Vehicle lamp

Abstract

Vehicle lamp, the lamp having: a light source; and a microcylindrical lens element positioned in front of the light source, wherein the microcylindrical lens part has several microlenses arranged in a horizontal direction and physically connected to each other, and wherein one or more openings are arranged in the microcylindrical lens part.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED REGISTRATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority and benefit from Korean patent application No. 10-2024-0184911, which was filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on December 12, 2024, and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL AREA

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle lamp. BACKGROUND

[0003] There is an increasing demand for aesthetically pleasing vehicle lamps, as vehicle lamps have a significant impact on the aesthetic appearance of vehicles.

[0004] A vehicle lamp generally comprises a light source, such as an LED, configured to emit light, and an internal lens. In the relevant prior art, an aspherical lens is typically used as the internal lens. However, the problem is that this significantly reduces the degree of freedom of the aspherical lens with respect to its shape and design. This problem impairs the design freedom of the vehicle lamp.

[0005] Furthermore, recent attempts have been made to use a microlens, such as a microcylindrical lens or a microlens array, in a new type of vehicle lamp. However, the problem is that the vehicle lamp incorporating the microlens is difficult to manufacture, as maintaining the required tolerances during the assembly process is challenging.

[0006] Since a microlens used in an optical system has a very narrow width of several millimeters, glare arises when light emitted from a light source enters another microlens positioned at the edge of the microlens in front of the light source, without actually entering the microlens itself. Installing a separate light-blocking element can be considered to eliminate the glare. However, this creates a dark area near the location of the light-blocking element, which is problematic because it reduces the overall uniformity of the lamp's light-emitting surface. SUMMARY

[0007] The present disclosure was made in an effort to improve the uniformity of a light-emitting surface of a lamp and at the same time to solve a problem of glare that may occur in the vehicle lamp in which a microlens is used.

[0008] To achieve the above-mentioned objective, one aspect of the present disclosure provides for a vehicle lamp comprising: a light source; and a microcylindrical lens part arranged in front of the light source, the microcylindrical lens part having several microlenses arranged in a horizontal direction and physically connected to one another, and the microcylindrical lens part having one or more openings formed.

[0009] The opening can have multiple openings spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction.

[0010] The one or more openings can be arranged side by side above the multiple microlenses.

[0011] The one or more openings can be arranged across two adjacent microlenses.

[0012] The lamp may have: an inner lens part provided between the light source and the microcylindrical lens part, which has several horizontally spaced unit lenses and in which one or more openings face a space between the two adjacent unit lenses.

[0013] The one or more openings can be spaced apart from the multiple unit lenses in the inner lens part in a left-right direction W, which intersects a forward-backward direction A, in which the inner lens part faces the microcylindrical lens part.

[0014] The lamp can have: a locking element arranged between two adjacent unit lenses, wherein the locking element is arranged facing one or more openings in a forward-backward direction A, in which the inner lens part faces the microcylindrical lens part.

[0015] The width of the locking element can correspond to the width of one or more openings in the left-right direction W that intersect the forward-backward direction A.

[0016] Each of the multiple unit lenses can optically correspond to one of the multiple microlenses.

[0017] A front end of the locking element can be positioned in front of a front end of the unit lens.

[0018] The one or more openings can be formed in an upward-downward direction H through the microcylindrical lens part.

[0019] The one or more openings can be spaced apart from an upper surface area and a lower surface area of ​​the microcylindrical lens part in an upward-downward direction H.

[0020] The one or more openings can have a shape in which a width in the forward-backward direction A is greater than a width in the left-right direction W.

[0021] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the uniformity of the light emission surface of the lamp and at the same time to solve the problem of glare that may occur in the vehicle lamp in which the microlens is used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. Figure 1 is a side view schematically representing the main components of a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 2 is a top view of the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 3 is a view showing an example of a vertical cross-sectional structure of a microcylindrical lens part provided in the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 4 is a view showing another example of the vertical cross-sectional structure of the microcylindrical lens part provided in the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following describes a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure with reference to the drawings. VEHICLE LIGHT

[0023] Fig. Figure 1 is a side view schematically representing the main components of a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure, and Fig. Figure 2 is a top view of the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure.

