Vehicular lighting fixture

Abstract

To suppress generation of light unevenness.SOLUTION: A vehicular lighting fixture includes: a light source; a light guide body for guiding the light from the light source and emits it to the front surface side; and an inner lens arranged on the front surface side of the light guide body, and configured for emitting the light emitted from the light guide body to the front surface side. The inner lens includes: a body part which has an incident surface which the light emitted from the light guide body enters, and an emission surface which emits the light that has entered from the incident surface; a front surface side protrusion part provided so as to protrude to the front surface side from the body part; and a back surface side protrusion part provided so as to protrude to the back surface side from the body part. The front surface side protrusion part protrudes to the front surface side from the body part, and emits, out of the light which has entered the inner lens, the light which has passed the back surface side protrusion part and reached the front surface side protrusion part and the light which has reached the front surface side protrusion part without passing the back surface side protrusion part to the front surface side so that at least parts of emission regions are overlapped with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicle lamps.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a vehicle lamp configured to guide light from a light source with a rod-shaped light guide and emit the light emitted from the light guide to the front of the vehicle to the front side of the vehicle through an inner lens (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the vehicle lamp as described above, the inner lens may be provided with a fixing protrusion for attaching a screw or the like. In this configuration, when the light incident on the inner lens reaches the protrusion and is internally reflected, the light may be emitted in an unintended direction, and light unevenness may occur.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle lamp capable of suppressing the occurrence of light unevenness.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The vehicle lamp according to the present invention includes a light source, a light guide that guides the light from the light source and emits it to the front side, and an inner lens that is disposed on the front side of the light guide and emits the light emitted from the light guide to the front side. The inner lens has a main body portion having an incident surface on which the light emitted from the light guide is incident and an emission surface that emits the light incident from the incident surface, a front side protruding portion provided so as to protrude from the main body portion toward the front side, and a back side protruding portion provided so as to protrude from the main body portion toward the back side. The front side protruding portion protrudes from the main body portion toward the front side, and emits to the front side such that at least a part of the emission regions of the light that reaches the front side protruding portion through the back side protruding portion and the light that reaches the front side protruding portion without passing through the back side protruding portion among the light incident on the inner lens overlap each other.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle lamp capable of suppressing the occurrence of light unevenness.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle lamp according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment. In addition, the components in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced by those skilled in the art and are easy to replace, or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] In this embodiment, each direction on the front side and the rear side is, for example, the direction in a state where the vehicle is mounted (vehicle-mounted state). For example, when mounted on the front part (front) of the vehicle, the front is the front direction (front side), and the rear is the rear direction (rear side). Also, when mounted on the rear part (rear) of the vehicle, the rear is the front direction (front side), and the front is the rear direction (rear side). Further, when mounted on the side part (side) of the vehicle, the outside of the vehicle is the front direction (front side), and the inside of the vehicle is the rear direction (rear side).

[0011] FIGS. 1 to 3 are diagrams schematically showing an example of a vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the vehicle lamp 100. In FIG. 1, the internal configuration is shown visible in a part (left end). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration along the A-A cross section in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration along the B-B cross section in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the configuration of the inner housing is omitted.

[0012] In this embodiment, the vehicle lamp 100 is provided at the rear of the vehicle. Therefore, the rear side in the front-rear direction will be described as the front side of the vehicle lamp 100, and the front side in the front-rear direction will be described as the rear side of the vehicle lamp 100. The vehicle lamp 100 is provided in a state of extending in the left-right direction. Note that the vehicle lamp 100 may be configured to be provided on either the left or right side of the rear of the vehicle.

[0013] The vehicle lamp 100 includes functional lamps. Examples of the functional lamps include a tail lamp provided at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and lit in conjunction with the lighting of the headlamp, a stop lamp provided at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and lit in conjunction with the operation of the braking device, and a rear turn signal lamp provided at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and lit to indicate the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 to the surroundings.

[0014] The vehicle lamp 100 includes a light source 10, a light guide 20, an inner lens 30, an outer lens 40, an inner housing 50, and an outer housing 60.

[0015] As the light source 10, a semiconductor light source such as an LED, a laser light source, etc. are used. One light source 10 is arranged on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle lamp 100. The light source 10 has a light emitting surface 11 that emits light. The light source 10 is arranged such that the light emitting surface 11 faces the outside of the vehicle.

[0016] The light guide 20 is rod-shaped. The light guide 20 is arranged across the entire left - right direction of the vehicle lamp 100. The light guide 20 has, for example, a bilaterally symmetric shape.

