Vehicular lighting fixture

Abstract

To provide a vehicular lighting fixture which can acquire relevancy at the time of lighting of lamps separately arranged and satisfies the requirement required for a lamp, and which can enhance the design effect of the lamp.SOLUTION: Two low-beam lamps LoL (34L) are provided for performing light irradiation with low-beam light distribution. Between these low-beam lamps LoL (34L), one high-beam lamp HiL (34H) is disposed. A lighting state of the high-beam lamp HiL (34H) can be switched between the low-beam light distribution and the high-beam light distribution. When the two low-beam lamps LoL (34L) are lighted, by the high-beam lamp HiL (34H) being lighted with the low-beam light distribution, at the time of lighting of the two low-beam lamps LoL (34L), the appearance shows mutual relevancy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp suitable for application to a front lamp (headlamp) of a motorcycle.

Background Art

[0002] Front lamps such as headlamps, positioning lamps, and turn signals of motorcycles are often equipped in the cowl part at the front of the vehicle body. In particular, regarding headlamps, in recent years, due to design requirements, a configuration in which a high beam lamp and a low beam lamp are arranged side by side in the left - right direction has been adopted. Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which three lamps are arranged in the left - right direction, two of which are configured as low beam lamps and one is configured as a high beam lamp.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such a headlamp composed of three lamps, in order to enhance the appearance when the headlamp is lit, it is conceivable to arrange the high beam lamp in the center and two low beam lamps on both sides thereof. That is, when observing the motorcycle from the front when the low beam lamps are lit, the two low beam lamps are lit symmetrically left and right, resulting in a well - balanced appearance and enhanced design.

[0005] However, in a configuration where the low beam lamps are arranged on the left and right sides of the high beam lamp in this way, when the two low beam lamps are lit, an unlit portion will be created by the unlit high beam lamp between these lamps. Therefore, it becomes difficult to satisfy the requirements for a motorcycle headlamp, such as the requirement that the dimension between the lamps when the two low beam lamps are arranged is below a predetermined dimension. Also, when observing the two left and right low beam lamps, it becomes difficult to establish the relevance between both lamps, and it becomes difficult to enhance the design effect of the lamps.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp capable of satisfying the requirements for a lamp and enhancing the design effect of the lamp by enabling the establishment of relevance when the lamps arranged spaced apart in the left - right direction are lit.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] The vehicle lamp of the present invention includes at least two low beam lamps that perform light irradiation with a low beam light distribution, and at least one lamp is disposed between these two low beam lamps. The at least one lamp is capable of light irradiation with a low beam light distribution and a light distribution different from this, and is configured to perform light irradiation with a low beam light distribution when the two low beam lamps are lit. For example, the at least one lamp is a high beam lamp capable of switching the lighting state between a low beam light distribution and a high beam light distribution.

[0008] In the present invention, it is preferable that the two low beam lamps and one high beam lamp are configured as one headlamp unit. In this form, the headlamp unit includes a plurality of light sources and a plurality of reflectors that reflect the light of the plurality of light sources respectively. The plurality of reflectors preferably includes a low beam reflector that constitutes the low beam lamp and a high beam reflector that constitutes the high beam lamp. Also, the plurality of reflectors are preferably integrally formed as a multi - reflector.

[0009] Also, in this form, the light source includes at least two light emitting elements corresponding to the high beam reflector, and these at least two light emitting elements are selectively controlled to emit light so that the high beam light distribution and the low beam light distribution are switched. For example, the high beam reflector is composed of a plurality of light reflecting surfaces with different surface shapes corresponding to at least two light emitting elements. That is, the high beam reflector is configured to include a low beam reflecting surface that reflects the light emitted from one of the at least two light emitting elements with a low beam light distribution, and a high beam reflecting surface that reflects the light emitted from the other one of the at least two light emitting elements with a high beam light distribution.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, when the spaced-apart low beam lamps are lit, the lamps arranged between them are lit with a low beam light distribution, so that the spaced-apart low beam lamps are connected and appear to be lit as one lamp. As a result, the requirements required for the lamp can be satisfied, and the design effect of the lamp can be enhanced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a motorcycle equipped with the lamp of the present invention. A composite front lamp CFL is disposed at the central front end of a cowl CwL provided at the front part of the vehicle body of the motorcycle AM. Further, left and right turn signal lamps TSL are disposed on both the left and right sides above the composite front lamp CFL. In addition, a windshield WS is disposed in a region from above the composite front lamp CFL toward the rear on the cowl CwL. Hereinafter, the front-rear direction and the up-down direction are made to coincide with the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the motorcycle AM and the composite front lamp CFL.

