitted by the point light source (2) in one direction, and in another direction perpendicular to the above direction, the reverse extension line of the refracted light converges on a virtual focus line, and the virtual focus line is a straight line.

2. An optical system having an optical coupling assembly, comprising the optical coupling assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The invention also includes a light emitting component (3), the light emitting component (3) being located in the light emitting direction of the optical coupling component (1), the light emitting component (3) being a curved surface having a real focal line, and the direction of the real focal line being consistent with the direction of the virtual focal line of the optical coupling component (1), the real focal line and the virtual focal line being coincident, and the light emitting component (3) imaging the light distribution at the virtual focal line.

3. The optical system having an optical coupling component according to claim 2, wherein: The light emitting component (3) comprises a first contour line, the first contour line of the light emitting component (3) being a curve having a focus, the focus of the first contour line being located on a real focal line of the light emitting component (3), and the first contour line extending in the direction of the real focal line to form the light emitting component (3).

4. The optical system having an optical coupling component according to claim 3, wherein: The light output component (3) is a refraction unit and / or a reflection unit.

5. The optical system having an optical coupling component according to claim 4, wherein: It also includes a primary optical unit (4) and an LED light source, wherein the LED light source is arranged at the focus of the primary optical unit (4), and the primary optical unit (4) is used to form the required light distribution at the point light source (2) of the optical coupling component (1) with the light emitted by the LED light source.

6. The optical system having an optical coupling component according to claim 5, wherein: A light blocking component is provided at the point light source (2), and the light blocking component has a shape of a light-dark cut-off line.

7. The optical system having an optical coupling component according to claim 6, wherein: It also includes a thick-walled part, and the optical coupling component (1) and the light output component (3) are respectively arranged at the light input end and the light output end of the thick-walled part.

8. A vehicle lamp, characterized in that: The optical system comprises the optical coupling component according to claim 1 or the optical system having the optical coupling component according to any one of claims 2-7.

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