Vehicular lighting fixture

Abstract

To provide a vehicular lighting fixture that can partially expand an irradiation range while restraining a disturbance in an overall light distribution.SOLUTION: A vehicular lighting fixture 10R according to the present disclosure comprises: a light source 20 comprising a plurality of light emitting elements; a plurality of main lenses 40 for performing light distribution control of light from the light source 20 in a predetermined irradiation direction as a main light distribution; a lens holder 30 supporting the plurality of main lenses 40; and an additional optical system 50 arranged outside the lens holder 30, and performing light distribution control of light from the light source 20 in the irradiation direction as an additional light distribution to be added to the main light distribution. The additional light distribution is adjacent to the main light distribution, or partially overlaps with the main light distribution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle lamp. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a headlamp as a vehicle lamp. The lamp unit of the headlamp is housed in a lamp housing. The lamp unit has a light source and a projection lens housed in and supported by a unit casing whose inner surface is formed as a light reflecting surface, and is configured to irradiate light emitted from the light source to a front area of ​​the automobile by the projection lens to obtain a desired light distribution. The light source is mounted on a substrate supported by a heat sink with a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a horizontal direction. When the plurality of light emitting elements emit light, the light emitted from each of them is directed directly or reflected by the inner surface of the unit casing to the projection lens. The projection lens is composed of a triplet lens, and is composed of, in order from the front side of the lamp, a first lens made of a convex lens having a positive refractive power, a second lens made of a concave lens having a negative refractive power, and a third lens made of a convex lens having a positive refractive power. These first to third lenses are coaxially arranged with their optical axes aligned, and the light source is disposed near the focal point of the projection lens on the rear side of the lamp. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-145372 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some vehicle lamps are equipped with LED units that have multiple small pixelated LEDs packaged together. By using such vehicle lamps in the headlamp units of vehicles, the illumination range of the headlamp can be controlled with high resolution.

[0005] The LED unit has at least two lenses stacked in front of the LEDs and a fixed-focus lens that controls the light, so the image created by turning each LED on and off or dimming it can be magnified and output as a light distribution.

[0006] However, due to the nature of the optical system, the irradiation range of the output light distribution depends on the size and shape of the LED's light-emitting part. For this reason, for example, if you want to partially expand the irradiation range, if you try to achieve this with the light distribution surface of a fixed focal length lens, not only will it be impossible to maintain uniform resolution over the entire irradiation range, but there is also a risk that the overall light distribution will be disrupted.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle lamp capable of partially expanding an illumination range while suppressing the deterioration of the overall light distribution. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle lamp of a first aspect of the present invention includes a light source having a plurality of light-emitting elements, a plurality of main lenses that control the distribution of light from the light source as a main light distribution in a predetermined irradiation direction, a lens holder that supports the plurality of main lenses, and an additional optical system that is arranged outside the lens holder and controls the distribution of light from the light source in the irradiation direction as an additional light distribution that adds light from the light source to the main light distribution, and the additional light distribution is adjacent to the main light distribution or partially overlaps with the main light distribution.

[0009] A second aspect of the present invention is the vehicular lamp of the first aspect, wherein the additional optical system includes a first additional lens located on the light source side, and a second additional lens arranged on the side of the irradiation direction of the first additional lens and emitting light from the first additional lens in the irradiation direction, the first additional lens being arranged to the side of an entrance lens that is arranged at a position closest to the light source among the plurality of main lenses, and the second additional lens being arranged on the side of the irradiation direction of the entrance lens, and the additional optical system receives light from the light source that is not incident on the entrance lens and controls the light distribution in the irradiation direction as the additional light distribution.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is a vehicular lamp according to the second aspect, wherein the additional optical system is arranged on one horizontal side of the lens holder, the entrance surface of the first additional lens has a concave shape in horizontal cross section and a convex shape in vertical cross section, and the entrance surface of the second additional lens has a convex shape in vertical cross section and protrudes toward the one horizontal side more than the first additional lens.