[0013] The left and right turn signal lamps TSL each function as a wink lamp that lights up when the motorcycle AM changes its traveling direction. Each turn signal lamp TSL is composed of an existing single-type lamp and has little relation to the composite front lamp CFL to which the present invention is applied, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0014] The composite front lamp CFL is a lamp related to the present invention, and this composite front lamp CFL has a configuration in which a headlamp HL and a positioning lamp PL are integrally incorporated into one lamp housing 1. The headlamp HL is composed of three lamps arranged in the left-right direction. The central lamp is configured as a high beam lamp HiL, and the two lamps sandwiching the high beam lamp HiL on the left and right are configured as low beam lamps LoL. Further, the positioning lamp PL is composed of two line-type lamps extending from both the left and right sides of the central high beam lamp HiL to the left and right obliquely upper regions.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a front view in which a part of the composite front lamp CFL is broken away. Further, FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the main part disassembled. In these figures, the lamp housing 1 of the composite front lamp CFL includes a lamp body 11 and an outer cover 12. And an extension 2 is disposed in the lamp housing 1, and a headlamp unit 3 constituting the headlamp HL and a positioning lamp unit 4 constituting the positioning lamp PL are installed inside. In the embodiment, the headlamp unit 3 is disposed in the lower region inside the lamp housing 1, and the positioning lamp unit 4 is disposed in a region extending from the center of this lower region toward the upper left and right regions respectively.

[0016] The lamp body 11 is formed in a container shape with an open front surface, and its front shape is made to match the shape when the cowl CwL of the motorcycle AM is viewed from the front side, and it is attached to the front part of the cowl CwL.

[0017] The outer cover 12 is also referred to as an outer lens, and is formed of a light-transmissive material, for example, a transparent resin, and is attached so as to cover the front opening of the lamp body 11. The outer cover 12 has a curved surface shape protruding forward, and in particular, the curved surface shape of the light-transmissive portion (the region excluding the dotted region) shown in FIG. 3 is formed so as to constitute a continuous curved surface with the curved surface shape of the cowl CwL. The peripheral wall of the outer cover 12 extends rearward as a leg portion 13, and the inside of the lamp housing 1 is sealed by adhering or welding the leg portion 13 to the front opening edge portion 14 of the lamp body 11.

[0018] The extension 2 has an outer shape corresponding to the front opening of the lamp body 11, and is formed of a plate-like member bent in the plate thickness direction, and is supported by the lamp body 11 in a state of being disposed along the inner surface of the outer cover 12. Three light-emitting windows 21 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction at the lower part of the extension 2, and the above-described headlamp unit 3 is disposed on the rear side of these light-emitting windows 21. Further, on the front surface of the extension 2, two linear recesses 22 are formed in a region extending from both sides of the central light-emitting window 21 to the upper left and right extensions, and positioning lamp units 4 are respectively assembled in these recesses 22.

[0019] The extension 2 is formed of resin or the like, and the front surface facing the front of the lamp is subjected to a surface treatment such as aluminum vapor deposition. In FIGS. 2 and 4, this aluminum vapor deposition surface is depicted by dotted lines. By applying this aluminum vapor deposition, a metallic feeling when the extension 2 is observed from the outside through the outer cover 12 is obtained, and the design effect of the composite front lamp CFL is enhanced. Further, when the positioning lamp units 4 are assembled in the two linear recesses 22, the aluminum vapor deposition surface of the recess 22 functions as a pseudo-reflector in the positioning lamp unit 4.

