Lighting system for vehicle interior and vehicle interior

Abstract

To provide a lighting system for a vehicle interior, which inflects light from a light source on an uneven part of a lens to project a pattern to an irradiation surface, and can provide wide representations by the pattern projected to the irradiation surface, and the vehicle interior provided with the vehicle interior lighting system.SOLUTION: A lighting system 1 for a vehicle interior comprises: a light source unit 10 that includes a plurality of point light sources 101 provided at different positions; and a lens 11 having an uneven part provided in at least one of first and second surfaces 111 and 112. A timing for changing outputs of at least some of the point light sources 101 is controlled. Light emitted from the light source unit 10 is inflected on the uneven part to be taken out and, by applying the light to an external light irradiation surface 20, a pattern corresponding to a shape of the uneven part changed over time is projected to the light irradiation surface 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle interior lighting device and a vehicle interior accessory. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a lighting device equipped with a light guide that guides light emitted from a light source to an irradiation surface inside a vehicle cabin, and a pattern panel with a pattern formed on its surface by projections and recesses (see Patent Document 1). According to the lighting device described in Patent Document 1, the light from the light guide is refracted by the projections and recesses of the pattern panel, changing its direction of travel before being irradiated onto the irradiation surface, so that the pattern of the pattern panel is projected onto the irradiation surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-40194 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the lighting device described in Patent Document 1 has a drawback in that the expression of the projected image tends to be monotonous since the pattern of the pattern panel is simply projected onto the irradiation surface.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle interior lighting device that refracts light from a light source through the unevenness of a lens to project a pattern onto an illuminated surface, and that can achieve a wide range of expression through the pattern projected onto the illuminated surface, as well as a vehicle interior accessory equipped with the vehicle interior lighting device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides the following vehicle interior lighting device and vehicle interior accessory.

[0007] [1] A vehicle interior lighting device comprising: a light source unit having a plurality of point light sources arranged at different positions; and a lens having unevenness on at least one of a first surface on the side of the light source unit and a second surface on the opposite side, wherein the timing of changing the output of at least some of the plurality of point light sources is independently controlled; light emitted from the light source unit is refracted by the unevenness, extracted, and irradiated onto an external light irradiation surface, thereby projecting a pattern corresponding to the shape of the unevenness which changes over time onto the light irradiation surface. [2] In the light source section, the plurality of point light sources are arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction of the lens, and the plurality of point light sources are turned on one by one or in a predetermined number of rows, or in a random order. [3] The vehicle interior lighting device according to [2] above, wherein each of the plurality of point light sources fades in and fades out when turned on and off, respectively. [4] The vehicle interior lighting device according to any one of the above [1] to [3], wherein the unevenness is provided on both the first surface and the second surface of the lens. [5] A vehicle interior part comprising the vehicle interior lighting device according to any one of the above [1] to [3] and an interior part including the light irradiation surface on a surface thereof. [6] The vehicle interior part according to the above [5], wherein the interior part is a door trim, an instrument panel, a ceiling lining, a glove box, or a console. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle interior lighting device that refracts light from a light source through the unevenness of a lens to project a pattern onto an illuminated surface, and that can achieve a wide range of expressions through the pattern projected onto the illuminated surface, as well as a vehicle interior accessory equipped with the vehicle interior lighting device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1(a) and 1(b) are a perspective view and a vertical sectional view, respectively, of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lighting device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] Fig. 3(a) is a plan view of the light source unit as viewed from the mounting surface side of the point light source, and Fig. 3(b) is a side view of the lens. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the interior of a vehicle in which a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] 1(a) and 1(b) are respectively a perspective view and a vertical sectional view of a lighting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.

[0011] The lighting device 1 is an indirect lighting device for vehicle interiors, and includes a light source unit 10 having a plurality of point light sources 101 arranged at different positions, and a lens 11 having irregularities on at least one of a first surface 111 on the side of the light source unit 10 and a second surface 112 on the opposite side.

[0012] In the lighting device 1, the timing of output change of at least some of the multiple point light sources 101 is independently controlled. Then, the light emitted from the light source unit 10 is refracted by the above-mentioned unevenness, extracted, and irradiated onto the external light irradiation surface 20, so that a pattern of light and dark that changes over time and corresponds to the shape of the unevenness is projected onto the light irradiation surface 20.

[0013] The light source unit 10 includes a plurality of point light sources 101 that emit visible light, and a substrate 102 such as a printed circuit board on which the plurality of point light sources 101 are mounted. The light source unit 10 is installed so that the surface on which the point light sources 101 are mounted faces the lens 11 (the lower side in FIGS. 1(a) and (b)).

[0014] The point light source 101 is typically an LED (Light Emitting Diode) chip, but is not limited thereto and may be, for example, an LD (Laser Diode) chip. The light emission color of the point light source 101 is not particularly limited, and may be an element capable of emitting multiple colors, such as a full-color LED.