[0017] The light guide 20 has an end face 21 and a side face 22. The end face 21 is arranged at both ends in the left - right direction. The end face 21 faces the light emitting surface 11 of the light source 10. The end face 21 causes the light from the light source 10 to enter the inside of the light guide 20. In the light guide 20, the end face 21 is arranged to face the inside of the vehicle. The light guide 20 extends outward from the left and right end faces 21 respectively, curves downward in a U - shape, and is folded back toward the inside of the vehicle. Also, the light guide 20 is shaped such that the tip curved and folded back toward the inside of the vehicle curves upward over the central portion in the left - right direction and extends horizontally and is connected at the central portion in the left - right direction. Note that the shape of the light guide 20 is not limited to the above configuration and may be any shape.

[0018] The side surface 22 emits the light that has entered inside. A prism portion 22a (see FIG. 2 etc.) is formed on the back side in the vehicle-mounted state on the side surface 22. The prism portion 22a reflects the light that has entered from the end surface 21 and is internally reflected by the side surface 22 in a predetermined direction, that is, backward in the vehicle-mounted state. The light reflected by the prism portion 22a is emitted rearward from the emission portion 22b on the front side of the side surface 22 of the light guide 20.

[0019] The inner lens 30 guides the light emitted from the light guide 20 and emits it at least in the front direction in the vehicle-mounted state. The inner lens 30 is disposed, for example, on the front side (rearward) of the light guide 20.

[0020] The inner lens 30 has a main body portion 31, a rear-side protruding portion 32, and a front-side protruding portion 33. The inner lens 30 is integrally formed using a material such as a resin material that is entirely light-transmissive. The inner lens 30 is formed, for example, by molding.

[0021] The main body portion 31 has an incident surface 31a and an emission surface 31b. The incident surface 31a receives the light emitted from the light guide 20. The emission surface 31b emits the light that has entered from the incident surface 31a in the front direction. The incident surface 31a and the emission surface 31b may be provided with a light diffusion portion such as a texture, for example.

[0022] The rear-side protruding portion 32 is disposed on the rear side of the main body portion 31. In the present embodiment, the rear-side protruding portion 32 is disposed at the lower end of the main body portion 31. The rear-side protruding portion 32 has a shape in which a part protrudes to the rear side. In the present embodiment, the rear-side protruding portion 32 is used, for example, as an attachment portion for attaching the inner lens 30 to the inner housing 50. The rear-side protruding portion 32 may have an insertion hole into which a fixing member such as a screw for fixing the inner lens 30 to the inner housing 50 is inserted. Since the entire inner lens 30 is integrally formed, the light that has entered the inner lens 30 can travel and be internally reflected.

[0023] A control surface 32s is provided on the rear-side protruding portion 32. The control surface 32s internally reflects the light passing through the rear-side protruding portion 32 toward the front-side protruding portion 33. The control surface 32s is disposed on the upper surface of the base portion that protrudes from the main body portion 31 among the rear-side protruding portion 32. The control surface 32s internally reflects the light passing through the rear-side protruding portion 32 toward the lower surface 33b (to be described later) of the front-side protruding portion 33. The control surface 32s is disposed so as to incline downward toward the rear side (front).

[0024] The front-side protruding portion 33 is disposed at the lower end of the main body portion 31 corresponding to the rear-side protruding portion 32. The front-side protruding portion 33 is provided so as to protrude toward the front side. The front-side protruding portion 33 condenses part of the light incident on the inner lens 30 from the incident surface 31a in the vertical direction and emits it to the front side so as to be visually recognized as a strip-shaped or linear pattern. The front-side protruding portion 33 emits, to the front side, at least a part of the light that reaches the front-side protruding portion 33 through the rear-side protruding portion 32 and the light that reaches the front-side protruding portion 33 without passing through the rear-side protruding portion 32 in such a manner that they overlap each other in at least a part of the emission region.

[0025] The front-side protruding portion 33 is formed, for example, in a plate shape along a horizontal plane. The front-side protruding portion 33 is disposed at the lower end of the main body portion 31. The front-side protruding portion 33 is formed so as to extend across both ends in the left-right direction along the lower side of the main body portion 31. The front-side protruding portion 33 has an upper surface 33a, a lower surface 33b, and side surfaces 33c. The upper surface 33a is, for example, planar and is disposed so as to incline downward toward the front side (rear). The upper surface 33a may have a shape different from a planar shape. The front-side protruding portion 33 emits light from the upper surface 33a to the front side. The lower surface 33b is disposed along a horizontal plane. The lower surface 33b internally reflects the light from the rear-side protruding portion 32 toward the upper surface 33a.

[0026] The outer lens 40 emits the light emitted from the inner lens 30 to the outside of the vehicle lamp 100. The outer lens 40 is disposed on the front side (rear) of the inner lens 30.