[0020] The two positioning lamp units 4 have a symmetric configuration. In FIG. 2, one (the right side in the drawing) of the positioning lamp units 4 is shown with a partial break, and in FIG. 4, it is shown disassembled. Each positioning lamp unit 4 includes a rod-shaped light guide (light conductor) 42 installed in the linear recess 22 formed in the extension 2, and a positioning lamp LED (hereinafter, P-LED) 41 installed in the same recess 22 and for incident light from one end surface of the light guide 42. Then, on the front side of this recess 22, a gutter-shaped inner lens 43 having a lens step formed for diverging or diffusing and transmitting light is attached so as to cover the recess 22.

[0021] In the positioning lamp unit 4, when the P-LED 41 emits light, the emitted light, for example, white light, is incident on one end face of the light guide 42, and is guided through the light guide 42 in the longitudinal direction while being emitted from the circumferential surface. The emitted light is diverged or diffused and transmitted by the inner lens 43, and further transmitted through the outer cover 12 and irradiated forward. It is preferable that the presence of the light guide 42 cannot be discriminated from the outside due to the lens step provided on the inner lens 43. Further, the inner lens 43 may be formed of a colorless and transparent material, but may be thinly colored with an appropriate color in order to enhance the design effect in terms of color when the positioning lamp PL is not lit.

[0022] As described above, the headlamp unit 3 is disposed in the lower region within the lamp housing 1, behind the extension 2, and is supported by the lamp body 11 by the aiming mechanism 5. The headlamp unit 3 is shown in FIG. 4, and an enlarged exploded perspective view is shown in FIG. 5. The headlamp unit 3 is configured to include a light source unit 31 and a multi-reflector 32 that reflects the light emitted from the light source unit 31 and performs light irradiation with required light distribution characteristics.

[0023] The multi-reflector 32 has a planar top plate 33 having a required length in the left-right direction. Three reflectors 34L, 34H, 34L that are extended downward and forward from the rear edge of the top plate 33 and partitioned in the left-right direction are integrally formed. The left and right reflectors 34L, 34L constitute the low beam lamp LoL, and the central reflector 34H constitutes the high beam lamp HiL. That is, the left and right reflectors 34L, 34L are configured as low beam reflectors (hereinafter referred to as L reflectors) having light reflecting surfaces for forming a low beam light distribution. The central reflector 34H is configured as a high beam reflector (hereinafter referred to as H reflector) having a light reflecting surface for forming a high beam light distribution, but is also capable of forming a low beam light distribution.

[0024] The left and right L reflectors 34L and 34L have shapes that are nearly symmetrical, and are arranged at substantially the same positions in the longitudinal direction of the lamp. The central H reflector 34H is arranged at a position somewhat forward of the left and right reflectors 34L and 34L. And the three L reflectors 34L, 34L and the H reflector 34H are respectively arranged opposite to three light-emitting windows 21 that are opened at the lower part of the extension 2. Also, on the top plate 33, three light-incident windows 37 are provided at positions corresponding to the L reflectors 34L, 34L and the H reflector 34H respectively.

[0025] The light reflecting surfaces of the L reflectors 34L, 34L and the H reflector 34H are each configured based on a paraboloid of revolution. That is, taking the imaginary line shown by the chain line extended in the longitudinal direction in FIG. 3 as the axis Ax, with a paraboloid of revolution having a predetermined position on this axis Ax as the focus as the basis, the region of the paraboloid of revolution below this axis Ax is configured as the light reflecting surface. Also, in the embodiment, as shown in the enlarged view of the light reflecting surfaces of the L reflector 34L and the H reflector 34H in FIG. 5, each light reflecting surface is configured as a surface approximating a paraboloid of revolution with unit light reflecting surfaces each consisting of a plurality of small-area planes or surfaces close thereto arranged in a mosaic pattern.

[0026] FIG. 6(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the L reflectors 34L, 34L. Since the cross-sectional shapes of the left and right L reflectors 34L are substantially the same, only one L reflector 34L will be described. The light reflecting surface of the L reflector 34L is a reflecting surface based on a substantially single paraboloid of revolution, and is configured as a low-beam reflecting surface (hereinafter, L reflecting surface) 341 that reflects light with a low-beam light distribution over substantially the entire area. Also, at the front edge of this L reflecting surface 341, an overhead reflecting surface (hereinafter, OH reflecting surface) 343 that diffusely reflects light upward and in the left and right directions is integrally formed. Here, this OH surface 342 has a configuration in which a plurality of minute cylindrical steps (cylindrical surface steps) are arranged in the left and right directions.