[0011] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a vehicular lamp according to the second aspect or the third aspect, wherein the diameter of the plurality of main lenses is larger for a lens on the front side in the irradiation direction than for a lens on the rear side in the irradiation direction, and the second additional lens is larger than the first additional lens. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to partially expand the illumination range while suppressing the deterioration of the overall light distribution. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the right side vehicle lamp as viewed from the front of the vehicle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4]FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 shows the light distribution pattern of a right-side vehicle lamp projected onto a screen, in which (a) the main light distribution and the additional light distribution are shown separately, (b) a part of the additional light distribution is superimposed on the main light distribution, and (c) the actual light distribution pattern. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side, and IN indicates the inside in the vehicle width direction. In the following description, the front-rear direction means the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction means the left-right direction when facing the front of the vehicle. The inside in the vehicle width direction means the direction toward the center of the vehicle width direction, and the outside in the vehicle width direction means the direction away from the center of the vehicle width direction. Since the drawings are schematic diagrams, main parts are shown, and parts other than the main parts are not shown.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an arrow pointing forward from a vehicle headlamp indicates light emitted from the vehicle headlamp.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1, a vehicle 1 equipped with vehicle lamps 10L, 10R according to one embodiment of the present invention includes left and right vehicle headlights 100L, 100R at the front of the vehicle 1. The left vehicle headlight 100L is disposed on the left side of the front of the vehicle 1, and the right vehicle headlight 100R is disposed on the right side of the front of the vehicle 1. Note that in this embodiment, the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure is applied to the front of the vehicle 1 (vehicle headlight), but is not limited thereto, and may be applied to a lamp disposed at the rear of the vehicle 1, for example.

[0017] (Vehicle headlights) As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle headlamp 100L, 100R includes a lamp housing 101L, 101R that opens forward, an outer lens 102L, 102R that covers the opening of the lamp housing 101L, 101R, and a vehicle lamp 10L, 10R that is disposed in a lamp chamber 103L, 103R that is partitioned by the lamp housing 101L, 101R and the outer lens 102L, 102R. The lamp housing 101L, 101R is made of a light-impermeable resin material. The outer lens 102L, 102R is made of a light-transmitting resin material. The outer lens 102L, 102R may be an outer cover made of a light-transmitting resin material.

[0018] (Vehicle lighting fixtures) The left vehicular lamp 10L irradiates a left high beam light distribution pattern ahead of the vehicle 1 (in a predetermined irradiation direction). On the other hand, the right vehicular lamp 10R irradiates a right high beam light distribution pattern ahead of the vehicle 1. The left high beam light distribution pattern and the right high beam light distribution pattern are superimposed on each other to form one overall high beam light distribution pattern. The overall high beam light distribution pattern is, for example, a wide high beam light distribution pattern that irradiates a wide range from the front near to the front far of the vehicle 1 with high luminous intensity.

[0019] The vehicle lamps 10L and 10R are variable light distribution type lamp units, so-called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) type lamp units. The left and right vehicle lamps 10L and 10R irradiate an overall high beam light distribution pattern when there is no preceding vehicle such as an oncoming vehicle or a preceding vehicle. On the other hand, when there is a preceding vehicle, the left and right vehicle lamps 10L and 10R control the area where the preceding vehicle exists to be darker than the surrounding area, thereby suppressing glare light to the preceding vehicle. That is, the left and right vehicle lamps 10L and 10R change the overall high beam light distribution pattern by controlling the turning on, turning off, increasing the brightness, and decreasing the brightness of the multiple light emitting elements 22 of the light source 20 described later by a control device (not shown).

[0020] The vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure is applied, for example, to the vehicle lamp 10R of the right vehicle headlamp 100R of the vehicle 1. The vehicle lamp 10R of the right vehicle headlamp 100R will be described below. Note that the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure may be applied to the vehicle lamp 10L of the left vehicle headlamp 100L, or may be applied to the vehicle lamps 10L, 10R of both the left and right vehicle headlamp 100L, 100R.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the right-side vehicle lamp as viewed from the front of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the light source. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 3. The two-dot chain line a in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 indicates the optical axis a of the main light distribution. The two-dot chain lines T1 and T2 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 typically indicate both ends in the vehicle width direction of the range of light that enters the main lens and is emitted from the main lens, and the two-dot chain lines T3 and T4 typically indicate both ends in the vehicle width direction of the range of light that enters the additional optical system and is emitted from the additional optical system. FIG. 3 also shows the shapes of multiple main lenses 40.