[0015] 3(a) is a plan view of the light source unit 10 as viewed from the mounting surface side of the point light sources 101. In the light source unit 10, in order to effectively irradiate light toward the lens 11, it is preferable that the point light sources 101 are arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11. The interval D1 between the point light sources 101 arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11 is, for example, 5 to 50 mm.

[0016] The width W1 of the substrate 102 in the longitudinal direction is determined according to the length of the row of point light sources 101 aligned along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11, etc. The length of the row of point light sources 101 aligned along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11 is determined according to the width W2 of the lens 11 in the longitudinal direction, etc.

[0017] 3(a), the point light sources 101 are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11. When there are multiple rows in which the point light sources 101 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11, the distance between the point light sources 101 and the light irradiation surface 20 varies for each row, so that a more complex pattern can be projected onto the light irradiation surface 20. The interval D2 between the rows of the point light sources 101 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11 is, for example, 5 to 25 mm.

[0018] Lens 11 is a plate- or rod-shaped lens having a first surface 111 on the side of light source unit 10 and a second surface 112 on the opposite side. Because lens 11 is a plate- or rod-shaped lens, it can be easily manufactured by injection molding or the like. The concaves and convexes provided on first surface 111 and second surface 112 are referred to as concaves and convexes 113 and concaves and convexes 114, respectively.

[0019] Fig. 3(b) is a side view of lens 11. Lens 11 has at least one of unevenness 113 and unevenness 114, but as exemplified in Fig. 3, it is preferable that lens 11 has both unevenness 113 and unevenness 114, that is, unevenness is provided on both first surface 111 and second surface 112. In this case, a complex pattern according to the shapes of both unevenness 113 and unevenness 114 can be formed on light irradiation surface 20.

[0020] Furthermore, in order to form a more complex pattern on the light irradiation surface 20, it is preferable that the unevenness 113 and the unevenness 114 are unevennesses having an irregular pattern without periodicity, for example, irregularly wavy unevennesses as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0021] Moreover, since the unevenness 113 and the unevenness 114 are intended to form a pattern on the light irradiation surface 20, they are much coarser than the unevenness generally used for uniform surface emission, which is formed by prism processing, texture processing, dot processing, etc. For example, the maximum height Rz of the unevenness 113 and the unevenness 114 is within a range of 1 to 2.5 mm.

[0022] The lens 11 is made of a material that is transparent to the visible light emitted from the light source unit 10, such as an acrylic resin or a polycarbonate (PC) resin. The width W2 of the lens 11 in the longitudinal direction is set according to the shape and size of the interior part 2 to which the lighting device 1 is attached. The thickness T of the lens 11 is, for example, 2 to 5 mm.

[0023] The light source unit 10 and the lens 11 are housed and held in a cover 12, as shown in, for example, Figures 1(a), (b) and 2. As shown in Figure 2, the cover 12 is open in the light extraction direction of the lighting device 1, i.e., in the direction in which the second surface 112 of the lens 11 faces.

[0024] The cover 12 is typically made of a material that has low transmittance to visible light, such as polypropylene (PP) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

[0025] The lighting device 1 is attached to, for example, an interior part 2 that includes a light irradiation surface 20 on its surface. That is, according to the present embodiment, it is also possible to provide a vehicle interior part that includes the lighting device 1 and the interior part 2. The interior part 2 is, for example, a door trim, an instrument panel, a ceiling lining, a glove box, or a console.

[0026] As described above, in the lighting device 1, the timing of output change of at least some of the multiple point light sources 101 is controlled independently, for example, the timing of output change of all of the point light sources 101 is controlled independently.

[0027] The unevenness provided on at least one of the first surface 111 and the second surface 112 of the lens 11 forms different patterns on the light irradiation surface 20 depending on the positions of the point light sources 101 that emit light. Therefore, by independently controlling the timing of output change of at least some of the point light sources 101 and changing the timing of output change of the point light sources 101 arranged at different positions, it is possible to change the pattern projected on the light irradiation surface 20 over time. For example, if the unevenness of the lens 11 has an irregularly wavy shape, it is possible to express a pattern that shimmers like shimmering on the surface of water (shimmering expression).

[0028] Independently controlling the timing of output change typically means independently controlling the timing of turning on (changing the output from 0 to a predetermined magnitude) and the timing of turning off (changing the output from a predetermined magnitude to 0). That is, each of the multiple point light sources 101 can be made to emit light by repeatedly turning on and off at its own timing.

[0029] For example, the above-mentioned flickering expression can be more effectively achieved by lighting the multiple point light sources 101 arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction of the lens 11 one by one or in a predetermined number of lines in a lined order, or by lighting them in a random order. Also, the time from turning on to turning off the multiple point light sources 101 and the maximum brightness may be independently controlled, and for example, a more complex flickering expression can be achieved by randomizing the time from turning on to turning off the each point light source 101 and the maximum brightness.

[0030] When turning on and off the multiple point light sources 101 as the output change, it is preferable to fade in and fade out the lights when they are turned on and off, respectively. This makes it possible to make the change over time of the pattern formed on the light irradiation surface 20 smoother by independently controlling the timing of turning on and off at least some of the multiple point light sources 101.