[0027] FIG. 6(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the central H reflector 34H. The light reflecting surface of the H reflector 34H is partitioned into three regions along the front-rear direction. The rear region is configured as a high beam reflecting surface (hereinafter, H reflecting surface) 343 formed based on a paraboloid of revolution having a shorter focal length (the distance between the focus and the vertex of the reference paraboloid of revolution) than that of the L reflector. The middle region is configured as a low beam reflecting surface (L reflecting surface) 344 formed based on a paraboloid of revolution having a longer focal length than this. The front region is configured as an overhead reflecting surface (OH reflecting surface) 345 that diffusely reflects light upward and in the left-right direction.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5, the light source unit 31 includes a light source substrate 35 fixedly supported on the top plate 33 of the multi-reflector 32. The light source substrate 35 is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the left-right direction of the multi-reflector 32, and a plurality of light emitting elements 36 are mounted on the surface facing downward with their light emitting surfaces facing downward. In the embodiment, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are adopted as the light emitting elements 36, and one LED 36L, 36L is mounted at a position closer to the left and right of the light source substrate 35, and two LEDs 36HL, 36HH are mounted spaced apart in the front-rear direction at the center. Each LED 36 is arranged facing the light incident window 37 provided in the substrate 33 of the multi-reflector 32, and faces each reflector 34L, 34H, 34L through the light incident window 37. Although a light emitting circuit for causing each mounted LED 36 to emit light is constructed on the light source substrate 35, illustration and description of this light emitting circuit are omitted.

[0029] Among the plurality of LEDs 36, the two LEDs 36L and 36L mounted on the left and right sides are LEDs (hereinafter referred to as L-LEDs) serving as the light sources of the low beam lamp LoL, and are arranged at the focal positions or positions in the vicinity thereof of the two L-reflectors 34L and 34L on the left and right respectively. The two central LEDs 36HL and 36HH are LEDs serving as the light sources of the high beam lamp HiL. The front LED 36HL is an LED for low beam light distribution (hereinafter referred to as HL-LED), and the rear LED 36HH is an LED for high beam light distribution (hereinafter referred to as HH-LED). The HL-LED 36HL is arranged at the focal position or a position in the vicinity thereof of the L reflecting surface 344 of the H-reflector 34H, and the HH-LED 36HH is arranged at the focal position or a position in the vicinity thereof of the H reflecting surface 343.

[0030] Here, the power supplied to the central HL-LED 36HL is set to be lower than the power supplied to each of the left and right L-LEDs 36L. For example, with respect to the power of the left and right L-LEDs 36L, the power of the central HL-LED 36HL is set to about 1 / 10 to 1 / 12. For the HH-LED 36HH, it is set to be supplied with normal power.

[0031] The aiming mechanism 5 that supports the headlamp unit 3 on the lamp body 11 is for tilting and adjusting the optical axis of the headlamp unit 3 in the vertical direction. Various configurations of the aiming mechanism 5 have been proposed. Here, as shown in the schematic configuration viewed from the rear in FIG. 7, two positions at the left and right upper ends of the multi-reflector 32 on both sides of the headlamp unit 3 are used as the fulcrum portions PS, and the left and right central lower portions of the multi-reflector 32 are used as the adjustment portion PM. That is, by operating the adjustment portion PM to displace the lower portion of the multi-reflector 32 in the front-rear direction, the multi-reflector 32 is configured to tilt in the vertical direction with the fulcrum portions PS on both sides of the upper portion as the axes.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 7, fulcrum brackets 51 protruding outwardly to the left and right are provided at the left and right upper ends of the multi-reflector 32 at the fulcrum portion PS of the aiming mechanism 5. Further, an adjustment bracket 52 protruding rearward from the rear surface of the H-reflector 34C of the multi-reflector 32 is provided at the adjustment portion PM.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the fulcrum portion PS, and FIGS. 9(a) and (b) are a horizontal sectional view and an elevation view thereof. These figures show the left fulcrum portion PS as viewed from the front of the lamp, and since the right fulcrum portion PS has a symmetric configuration with respect to this, the same reference numerals are given to each part. The fulcrum bracket 51 has both sides facing in the front-rear direction, and a hole having a required diameter dimension is opened in this fulcrum bracket 51, and a ball stud 53 is inserted and supported in this hole. The ball stud 53 is provided with a ball 531 at its tip, and is supported by a snap portion 532 provided at the base end being inserted and fitted into the hole of the fulcrum bracket 51. The ball 531 of the ball stud 53 is directed rearward when supported.