[0027] The inner housing 50 holds the inner lens 30. The inner housing 50 has a support portion (not shown) that supports the rear protruding portion 32.

[0028] The outer housing 60 holds the light source 10, the light guide 20, the inner lens 30, the outer lens 40, and the inner housing 50.

[0029] Next, an example of the operation when the vehicle lamp 100 configured as described above is lit will be described. When a predetermined operation for lighting the function lamp is performed by the driver, the vehicle lamp 100 acquires an operation signal from the operation device. The control circuit provided on the substrate or the like of the light source 10 performs light emission control of the light source 10 according to the acquired signal.

[0030] Light is emitted from the light emitting surface 11 of the light source 10. This light enters the interior from the end face 21 of the light guide 20, is internally reflected by the prism portion 22a, and is emitted rearward from the emission portion 22b.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the lit state of the vehicle lamp 100. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an enlarged part of the inner lens 30 in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the light emission pattern of the vehicle lamp 100. As shown in FIG. 4, a part of the light emitted from the emission portion 22b (hereinafter referred to as "light ray L1") enters the inner lens 30 from the incident surface 31a, travels inside the main body portion 31, and is emitted to the front side from the emission surface 31b. The light ray L1 passes through the outer lens 40 and is emitted rearward of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 6, by the light ray L1, for example, a rectangular first light emission pattern P1 is formed at the central portion in the vertical direction of the outer lens 40.

[0032] Also, a part of the light emitted from the emission unit 22b (hereinafter referred to as "light ray L2") travels obliquely downward from the emission unit 22b and enters the inner lens 30 from the lower part of the incident surface 31a. The light ray L2 travels inside the main body 31 and reaches the front-side protruding part 33. As shown in FIG. 5, the light ray L2 is internally reflected by the lower surface 33b of the front-side protruding part 33 and is emitted forward from the emission region R2 on the upper surface 33a. The light ray L2 passes through the outer lens 40 and is emitted rearward of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 6, by the light ray L2, a second light-emitting pattern P2, which is, for example, a band-shaped or linear shape focused in the vertical direction, is formed at the lower part of the outer lens 40 in the vertical direction.

[0033] Also, a part of the light emitted from the emission unit 22b (hereinafter referred to as "light ray L3") enters the inner lens 30 from the incident surface 31a. The light ray L3 may enter the rear-side protruding part 32, for example, by being internally reflected by the emission surface 31b or the like. This light ray L3 travels rearward along the rear-side protruding part 32 while being internally reflected by, for example, the lower surface 32b and the upper surface 32a, and travels forward so as to turn back to the front side at the tip.

[0034] The light ray L3 that has passed through the rear-side protruding part 32 in this way reaches the control surface 32s as shown in FIG. 5 and is internally reflected by the control surface 32s toward the lower surface 33b of the front-side protruding part 33. The light ray L3 is internally reflected by the lower surface 33b of the front-side protruding part 33 and is emitted forward from the emission region R3 included in the above-mentioned emission region R2 on the upper surface 33a. Note that, as shown in FIG. 5, the emission is not limited to the mode in which the entire emission region R3 is included in the emission region R2. Any mode in which at least a part of the emission region R2 and the emission region R3 overlap may be used. The light ray L3 passes through the outer lens 40 and is emitted rearward of the vehicle.

[0035] In the inner lens 30, the light rays L2 and L3 are emitted such that at least a part of the emission regions R2 and R3 overlap. As a result, when viewed from the front side by an observer, the light from the light ray L3 is visually recognized in a state of being mixed with the light from the light ray L2. Here, since the light from the light ray L2 is in a state of being condensed in a band shape or a linear shape, it is visually recognized brighter than the light from the light ray L3. For this reason, apparently, the occurrence of light unevenness due to the light ray L3 is suppressed.

[0036] As described above, the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment includes a light source 10, a light guide 20 that guides the light from the light source 10 and emits it to the front side, and an inner lens 30 that is disposed on the front side of the light guide 20 and emits the light emitted from the light guide 20 to the front side. The inner lens 30 includes a main body portion 31 having an incident surface 31a on which the light emitted from the light guide 20 is incident and an emission surface 31b that emits the light incident from the incident surface 31a, a front side protruding portion 33 provided so as to protrude from the main body portion 31 toward the front side, and a back side protruding portion 32 provided so as to protrude from the main body portion 31 toward the back side. The front side protruding portion 33 is disposed corresponding to the back side protruding portion 32, protrudes from the main body portion 31 toward the front side, and emits the light ray L3 that has reached the front side protruding portion 33 via the back side protruding portion 32 and the light ray L2 that has reached the front side protruding portion 33 without passing through the back side protruding portion 32 to the front side such that at least a part of the emission regions R2 and R3 overlap.