[0022] 2 to 5, the vehicle lamp 10R includes a light source 20, a lens holder 30 disposed in front of the light source 20, a plurality of main lenses 40 supported by the lens holder 30, and an additional optical system 50 disposed outside the lens holder 30. The light source 20, the lens holder 30, the plurality of main lenses 40, and the additional optical system 50 are attached to an attachment target such as a heat sink (not shown) to constitute the unitized vehicle lamp 10R. The vehicle lamp 10R is attached to a lamp housing 101R via a frame member or a bracket member (not shown).

[0023] (heat sink) For example, the heat sink (not shown) is a member that cools the light source 20 and is made of a member with high thermal conductivity (for example, a member made of die-cast aluminum). A plurality of light-emitting elements 22 (described later) of the light source 20 are attached to the front surface of the heat sink via a substrate 21. A plurality of fins that function as a heat dissipation section are provided on the rear surface of the heat sink. A lens holder 30 may be fixed to the heat sink. A plurality of main lenses 40 and the additional optical system 50 may be attached to the heat sink via the lens holder 30. Also, a fan unit may be arranged behind the heat dissipation section of the heat sink.

[0024] (light source) As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the light source 20 has a substrate 21 and a plurality of light-emitting elements (light-emitting sections) 22. The rear surface of the substrate 21 is attached to, for example, a heat sink (not shown). The plurality of light-emitting elements 22 are an array of a plurality of small pixelated light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and are arranged in a matrix (grid) on the front surface of the substrate 21. The light source 20 is an LED-based light source 20 in which a plurality of small pixelated light-emitting elements 22 are packaged together. The plurality of light-emitting elements 22 are controlled by a control device (not shown) to selectively emit light, and a light distribution pattern is formed by the light from each of the light-emitting elements 22. By using a vehicle lamp 10R using such a light source 20 as a headlight for the vehicle 1, the illumination range of the headlight can be controlled with high resolution.

[0025] The light source 20 of this embodiment has a rectangular shape with a lateral width larger than a vertical width when viewed from the front. The light (radiated light, emitted light) radiated (emitted) from the light emitting surfaces of the plurality of light emitting elements 22 has a Lambertian shape. As a result, the light from the plurality of light emitting elements 22 is radiated over a wide range in the vertical and horizontal directions in front of the vehicle 1. Most of the light from the plurality of light emitting elements 22 of the light source 20 is incident on a main lens 40 described later, and the light distribution is controlled by the main lens 40 as a main light distribution MP (see FIG. 6). In addition, a portion of the light from the plurality of light emitting elements 22 of the light source 20 that is not incident on the main lens 40 is light distribution controlled by an additional optical system 50 described later as an additional light distribution AP (see FIG. 6).

[0026] (Lens holder) As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, the lens holder 30 is a holder that mainly supports a plurality of main lenses 40, is formed of a non-translucent material, and is disposed forward of the light source 20. For example, the lens holder 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction (predetermined direction), and defines an internal space 31 in which the plurality of main lenses 40 are disposed. The inner peripheral surface of the lens holder 30 of this embodiment is formed in a circular cross section, and gradually expands in diameter from the rear (rear side in the irradiation direction) to the front (front side in the irradiation direction). That is, the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30 gradually expands in diameter from the rear to the front. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the lens holder 30 of this embodiment is formed in a circular cross section, and gradually expands in diameter from the rear to the front. The rear end edge 30a of the lens holder 30 is disposed at a front-rear position spaced forward from the light source 20 by a predetermined distance A. The diameter of the lens holder 30 may be increased stepwise from the rear to the front, or may be increased smoothly.

[0027] (Main lens) 3 and 5, the multiple main lenses 40 are, for example, aspheric lenses, and are arranged in front of the light source 20 to control the light distribution of the light from the light source 20 forward (in the direction of irradiation) as a main light distribution MP (see FIG. 6). The multiple main lenses 40 are arranged in the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30 and supported by the lens holder 30.

[0028] The multiple main lenses 40 are formed colorless or colored using a transparent (light-transmitting) resin material such as an acrylic resin such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate resin (PC), or polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate resin (PCT).