[0034] Further, on the outer edge portions in the left-right direction of the fulcrum bracket 51, restricting pieces 54 protruding rearward with both sides facing in the vertical direction are formed. The convex end portion 541 directed rearward of this restricting piece 54 is located on the line of the aiming axis Ex. This aiming axis Ex is a line that becomes the axis when the multi-reflector 32 is tilted as described later, and is a line connecting the centers of the respective balls 531 of the ball studs 53 respectively disposed at the left and right fulcrum portions PS of the multi-reflector 32.

[0035] On the other hand, ball sockets 55 protruding forward are integrally formed at positions facing the left and right fulcrum brackets 51 on the inner surface of the rear wall of the lamp body 11. The ball sockets 55 are formed integrally with the lamp body 11 by resin molding. Each ball socket 55 is formed in a cylindrical shape and includes a plurality of engaging pieces 551 divided in the circumferential direction by slits provided at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction, and a spherical inner chamber is defined inside the engaging pieces 551.

[0036] Also, on the inner surface of the rear wall of the lamp body 11, restricting bodies 56 are respectively formed at the outer positions of the left and right ball sockets 55, that is, at the positions where the restricting pieces 54 of the fulcrum brackets 51 face each other. These restricting bodies 56 include restricting recesses 561 that are tapered and open in the vertical direction from the inner bottom surface forward, and restricting walls 562 disposed outside the restricting recesses 561. The inner bottom surfaces of the respective restricting recesses 561 are arranged on a virtual axis passing through the centers of the inner chambers of the left and right ball sockets 55, and this axis coincides with the axis corresponding to the aiming axis Ex. Also, the outside of each restricting recess 561 is closed by the restricting wall 562.

[0037] When supporting the multi-reflector 32 on the lamp body 11, at the left and right fulcrum portions PS, the balls 531 of the ball studs 53 directed rearward are inserted into the ball sockets 55. The ball 531 is inserted into the inner chamber while elastically deforming the engaging pieces 551 of the ball socket 55 to the outer diameter side, and after being inserted, it is clamped by the engaging pieces 551. Thereby, a ball joint is formed by the ball stud 53 and the ball socket 55, and the multi-reflector 32 can tilt in the axial rotation direction, that is, tilt in the vertical direction, with the aiming axis Ex extending in the left-right direction connecting the balls 531 of the left and right ball joints 53 as a fulcrum.

[0038] At the same time, the left and right restricting pieces 54 are inserted into the corresponding restricting recesses 561 from the front. When the restricting piece 54 is inserted into the restricting recess 561, the convex end portion 541 of the restricting piece 54 abuts against the inner bottom surface of the restricting recess 561, and the outer end portions in the left-right direction of the restricting piece 54 are in contact with or disposed close to the restricting wall 562. In this way, since the left and right restricting pieces 54 are respectively inserted into the left and right restricting recesses 561, the restricting piece 54 is restricted from moving in the left-right direction by the restricting wall 562, and the movement in the rearward direction is restricted by the inner bottom surface of the restricting recess 561. Note that since the restricting recess 561 is tapered, tilting of the restricting piece 54, that is, tilting of the multi-reflector 32, is allowed.