[0031] Furthermore, when each of the multiple point light sources 101 is faded in and faded out when turned on and off, it is preferable that one of the point light sources 101 is always in an emitting state while the multiple point light sources 101 are in operation. In that case, the emission timing of one point light source 101 and the emission timing of the next point light source 101 that emits light overlap, so that the change over time of the pattern formed on the light irradiation surface 20 can be made even smoother.

[0032] The more point light sources 101 included in the light source unit 10, the more complex the pattern formed on the light irradiation surface 20 can be changed and the more diverse the expression can be achieved, but on the other hand, the manufacturing cost of the lighting device 1 increases. For this reason, the number of point light sources 101 included in the light source unit 10 can be adjusted depending on, for example, the grade of the vehicle in which the lighting device 1 is mounted.

[0033] The plurality of point light sources 101 are connected to a control unit that controls the light emitting operation of the plurality of point light sources 101, and emit light upon receiving a light emitting instruction signal from the control unit. The control unit is, for example, a microcomputer composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculations, processing, etc. on acquired data according to a stored program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a semiconductor memory, and a ROM (Read Only Memory). For example, a program for operating the control unit is stored in this ROM. The RAM is used, for example, as a storage area that temporarily stores calculation results, etc. The control unit may be included inside the lighting device 1, for example, on the board 102, or may be included outside the lighting device 1, for example, in an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0034] The control unit can control the light emitting operation of the multiple point light sources 101 in response to, for example, an instruction from a vehicle occupant via a switch or the like, or a change in the operating state of the vehicle, such as starting up the drive unit or unlocking.

[0035] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the interior of a vehicle 9 equipped with the lighting device 1. The lighting device 1 can be attached to interior accessories such as door trims 91 of the doors on the driver's seat 90a and passenger seat 90b sides, door trims 93 of the doors on the rear seat 92 side, and an instrument panel 94. In Fig. 4, an example of the mounting position of the lighting device 1 is shown by a dotted line, and an example of the position of the light irradiation surface 20 is shown painted gray.

[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the door trim 93 and the instrument panel 94 correspond to the interior accessory 2 including the light irradiation surface 20 on the surface. The lighting device 1 can also be installed at a position where the light irradiation surface 20 is the ceiling 95 or the floor 96 under the feet of a seated occupant. When the ceiling 95 is the light irradiation surface 20, the ceiling lining corresponds to the interior accessory 2. When the floor 96 is the light irradiation surface 20, the instrument panel 94, the glove box, the console, and the like correspond to the interior accessory 2. When the console is the interior accessory 2, any of the area in front of the driver's seat 90a, the area in front of the passenger seat 90b, and the area in front of the rear seat 92 on the floor 96 can be the light irradiation surface 20 depending on the mounting position of the lighting device 1. The lighting device 1 can have a size and shape according to the form of the interior accessory 2 to which it is attached. The light irradiation direction of the lighting device 1 attached to the vehicle 9 is freely set according to the form of the interior accessory 2 to which it is attached, and the lighting device 1 is attached at an angle according to the light irradiation direction.

[0037] (Effects of the embodiment) According to the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, by using a plurality of point light sources 101 whose output change timing can be controlled independently, and refracting light through the irregularities provided on the lens 11 before extracting it, it is possible to change the pattern formed on the light irradiation surface 20 over time. This enables a wider range of expression compared to expression using a pattern that does not change over time.

[0038] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the components of the above embodiment can be combined in any manner without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0039] In addition, the above-described embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Also, it should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Lighting equipment 10 Light source section 101 Point light source 102 Substrate 11 Lens 111 First Side 112 Second Side 113, 114 unevenness 12 Cover 2 Interior parts 20 Light irradiation surface

Claims

1. A light source unit having a plurality of point light sources provided at different positions; a lens having a first surface on the side of the light source unit and a second surface on the opposite side, the first surface being provided with projections and recesses; Equipped with The timing of changing the output of at least a part of the plurality of point light sources is independently controlled; The light emitted from the light source unit is refracted by the unevenness, extracted, and irradiated onto an external light irradiation surface, thereby projecting a pattern corresponding to the shape of the unevenness which changes over time onto the light irradiation surface. Lighting device for vehicle interiors.

2. In the light source unit, the plurality of point light sources are arranged side by side along a longitudinal direction of the lens, The plurality of point light sources are turned on one by one or in a predetermined order, or in a random order.

2. The vehicle interior lighting device according to claim 1.

3. Each of the plurality of point light sources fades in and fades out when turned on and off, respectively.

3. The vehicle interior lighting device according to claim 2.

4. The unevenness is provided on both the first surface and the second surface of the lens. The vehicle interior lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A vehicle interior lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, An interior product having the light irradiation surface on a surface thereof; Equipped with Vehicle interior parts.

6. The interior part is a door trim, an instrument panel, a ceiling lining, a glove box, or a console. The vehicle interior part according to claim 5.

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