[0029] The main lenses 40 of this embodiment include an entrance lens 40a arranged at a position closest to the light source 20 (rearmost), a first intermediate lens 40b arranged in front of the entrance lens 40a, a second intermediate lens 40c arranged in front of the first intermediate lens 40b, and an exit lens 40d arranged at a position farthest from the light source 20 (frontmost). The optical axes a of the main lenses 40a to 40d are aligned. The diameter of the main lenses 40 is larger in the front lens than in the rear lens. Specifically, the diameter of the main lenses 40 is larger in the first intermediate lens 40b than in the entrance lens 40a, the second intermediate lens 40c than in the first intermediate lens 40b, and the exit lens 40d than in the second intermediate lens 40c. In this embodiment, four main lenses 40 are provided, but this is not limited thereto, and it is sufficient to include at least the entrance lens 40a and the exit lens 40d.

[0030] The entrance lens 40a has a rear entrance surface 40aa on which light from the light source 20 is incident, and a front exit surface 40ab from which the light incident from the entrance surface 40aa is exited. The entrance lens 40a is disposed at the rear end of the lens holder 30 in the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30. The outer peripheral edge of the entrance lens 40a is supported (for example, fixedly supported) by the lens holder 30. The entrance surface 40aa of the entrance lens 40a is disposed at a position spaced forward from the light source 20 and faces the light source 20. The entrance surface 40aa controls and causes light from the multiple light-emitting elements 22 to enter the entrance lens 40a as incident light. The exit surface 40ab controls and causes the incident light incident on the entrance surface 40aa to exit as exit light toward the first intermediate lens 40b in the front. In addition, in Figure 3, the incident surface 40aa of the incident lens 40a is shown as being flat, and the exit surface 40ab is shown as being convex lens-shaped, but this is not limited to this, and one of the incident surface 40aa and the exit surface 40ab may be convex lens-shaped and the other may be flat, or one may be convex lens-shaped and the other concave lens-shaped, and the convex lens-shaped, concave lens-shaped, and flat surfaces may be combined as appropriate.

[0031] The first intermediate lens 40b has a rear entrance surface 40ba into which light from the entrance lens 40a is incident, and a front exit surface 40bb from which the light incident from the entrance surface 40ba is emitted. The first intermediate lens 40b is disposed in a position spaced forward from the entrance lens 40a in the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30. The outer peripheral edge of the first intermediate lens 40b is supported (for example, fixedly supported) by the lens holder 30. The entrance surface 40ba of the first intermediate lens 40b is disposed in a position spaced forward from the exit surface 40ab of the entrance lens 40a, and faces the exit surface 40ab of the entrance lens 40a. The entrance surface 40ba controls and causes the light from the entrance lens 40a to enter the first intermediate lens 40b as incident light. The exit surface 40bb controls and causes the incident light incident on the entrance surface 40ba to exit as exit light toward the second intermediate lens 40c in front. Although FIG. 3 shows the entrance surface 40ba and the exit surface 40bb of the first intermediate lens 40b in a schematic manner, the entrance surface 40ba and the exit surface 40bb may have a suitable combination of a convex lens shape, a concave lens shape, and a flat surface.

[0032] The second intermediate lens 40c has a rear entrance surface 40ca into which light from the first intermediate lens 40b is incident, and a front exit surface 40cb from which the light incident from the entrance surface 40ca is emitted. The second intermediate lens 40c is disposed in a position spaced forward from the first intermediate lens 40b in the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30. The outer peripheral edge of the second intermediate lens 40c is supported (for example, fixedly supported) by the lens holder 30. The entrance surface 40ca of the second intermediate lens 40c is disposed in a position spaced forward from the exit surface 40bb of the first intermediate lens 40b, and faces the exit surface 40bb of the first intermediate lens 40b. The entrance surface 40ca controls and causes the light from the first intermediate lens 40b to enter the second intermediate lens 40c as incident light. The exit surface 40cb controls the incident light incident on the entrance surface 40ca to be emitted as exit light toward the front exit lens 40d. Although the entrance surface 40ca and the exit surface 40cb of the second intermediate lens 40c are illustrated in FIG. 3, the entrance surface 40ca and the exit surface 40cb may be appropriately combined with a convex lens shape, a concave lens shape, and a flat surface.