[0039] On one side, the adjustment bracket 52 of the adjustment part PM provided at the center of the rear surface of the multi-reflector 32 has holes with required diameter dimensions as shown in FIG. 3, and an aiming nut 57 with a grommet structure is fitted and supported in these holes. Further, on the rear wall of the lamp body 11, a boss 111 having a shaft hole is formed at a position facing the adjustment bracket 52. The shaft hole of this boss 111 penetrates the inside and outside of the lamp body 11 in the front-rear direction, and an aiming screw 58 is inserted and supported rotatably in this shaft hole. The outer end portion of this aiming screw 58 is configured as an operation portion 581 for rotating the aiming screw 58, and the inner end portion is configured as a screw portion 582 that is screwed into the aiming nut 57. This aiming screw 58 can be formed by resin molding.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, in this configured aiming mechanism 5, by rotating the aiming screw 58 on the rear surface side of the lamp body 11, the aiming nut 57 screwed to the aiming screw 58 is moved in the front-rear direction, and the adjustment bracket 52 is integrally moved in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the lower part of the multi-reflector 32 having the adjustment bracket 52 is moved in the front-rear direction, and the multi-reflector 32 is tilted in the vertical direction with the aiming axis Ex connecting the left and right fulcrum portions PS as a fulcrum, enabling vertical aiming adjustment of the multi-reflector.

[0041] As described above, the headlamp unit 3 is disposed and supported by the aiming mechanism 5 in the region behind the extension 2 inside the lamp body 1. In the disposed state, the three reflectors 34L, 34H, 34L of the multi-reflector 32 are respectively positioned facing the three light-emitting windows 21 opened in the extension 2. That is, each reflector 34L, 34H, 34L is in a state of being exposed through the corresponding light-emitting window 21 and through the outer cover 12. Therefore, light distribution is performed by the light emitted from each reflector 34L, 34H, 34L and irradiated from the outer cover 12.

[0042] The composed composite front lamp 1 is attached to the cowl CwL of the motorcycle AM. The dotted area of the outer cover 12 shown in FIG. 3 is covered by the cowl CwL, the windshield WS, etc. Further, the positioning lamp unit 4 and the headlamp unit 3 are electrically connected to the power circuit on the vehicle body side.

[0043] Then, each lamp unit is controlled to light up by a key operation or a switch operation by the rider of the motorcycle. For example, when the positioning lamp unit 4 is controlled to light up, the P-LED 41 emits light. The light emitted by the P-LED 41 is incident on one end face of the light guide 42, and is emitted from the peripheral surface while being guided in the length direction inside the light guide 42. The emitted light is transmitted through the inner lens 43 and further through the outer cover 12. When passing through the inner lens 43, it is diverged or diffused by the lens step and controlled to have a required light distribution, and is irradiated forward of the motorcycle AM.

[0044] When the headlamp unit 3 is controlled to light up with a low beam light distribution by the rider's switch operation, the left and right L-LEDs 36L and the central HL-LED 36HL emit light. In the left and right L reflectors 34L, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the light emitted from the L-LED 36L is reflected by the L reflecting surface 341 of the L reflector 34L, passes through the outer cover 12, and is irradiated forward of the motorcycle AM with a predetermined light distribution (low beam light distribution). Also, a part of the light of the L-LED 36L is directed upward and reflected by the OH reflecting surface 342, and functions as overhead sign light for illuminating the overhead sign.

[0045] In the central H reflector 34H, as shown in Fig. 6(b), most of the light emitted from the HL-LED 36HL is reflected by the L reflecting surface 344 and irradiated through the outer cover 12. This light is combined with the light emitted from the left and right L reflectors 34L and functions as part of the low beam light distribution. Also, a part of the light emitted from the HL-LED 36HL is reflected by the H reflecting surface 343, but this reflected light is directed upward and blocked by the extension 2, preventing it from dazzling oncoming vehicles. Furthermore, a part of the light of the HL-LED 36HL is reflected upward by the OH reflecting surface 345 and functions as overhead sign light for illuminating the overhead sign.

[0046] When the headlamp unit 3 is lit and controlled with a low beam light distribution in this way, as shown in Fig. 10(a), in the left and right L reflectors 34L, the light reflected by the L reflecting surface 341 is in a light-emitting state where light is irradiated from the entire area of the light irradiation window 21. Also, in the central H reflector 34H, the light reflected by the L reflecting surface 344 is in a light-emitting state where light is irradiated from the lower area of the light irradiation window 21. In the figure, the dotted area is the surface in the light-emitting state.