[0024] The vehicle lamp (hereinafter referred to as "lamp") according to the present disclosure can be configured to produce a low beam distribution pattern or a high beam distribution pattern. However, the lamp according to the present disclosure can, of course, also be configured to produce other types of light distribution patterns.

[0025] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. As shown in Figure 2, a lamp 10 according to the present disclosure can have light sources 100 configured to emit light and a microcylindrical lens element 300 provided in front of the light sources 100. The light source 100 can, for example, be an LED.

[0026] According to the present disclosure, the microcylindrical lens part 300 can further comprise several microlenses 310 arranged in a horizontal direction and physically connected to one another. In particular, the microcylindrical lens part 300 can have a structure in which the several microlenses 310 are arranged in a horizontal direction. The width W of the microlens 310 in the left-right direction can range from several millimeters to several centimeters. Furthermore, the microcylindrical lens part disclosed in the present specification is configured such that the several microlenses are connected and integrated to one another. It should therefore be noted that the microcylindrical lens part differs from a microlens arrangement or the like in which separate incident lens arrangements are connected to one another by means of intervening shielding elements.

[0027] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the lamp 10 can have an inner lens part 200 which is provided between the light sources 100 and the microcylindrical lens part 300. In particular, the inner lens part 200 can be provided in front of the light source 100 and behind the microcylindrical lens part 300.

[0028] Furthermore, the inner lens part 200 can have several physically spaced-apart regions according to the present disclosure. In particular, the inner lens part 200 can be configured as shown in Fig. Figure 2 shows several unit lenses 210, which are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction (e.g., in the left-right direction W). The several unit lenses 210 in the inner lens part 200 can be oriented in a forward-backward direction A towards a microcylindrical lens part 300. Furthermore, the light sources 100 can also be provided as several light sources 100 in the lamp 10, corresponding to the number of unit lenses 210 in the inner lens part 200.

[0029] According to the present disclosure, the multiple unit lenses 210 can furthermore optically correspond to the multiple microlenses 310. In this case, it is evident that a unit lens 210 optically corresponds to the multiple microlenses 310 if light emitted from the light source 100 and entering a unit lens 210 enters some of the multiple microlenses 310 that form the microcylindrical lens part 300.

[0030] Furthermore, accordingly Fig. 2. According to the present disclosure, the lamp 10 can further comprise blocking elements 400, each provided between the two adjacent unit lenses 210. In particular, the blocking element 400 can be configured to block the propagation of light emitted by the light source 100 and reaching the blocking element 400. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the blocking element 400 can be made of a material capable of blocking light in the visible wavelength range. In particular, the blocking element 400 can be of a color (e.g., black) capable of absorbing the light emitted by the light source 100. For example, a front end of the blocking element 400 can be, as shown in Fig. 2 shown positioned in front of a front end of the unit lens 210.

[0031] According to the present disclosure, the blocking element 400 can be configured to prevent glare by preventing the light emitted by the light source 100 from reaching another unit lens 210 located at a periphery of the unit lens 210 positioned in front of the light source 100, without actually reaching the unit lens 210 itself. However, if the light is blocked by the blocking element 400, almost no light can reach a region of the microcylindrical lens part 300 that faces the blocking element 400 in the forward-backward direction A. In this case, a dark region may be formed in the microcylindrical lens part 300, which can cause a problem by resulting in a non-uniform light-emitting surface of the microcylindrical lens part 300. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the lamp can further have a function to prevent the non-uniform light-emitting surface described above.

[0032] To fulfill the aforementioned purpose, therefore, according to the present disclosure, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, one or more openings 300a are formed in the microcylindrical lens part 300. In particular, the openings 300a can be provided as multiple openings 300a spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction W. The locking element 400 can be provided facing the opening 300a in the forward-backward direction A, which is the direction in which the inner lens part 200 faces the microcylindrical lens part 300. The opening 300a mentioned above can be provided facing a space between the two adjacent unit lenses 210 (i.e., a space in which the locking element is inserted).