[0033] The exit lens 40d has a rear entrance surface 40da into which light from the second intermediate lens 40c is incident, and a front exit surface 40db from which the light incident from the entrance surface 40da is emitted. The exit lens 40d is disposed at the front end of the lens holder 30 in the internal space 31 of the lens holder 30. The outer peripheral edge of the exit lens 40d is supported (for example, fixedly supported) by the lens holder 30. The entrance surface 40da of the exit lens 40d is disposed at a position spaced forward from the exit surface 40cb of the second intermediate lens 40c, and faces the exit surface 40cb of the second intermediate lens 40c. The entrance surface 40da controls and causes the light from the second intermediate lens 40c to enter the exit lens 40d as incident light. The exit surface 40db controls and causes the incident light incident on the entrance surface 40da to exit forward of the vehicle 1 as exit light. In addition, in Figure 3, the entrance surface 40da of the exit lens 40d is shown as being flat and the exit surface 40db is shown as being a convex lens, but this is not limited to this, and one of the entrance surface 40da and the exit surface 40db may be a convex lens and the other may be a flat surface, or one may be a convex lens and the other a concave lens, and the convex lens shapes, concave lens shapes, and flat surfaces can be combined as appropriate.

[0034] In this way, the multiple main lenses 40 control the light incident from the multiple light emitting elements 22 and irradiate it forward of the vehicle 1 as a main light distribution MP (see FIG. 6).

[0035] (Additional optical system) The additional optical system 50 is an optical system that controls the light distribution forward as an additional light distribution AP (see FIG. 6) that adds light from the light source 20 to the main light distribution MP, and is disposed outside the lens holder 30 (in a direction away from the optical axis a). The additional light distribution AP is adjacent to the main light distribution MP or partially overlaps the main light distribution MP, thereby partially expanding the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 10R relative to the main light distribution MP (see FIG. 6). The additional light distribution AP of this embodiment partially expands the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 10R outward in the vehicle width direction by overlapping an inner region (part) of the additional light distribution AP in the vehicle width direction with an outer region of the main light distribution MP in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 6(b) and FIG. 6(c)). Examples of the additional optical system 50 include a lens, a reflector, a light guide, and the like.

[0036] The additional optical system 50 is disposed on the side (outside in this embodiment) of the light source 20 along the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction in this embodiment). In this embodiment, the additional optical system 50 is supported by the lens holder 30, and is attached to an attachment target such as a heat sink (not shown) via the lens holder 30. The additional optical system 50 may be attached to the attachment target via another attachment member, without using the lens holder 30.

[0037] The additional optical system 50 is preferably disposed in an area B outside the lens holder 30, in front of the light source 20 and behind the entrance surface 40da of the exit lens 40d. This allows the amount of forward protrusion to be suppressed while receiving light from the light source 20 and controlling the light distribution forward as additional light distribution AP.

[0038] 3 and 5, the additional optical system 50 of this embodiment is a lens, and includes a first additional lens 51 located on the light source side (rear side), and a second additional lens 52 arranged forward of the first additional lens 51 and emitting light from the first additional lens 51 forward. The additional optical system 50 of this embodiment is arranged on the outer side in the vehicle width direction (one side in the horizontal direction) of the lens holder 30, receives light from the light source 20 that is not incident on the entrance lens 40a, and controls the light distribution forward as additional light distribution AP. Note that the additional optical system 50 may include other additional lenses in addition to the first additional lens 51 and the second additional lens 52.

[0039] (First additional lens) The first additional lens 51 is, for example, a cylindrical lens, and is disposed on the outer side of the entrance lens 40a in the vehicle width direction, sandwiching the lens holder 30. That is, the first additional lens 51 is disposed on the side (outer side in the vehicle width direction) along the longitudinal direction of the light source 20, and is located at approximately the same front-rear position as the entrance lens 40a. The first additional lens 51 has an entrance surface 51a into which light from the light source 20 is incident, and an exit surface 51b from which the light incident from the entrance surface 51a is emitted. In the entrance surface 51a of the first additional lens 51 of this embodiment, light from the light source 20 that is not incident on the entrance lens 40a is incident through a gap between the light emitting surface (front surface) of the light source 20 and the rear end edge 30a of the lens holder 30.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the incident surface 51a of the first additional lens 51 is preferably concave. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the vertical cross-sectional shape of the incident surface 51a of the first additional lens 51 is preferably convex. As shown in FIG. 5, the length L1 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the optical axis a (optical axis a of the main lens 40) of the incident surface 51a of the first additional lens 51 is longer than at least the length L2 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the optical axis a of the light-emitting surface (front surface) of the light source 20. Note that the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the incident surface 51a of the first additional lens 51 may be concave at least at the outer end in the vehicle width direction, and for example, the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the region on the side closer to the optical axis a of the main lens 40 (inner side in the vehicle width direction in this embodiment) may be convex.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 3, the shape of a horizontal cross section of the emission surface 51b of the first additional lens 51 is preferably convex. As shown in Fig. 5, the shape of a vertical cross section of the emission surface 51b of the first additional lens 51 is preferably convex.