[0047] As a result, the light-emitting areas of the left and right L reflectors 34L, 34L are connected in the left-right direction through the light-emitting area of the central H reflector 34H, presenting an appearance of a lit state. That is, even if the left and right low beam lamps LoL are spaced apart with the high beam lamp HiL in between, when the left and right low beam lamps LoL are lit, each light-emitting surface is connected through a partial light-emitting surface in the lit state of the high beam lamp HiL, and these form the appearance of one lamp. Therefore, the design effect of the headlamp HL when the motorcycle AM is observed from the front direction is enhanced, and it becomes possible to meet the requirements for the headlamp HL.

[0048] Here, as described above, the luminous intensity (luminous flux) of the high-beam lamp HiL's HL-LED36HL is set to be significantly lower than that of the L-LED36L. Therefore, even when the HL-LED36HL emits light during low-beam lighting, the contribution of the light irradiation in the low-beam light distribution is low. That is, since the luminous flux of the HL-LED36HL is small compared to the L-LED36L, even if a part of the light of the HL-LED36HL is reflected by the H reflecting surface 343 in the H reflector 34H and irradiated toward oncoming vehicles or the like, it is possible to prevent dazzling the oncoming vehicles.

[0049] When the headlamp unit 3 is controlled to light in high-beam light distribution, the central HH-LED36HH emits light together with the left and right L-LED36L. At this time, the central HL-LED36HL may emit light or may be extinguished. When the HH-LED36HH emits light, as shown in FIG. 6(c), most of the light emitted from the HH-LED36HH is reflected by the H reflecting surface 343 of the H reflector 34H, passes through the outer cover 12, and is directed toward the region including the upper side of the low-beam light distribution, and high-beam light irradiation is performed. The appearance of the headlamp unit 3 at this time is, as depicted by dotted lines in FIG. 10(b), the appearance of one integrated lamp with the light emitting surfaces of the left and right low-beam lamps LoL and the high-beam lamp HiL.

[0050] In the multi-reflector 32 of the embodiment, the light reflecting surfaces of the reflectors 34L and 34H are configured such that a plurality of unit light reflecting surfaces with a minute area are arranged in a mosaic pattern. Therefore, by appropriately designing the surface angles of some of the unit light reflecting surfaces, when irradiating light in low-beam light distribution or high-beam light distribution, it is possible to irradiate the light reflected by some of the unit light reflecting surfaces in a desired direction, and the light distribution can be formed with high accuracy.

[0051] The aiming mechanism 5 is used to adjust the vertical orientation of the multi-reflector 32 so as not to dazzle other vehicles, especially during low-beam light distribution. As described above, by axially rotating the aiming screw 58 from the rear side of the lamp body 11, the aiming nut 57 screwed onto the aiming screw 58 is moved in the front-rear direction, and the multi-reflector 32 is tilted with the aiming axis Ex as a fulcrum.

[0052] The aiming axis Ex, which is the fulcrum for tilting the multi-reflector 32, is composed of a ball joint consisting of a ball stud 53 and a ball socket 55. The ball socket 55 is formed by resin molding. When molding this ball socket 55, in order to manufacture the mold at low cost, a mold that does not adopt a complex structure such as a slider and uses the elasticity of the resin for forced demolding (forced ejection) is designed. Therefore, the ball socket 55 molded with such a mold is easily deformed by an external force, and the ball socket 55 may be elastically deformed to some extent by the force generated when tilting the multi-reflector 32 during aiming adjustment. Due to this deformation, a positional displacement may occur in the axial position of the ball joint, that is, the aiming axis Ex, and it is conceivable that the aiming accuracy will decrease.

