Optical member and light source unit

Abstract

To provide a novel technology that is less likely to cause deformation in a lens part when fixing an optical member.SOLUTION: An optical member 19 includes: a lens part made of a resin material, controlling light entering a rear side and emitting light from a front side 19b; protrusions 19f deforming by being pressed by a pressing member; and grooves 19g formed around the protrusions 19f.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an optical member.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a vehicle lamp provided with an optical member having a lens unit that controls the spread of light emitted from a light source and condenses the light between the light source and a reflector is known (see Patent Document 1). This optical member is an injection molded product made of a transparent material, and for example, a resin material such as heat-resistant silicone is used.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in order to accurately maintain the positional relationship between the light-emitting element of the light source and the lens unit, the above-described optical member is fixed to a circuit board on which the light-emitting element is mounted with screws. Since the optical member is made of a resin material, the lens unit may be deformed when the optical member is fixed to the circuit board with screws. As a result, if the positional relationship between the light-emitting element and the lens unit is displaced or the optical surface of the lens unit changes, the desired light distribution pattern of the vehicle lamp cannot be obtained.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and one of its exemplary objects is to provide a new technique in which the lens unit is less likely to be deformed when the optical member is fixed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, an optical member according to an aspect of the present invention is an optical member made of a resin material, and includes a lens portion that controls light incident from the back side and emits it from the front side, a protrusion that deforms when pressed by a pressing member, and a groove formed around the protrusion.

[0007] According to this aspect, even when the protrusion of the optical member is pressed by the pressing member, the deformation of the protrusion is absorbed by the groove formed around the protrusion, so that the deformation of the lens portion can be suppressed.

[0008] A plurality of protrusions may be provided, and the lens portion may be provided in a region surrounded by the plurality of protrusions. Thereby, for the lens portion provided in the region surrounded by the plurality of protrusions, it becomes difficult for the deformation of any of the plurality of protrusions to be transmitted through the groove.

[0009] It may further have a flat base adjacent to the lens portion. The protrusion may have a height of 0.3 to 1.0 mm from the surface of the base. Thereby, even when the pressing member deforms the protrusion, it becomes difficult for the pressing member to touch the base.

[0010] A silicone resin may be used as the resin material. Thereby, it is possible to achieve both the transparency and the molding accuracy required for the optical member.

[0011] Another aspect of the present invention is a light source unit. This light source unit includes an optical member, a circuit board on which a light emitting element facing the lens portion is mounted, and a pressing member that deforms the protrusion. The pressing member has a pressing portion that presses the protrusion on a surface facing the optical member, and a butting portion that regulates the distance between the pressing member and the circuit board.

[0012] According to this aspect, it is possible to realize a light source unit that can accurately maintain the positional relationship between the light emitting element and the lens portion.

[0013] The pressing member may be a resin-made reflector having a reflecting surface that reflects the light emitted from the lens portion. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced.

[0014] Any combination of the above components, or those obtained by converting the expression of the present invention among manufacturing methods, devices such as lamps and lighting, light emitting modules, light sources, etc., is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, when fixing the optical member, deformation is less likely to occur in the lens portion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings based on preferred embodiments. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, and not all of the features described in the embodiments and their combinations are necessarily essential to the invention.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a vehicle lamp unit according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle lamp unit shown in FIG. 2. The vehicle lamp unit 10 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a vehicle headlamp provided at the front of the vehicle and is configured to be able to form both a low-beam and a high-beam light distribution pattern.

[0019] The vehicle lamp 100 includes a lamp body 2, an outer lens 4 that covers the opening of the lamp body 2, a vehicle lamp unit 10 provided in a lamp chamber 6 surrounded by the lamp body 2 and the outer lens 4, and an aiming mechanism 8 that holds the vehicle lamp unit 10 so as to be aimable. The vehicle lamp unit 10 includes a projection lens 12 that projects light emitted from a light source forward of the vehicle, a lens holder 14, a reflector 16, a shade 18, an optical member 19, a circuit board 20, and a heat sink 22.

[0020] The lens holder 14 has a substantially cylindrical lens holding portion 14a and two leg portions 14b that project rearward from the lens holding portion 14a toward the vehicle. The projection lens 12 is a transparent member in which a lens main body portion 12a that controls the optical path of light emitted from the light source and a flange-shaped attached portion 12b that projects outward from the outer periphery of the lens main body portion 12a are integrally formed. Then, by aligning and fixing the position of the attached portion 12b of the projection lens 12 to the lens holding portion 14a of the lens holder 14, the projection lens 12 is held by the lens holder 14. The projection lens 12 is manufactured by injection molding using a resin material having high transparency and high heat resistance, such as acrylic or polycarbonate.