[0042] By making the cross-sectional shapes of the entrance surface 51a and the exit surface 51b of the first additional lens 51 into the above-mentioned shapes, the additional light distribution AP can be appropriately controlled so as to partially expand the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 10R outward in the vehicle width direction.

[0043] (Second additional lens) The second additional lens 52 is, for example, a cylindrical lens, and is located in front of the first additional lens 51 and in front of the incident lens 40a. The second additional lens 52 has an incident surface 52a on which the light from the first additional lens 51 is incident, and an exit surface 52b from which the light incident from the incident surface 52a exits.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal cross section of the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 is preferably convex. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the vertical cross section of the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 is preferably convex. The outer end of the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 in the vehicle width direction is located outside the first additional lens 51 in the vehicle width direction. That is, the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 protrudes outside the vehicle width direction (one side in the horizontal direction) from the first additional lens 51. In this embodiment, the horizontal cross section of the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 is convex, but is not limited thereto, and the horizontal cross section of the incident surface 52a may be flat. As shown in FIG. 5, the vertical length L3 of the incident surface 52a of the second additional lens 52 perpendicular to the optical axis a (optical axis a of the main lens 40) may be equal to or longer than the vertical length L1 of the incident surface 51a of the first additional lens 51.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 3, the shape of the horizontal cross section of the emission surface 52b of the second additional lens 52 is preferably planar. Also, as shown in Fig. 5, the shape of the vertical cross section of the emission surface 52b of the second additional lens 52 is preferably planar.

[0046] By making the cross-sectional shapes of the entrance surface 52a and the exit surface 52b of the second additional lens 52 into the above-mentioned shapes, the additional light distribution AP can be appropriately controlled so as to partially expand the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 10R outward in the vehicle width direction.

[0047] In addition, when a reflector or a light guide is used as the additional optical system 50 instead of lenses (first additional lens 51 and second additional lens 52), it is preferable to form the shape of the incident surface of the additional optical system 50, which receives light from the light source 20, into a shape that makes it easy to collect the light from the light source 20, and it is also preferable to make the area of ​​the incident surface of the additional optical system 50 larger than the area of ​​the light emitting surface (front surface) of the light source 20.

[0048] (Light distribution pattern) Next, the light distribution pattern will be described with reference to FIG.

[0049] Fig. 6 shows the light distribution pattern of the right-side vehicle lamp projected on a screen, where (a) shows the main light distribution and the additional light distribution separately, (b) shows a state in which a part of the additional light distribution is superimposed on the main light distribution, and (c) shows the actual light distribution pattern. Note that in Fig. 6, the light distribution pattern is shown by isoluminance lines, with the luminous intensity value of the isoluminance lines at the center being high and decreasing as one moves to the outside (periphery).

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6(a), in the present disclosure, in order to partially expand the irradiation range while suppressing the collapse of the overall light distribution by the vehicle lamp 10R, an additional light distribution AP controlled by the additional optical system 50 is added to the main light distribution MP controlled by the multiple main lenses 40. The additional light distribution AP is added to the main light distribution MP in a manner adjacent to the main light distribution MP or in a manner in which it partially overlaps the main light distribution MP. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the additional light distribution AP is added to the main light distribution MP in a manner in which a part of the additional light distribution AP (an area on the inner side in the vehicle width direction) overlaps an area on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the main light distribution MP. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the main light distribution MP and the additional light distribution AP are overlapped with each other to form one light distribution pattern P, and the irradiation range of the vehicle lamp 10R is partially expanded outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the irradiation range of the main light distribution MP.

[0051] In the vehicle lamp 10R configured as described above, multiple main lenses 40 are arranged in front of the light source 20 which uses an LED having multiple light-emitting elements 22, so that the image expressed by turning on and off or dimming each of the light-emitting elements 22 of the light source 20 can be directly enlarged and output as the main light distribution MP.