[0053] In the embodiment, the convex end portions 541 of the regulating pieces 54 of the left and right fulcrum brackets 51 of the multi-reflector 32 are respectively inserted into the regulating recesses 561 of the left and right regulating bodies 56. When the multi-reflector 32 is tilted, the regulating pieces 54 are restricted from moving in the left and right directions by the regulating walls 562 of the regulating bodies 56. Further, when the convex end portions 541 of the regulating pieces 54 come into contact with the inner bottom surfaces of the regulating recesses 561, the movement in the rear direction is restricted. The convex end portions 541 of the regulating pieces 54 are set on the axis of the aiming axis Ex, and the inner bottom surfaces of the regulating recesses 561 are set on the axis corresponding to the aiming axis Ex passing through the center of the inner chamber of the ball socket 55. Then, when the multi-reflector 32 is tilted, the convex end portions 541 are tilted while being in contact with the inner bottom surfaces of the regulating recesses 561, so that the displacement of the axial position of the aiming axis Ex can be reliably prevented. Thereby, the multi-reflector 32 can be tilted with high accuracy, and high-precision aiming adjustment becomes possible.

[0054] The present invention can be applied to a configuration in which a plurality of low-beam lamps are spaced apart and a high-beam lamp is disposed therebetween. Therefore, the numbers of the low-beam lamps and the high-beam lamp are not limited to the configuration of the embodiment. Further, a configuration in which a plurality of high-beam lamps are disposed between the spaced-apart low-beam lamps may be employed.

[0055] In the embodiment, the reflectors of the high-beam lamp and the low-beam lamp are configured as an integral multi-reflector, but in the present invention, a configuration including independent reflectors may be employed. Further, the high-beam lamp in the present invention only needs to be configured such that the high-beam light distribution and the low-beam light distribution are switchable, and the configuration of the lamp unit is not limited. For example, the high-beam lamp may be configured as a projector-type lamp.

[0056] The vehicle lamp of the present invention is not limited to the application to the motorcycle described in the embodiment, and can be applied to saddle-riding type vehicles including three-wheeled vehicles, four-wheeled buggy vehicles, and the like.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0057] 1 Lamp housing 2 Extension 3 Headlamp unit 4 Positioning lamp unit 5 Aiming mechanism 11 Lamp body 12 Outer cover 21 Light-emitting window 22 Concave portion 31 Light source section 32 Multi-reflector 33 Substrate 34(34H, 34L) Reflector 35 Light source substrate 36(36L, 36HL, 36HH) LED 41 P-LED 42 Light guide 43 Inner lens 51 Fulcrum bracket 52 Adjustment bracket 53 Ball stud 54 Regulation plate 55 Ball socket 56 Regulation body 57 Aiming nut 58 Aiming screw 341~345 Light reflecting surface

Claims

1. A vehicle lamp comprising at least two low-beam lamps that perform light irradiation with a low-beam light distribution, and at least one lamp disposed between these two low-beam lamps, wherein the at least one lamp can perform light irradiation with a low-beam light distribution and a light distribution different from this, and is configured to perform light irradiation with a low-beam light distribution when the two low-beam lamps are lit. A vehicle lamp characterized by the above.

2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is a high-beam lamp capable of switching the lighting state between a low-beam light distribution and a high-beam light distribution.

3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the two low-beam lamps and the one high-beam lamp are configured as one headlamp unit.

4. The headlamp unit includes a plurality of light sources and a plurality of reflectors that reflect the light of the plurality of light sources, and the plurality of reflectors include a low-beam reflector that constitutes the low-beam lamp and a high-beam reflector that constitutes the high-beam lamp. The vehicle lamp according to claim 3.

5. The vehicle lamp according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of reflectors are integrally formed as a multi-reflector.

6. The light source includes at least two light-emitting elements corresponding to the high-beam reflector, and the at least two light-emitting elements are selectively controlled to emit light so that the high-beam light distribution and the low-beam light distribution are switched. The vehicle lamp according to claim 4.

7. The high-beam reflector is composed of a plurality of light-reflecting surfaces having different surface shapes corresponding to the at least two light-emitting elements. The vehicle lamp according to claim 6.

8. The high beam reflector of claim 7 of the vehicle lamp includes a low beam reflecting surface that reflects light emitted from one of the at least two light emitting elements with a low beam light distribution, and a high beam reflecting surface that reflects light emitted from the other one of the light emitting elements with a high beam light distribution.

9. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein the two low beam lamps are arranged in the left-right direction, and the high beam lamp is arranged between the two low beam lamps in the left-right direction.

10. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is configured as a headlamp of a saddle-ride type vehicle.

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