[0033] According to the present disclosure, the opening 300a is formed in a region of the microcylindrical lens part 300, in which a dark area may be formed. Therefore, a portion of the light emitted by the light source exits through the opening 300a to the outside, thereby enabling the entire light-emitting surface of the microcylindrical lens part 300 to be unified.

[0034] Furthermore, the one or more openings 300a can be arranged side by side above the multiple microlenses 310. As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, the opening 300a can, for example, be formed over the two adjacent microlenses 310. In particular, the opening 300a can have a symmetrical shape with respect to a boundary between the two adjacent microlenses 310.

[0035] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the openings 300a formed in the microcylindrical lens part 300 can be spaced apart from the multiple unit lenses 210 in the inner lens part 200 in a left-right direction W that intersects the forward-backward direction A, which is the direction in which the inner lens part 200 faces the microcylindrical lens part 300. It is understood that the opening 300a is positioned within a width in the left-right direction W of the space between the two adjacent unit lenses 210. However, it shows Fig. 2 for example, that the opening 300a has a shape in which the width of the opening 300a in the forward-backward direction A is greater than the width of the opening 300a in the left-right direction W.

[0036] A width of the locking element 400 in the left-right direction W, which intersects the forward-backward direction A, can correspond to a width of the opening 300a.

[0037] Fig. Figure 3 is a view showing an example of a vertical cross-sectional structure of a microcylindrical lens part provided in the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure, and Fig. Figure 4 is a view showing another example of the vertical cross-sectional structure of the microcylindrical lens part provided in the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure.

[0038] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the opening 300a can be formed by the microcylindrical lens part 300 in an upward-downward direction H, according to the example in the present disclosure. However, as shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 4, the opening 300a can be spaced apart in the upward-downward direction H from an upper surface area and a lower surface area of ​​the microcylindrical lens part 300 according to another example of the present disclosure.

[0039] The present disclosure has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and the drawings, but is not limited thereto. The present disclosure can be implemented in various forms by those skilled in the art in the field to which it relates, within the technical spirit of the present disclosure and to the extent corresponding to the appended claims. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 10-2024-0184911

[0001]

Claims

[1] Vehicle lamp, wherein the lamp has: a light source; and a microcylindrical lens element positioned in front of the light source, wherein the microcylindrical lens part has several microlenses arranged in a horizontal direction and physically connected to each other, and wherein one or more openings are arranged in the microcylindrical lens part. [2] Lamp according to claim 1, wherein the one or more openings have several openings spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction. [3] Lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more openings are formed side by side over the multiple microlenses. [4] Lamp according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one or more openings are formed over two adjacent microlenses. [5] Lamp according to one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: an inner lens part that is positioned between the light source and the microcylindrical lens part, wherein the inner lens part has several unit lenses that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, and wherein one or more openings face a space between two adjacent unit lenses. [6] Lamp according to claim 5, wherein the one or more openings of the multiple unit lenses in the inner lens part are spaced apart in a left-right direction W which intersects a forward-backward direction A in which the inner lens part faces the microcylindrical lens part. [7] Lamp according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising: a blocking element provided between two adjacent unit lenses, wherein the locking element is arranged facing one or more openings in a forward-backward direction A, in which the inner lens part faces the microcylindrical lens part. [8] Lamp according to claim 7, wherein a width of the locking element in a left-right direction W intersecting the forward-backward direction A corresponds to a width of one or more openings. [9] Lamp according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein each of the multiple unit lenses optically corresponds to one of the multiple microlenses. [10] Lamp according to one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a front end of the locking element is positioned in front of a front end of the unit lens. [11] Lamp according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the one or more openings in an upward-downward direction H are formed by the microcylindrical lens part. [12] Lamp according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the one or more openings are spaced apart in an upward-downward direction H from an upper surface area and a lower surface area of ​​the microcylindrical lens part. [13] Lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the one or more openings have a shape in which a width in a forward-backward direction A is greater than a width in a left-right direction W.

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