[0037] According to this configuration, in the inner lens 30, the light rays L2 and L3 are emitted such that at least a part of the emission regions R2 and R3 overlap. As a result, when viewed from the front side by an observer, the light from the light ray L3 is visually recognized in a state of being mixed with the light from the light ray L2. Thereby, apparently, the occurrence of light unevenness can be suppressed.

[0038] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the inner lens 30 has a control surface 32s that internally reflects the light passing through the back side protruding portion 32 toward the front side protruding portion 33. According to this configuration, the light passing through the back side protruding portion 32 can be surely made to reach the front side protruding portion 33.

[0039] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the control surface 32s is disposed at the base portion of the back-side protrusion 32 that protrudes from the main body portion 31. According to this configuration, since the light is internally reflected from the base portion of the back-side protrusion 32 that is closest to the front-side protrusion 33 to the front-side protrusion 33, the light can reach the front-side protrusion 33 with high positional accuracy.

[0040] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the front-side protrusion 33 emits light from the upper surface 33a. According to this configuration, the light can be emitted toward a position higher than the height position where the vehicle lamp 100 is disposed, for example, the height position of the observer's line of sight.

[0041] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the upper surface 33a is planar and is provided so as to incline downward toward the front side. According to this configuration, the light can be effectively emitted obliquely upward to the front side.

[0042] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the front-side protrusion 33 has a lower surface 33b along the horizontal plane, and the lower surface 33b internally reflects the light internally reflected by the back-side protrusion 32 toward the upper surface 33a. According to this configuration, the light directed obliquely upward to the front side can be appropriately formed by the lower surface 33b.

[0043] In the vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment, the back-side protrusion 32 and the front-side protrusion 33 are disposed at the lower end of the main body portion 31. According to this configuration, the light unevenness caused by the back-side protrusion 32 disposed at the lower end of the main body portion 31 of the inner lens 30 can be appropriately suppressed.

[0044] The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the rear-side protruding portion 32 and the front-side protruding portion 33 are arranged at the lower end portion of the main body portion 31 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The rear-side protruding portion 32 and the front-side protruding portion 33 may be arranged at other portions such as the upper end portion of the main body portion 31.

[0045] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the rear-side protruding portion 32 is an attachment portion for attaching the inner lens 30 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The rear-side protruding portion 32 may be other portions as long as the configuration is such that a part of the main body portion 31 is deformed so as to protrude to the rear side.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0046] L1, L2, L3... light rays, R2, R3... emission regions, 10... light source, 11... light-emitting surface, 20... light guide, 21... end face, 22, 33c... side faces, 22a... prism portion, 22b... emission portion, 30... inner lens, 31... main body portion, 31a... incident surface, 31b... emission surface, 32... rear-side protruding portion, 32a, 33a... upper surfaces, 32b, 33b... lower surfaces, 32s... control surface, 33... front-side protruding portion, 40... outer lens, 50... inner housing, 60... outer housing, 100... vehicle lamp

Claims

1. A light source, a light guide that guides light from the light source and emits it to the front side, and an inner lens disposed on the front side of the light guide and emitting the light emitted from the light guide to the front side are provided, wherein the inner lens has a main body portion having an incident surface on which the light emitted from the light guide is incident and an emission surface that emits the light incident from the incident surface, a front-side protruding portion provided so as to protrude from the main body portion toward the front side, and a rear-side protruding portion provided so as to protrude from the main body portion toward the rear side, the front-side protruding portion protrudes from the main body portion toward the front side, and of the light incident on the inner lens, the light that reaches the front-side protruding portion via the rear-side protruding portion and the light that reaches the front-side protruding portion without passing through the rear-side protruding portion are emitted to the front side such that at least a part of their emission regions overlap each other a vehicle lamp.

2. The inner lens has a control surface that internally reflects the light that has passed through the rear-side protruding portion toward the front-side protruding portion The vehicle lamp according to claim 1.

3. The control surface is disposed at a base portion that protrudes from the main body portion among the rear-side protruding portions The vehicle lamp according to claim 2.

4. The front-side protruding portion emits the light from an upper surface The vehicle lamp according to claim 1.

5. The upper surface is planar and is provided so as to incline downward toward the front side The vehicle lamp according to claim 4.

6. The front-side protruding portion has a lower surface along a horizontal plane, and the lower surface internally reflects the light that has been internally reflected by the rear-side protruding portion toward the upper surface The vehicle lamp according to claim 4.

7. The rear-side protruding portion and the front-side protruding portion are disposed at a lower end of the main body portion The vehicle lamp according to claim 4.

Images