[0052] In addition, an additional optical system 50 that controls the light distribution forward as an additional light distribution AP that adds light from the light source 20 to the main light distribution MP is disposed outside the lens holder 30. That is, the additional optical system 50 controls light distribution independently of the multiple main lenses 40 and adds the additional light distribution AP to the main light distribution MP, so that the illumination range of the vehicle lamp 10R can be partially expanded with respect to the illumination range of the main light distribution MP without disrupting the main light distribution MP.

[0053] Furthermore, by controlling the orientation of the additional light distribution AP so that it partially overlaps with the main light distribution MP, it is possible to appropriately set the connection between the main light distribution MP and the additional light distribution AP.

[0054] In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to partially expand the illumination range while suppressing the deterioration of the overall light distribution.

[0055] Furthermore, by disposing the first additional lens 51 to the side of the entrance lens 40a, the light from the light source 20 that does not enter the main lens 40 (entrance lens 40a) can be made to enter the first additional lens 51. Therefore, the light from the light source 20 that does not enter the main lens 40 can be used to control the light distribution of the additional light distribution AP.

[0056] Furthermore, by disposing the second additional lens 52 in front of the entrance lens 40a, the light from the first additional lens 51 side can be irradiated forward of the vehicle 1.

[0057] In addition, since the diameter of the main lenses 40 is larger in the front lenses than in the rear lenses, the outer peripheral surface of the lens holder 30 can be shaped to gradually expand in diameter from the rear to the front. Therefore, the additional optical system 50 can pass an optical path that fits the outer peripheral surface of the lens holder 30, and the additional light distribution AP can be controlled to be distributed to the periphery of the main light distribution MP in a space-saving manner.

[0058] In this embodiment, the light from the light source 20 is incident on the additional optical system 50 (first additional lens 51) through the gap between the light emitting surface of the light source 20 and the rear end edge 30a of the lens holder 30, but this is not limited to this. For example, an opening may be provided on the side surface of the lens holder 30, and the incident surface of the additional optical system 50 may be disposed in front of the opening, so that the light leaking from the opening is incident on the additional optical system 50.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, all other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are naturally included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1: Vehicle 10L, 10R: Vehicle lighting fixtures 20:Light source 22: A plurality of light-emitting elements (light-emitting portions) 30: Lens holder 40: Multiple main lenses 40a: Incident lens 40b: First intermediate lens 40c: 2nd intermediate lens 40d: Exit lens 50: Additional optical system 51: First additional lens 51a: entrance surface of the first additional lens 51b: exit surface of the first additional lens 52: Second additional lens 52a: entrance surface of second additional lens 52b: exit surface of second additional lens

Claims

1. A light source having a plurality of light emitting units; A plurality of main lenses that control the distribution of light from the light source as a main light distribution in a predetermined irradiation direction; a lens holder for supporting the main lenses; an additional optical system that is disposed outside the lens holder and controls light distribution in the irradiation direction as an additional light distribution that adds light from the light source to the main light distribution, The additional light distribution is adjacent to the main light distribution or partially overlaps the main light distribution. A vehicle lamp characterized by the above.

2. the additional optical system includes a first additional lens located on the light source side, and a second additional lens located on the irradiation direction side of the first additional lens and configured to emit light from the first additional lens in the irradiation direction, the first additional lens is disposed on the side of an entrance lens that is disposed at a position closest to the light source among the plurality of main lenses, the second additional lens is disposed on the irradiation direction side of the incident lens, The additional optical system receives light from the light source that is not incident on the incident lens and controls light distribution in the irradiation direction as the additional light distribution.

2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1.

3. the additional optical system is disposed on one side of the lens holder in a horizontal direction, the first additional lens has an entrance surface having a concave cross section in a horizontal direction and a convex cross section in a vertical direction; The entrance surface of the second additional lens has a convex shape in a vertical cross section and protrudes toward the one side in the horizontal direction more than the first additional lens.

3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2.

4. a diameter of the plurality of main lenses is larger in a front lens in the irradiation direction than in a rear lens in the irradiation direction; The second additional lens is larger than the first additional lens.

4. A vehicle lamp according to claim 2 or 3.

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