[0021] The reflector 16 according to this embodiment may be made of a resin material for cost reduction and weight reduction, but a metal material may also be used. Further, the shade 18 is a thin plate-like member made of a metal material, and is assembled and fixed to the reflector 16.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the reflector according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the reflector according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view of the reflector according to this embodiment.

[0023] The reflector 16 has a plate-like main body portion 16b in which an opening 16a through which light emitted from a light source passes is formed, and side reflection portions 16c provided so as to protrude forward from both left and right sides of the opening 16a. As shown in FIG. 4, the shade 18 is provided so as to cross the opening 16a when viewed from the rear of the vehicle, and forms a cut-off line of the light distribution pattern by blocking a part of the light passing through the opening 16a.

[0024] Further, on the back surface side (rear side of the vehicle) of the main body portion 16b of the reflector 16, four abutting portions are provided to regulate so that the distance between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 20 does not become less than a predetermined value with an optical member 19 sandwiched between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 20.

[0025] FIG. 7 is a front view of the circuit board 20. The circuit board 20 has a first light source 20a in which a plurality of light emitting elements 21a for mainly forming a low beam light distribution pattern are arranged in a horizontal row in the horizontal direction, a second light source 20b in which a plurality of light emitting elements 21b for mainly forming a high beam light distribution pattern are arranged in a horizontal row in the horizontal direction, and a drive circuit (not shown) for driving each light emitting element. The second light source 20b is arranged adjacent to the first light source 20a. The first light source 20a is located on the upper stage side, and the second light source 20b is located on the lower stage side. In other words, the light emitting elements 21a are arranged above the light emitting elements 21b. Further, the first light source 20a and the second light source 20b are arranged so that the light emitting surface faces the front of the vehicle.

[0026] The drive circuit is a combination of passive elements such as capacitors and coils, active elements such as transistors and diodes, an IC chip, a memory, etc., and is mounted in a region below the region where each light source 20a, 20b of the circuit board is mounted.

[0027] Next, the optical member 19 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a front view of the optical member according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view of the optical member according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a rear view of the optical member according to the present embodiment.

[0028] The optical member 19 is made of a resin material. As the resin material, for example, a silicone resin may be used. Thereby, it is possible to achieve both the transparency and the molding accuracy required for the optical member. The optical member 19 has condensing lenses 19c, 19d as lens portions that control light incident from the back side 19a and emit it from the front side 19b, and a flat plate-shaped base portion 19e adjacent to the condensing lenses 19c, 19d. Note that controlling light means, for example, directing the light toward a desired pattern, direction, or region. The condensing lens 19c is positioned to face the front of the plurality of light-emitting elements 21a of the first light source 20a, and the condensing lens 19d is positioned to face the front of the plurality of light-emitting elements 21b of the second light source 20b.

[0029] The optical member 19 has a protrusion 19f that deforms when pressed, and a groove 19g formed annularly over the entire circumference around the protrusion 19f. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity including the protrusion 19f of the optical member 19. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state where the optical member 19 is assembled at a predetermined position of the reflector 16. FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state of the light source unit in which the circuit board 20 is assembled from the back side 19a of the optical member 19 shown in FIG. 12.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, even when the protrusion 19f of the optical member 19 is pressed by the reflector 16, the force caused by the deformation of the protrusion 16f is absorbed by the groove 19g formed around the protrusion 19f, so that the deformation of the condensing lenses 19c and 19d can be suppressed. Further, the protrusions 19f are provided at the four corners of the base 19e, and the condensing lenses 19c and 19d are provided in a region surrounded by the plurality of protrusions 19f. Thereby, it becomes difficult for any deformation of the plurality of protrusions 19f to be transmitted to the condensing lenses 19c and 19d through the groove 19g.

[0031] Note that the protrusion 19f may have a height of 0.3 to 1.0 mm from the surface of the base 19e. Thereby, even when the reflector 16 deforms the protrusion 19f, it becomes difficult for the reflector 16 to touch the base 19e.

[0032] Further, the light source unit 50 shown in FIG. 13 includes an optical member 19, a circuit board 20, and a reflector 16 as a pressing member for deforming the protrusion 19f. The reflector 16 has a pressing portion 16e (see FIG. 4) for pressing the protrusion on the surface facing the optical member 19, and four abutting portions 16d for regulating the distance between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 20. Thereby, the positional relationship between the light emitting elements 21a and 21b and the condensing lenses 19c and 19d can be accurately maintained. Further, since the distance between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 20 is made constant by the abutting portion 16d, the amount of deformation of the protrusion 19f pressed by the pressing portion 16e of the reflector 16 can also be made constant. Further, the reflector 16 according to the present embodiment is a resin component having a side reflecting portion 16c as a reflecting surface for reflecting the light emitted from the condensing lenses 19c and 19d, and since it also serves as a pressing member, the number of components of the vehicle lamp unit 10 can be reduced.

[0033] Note that as shown in FIG. 3, the lens holder 14 is fastened to the heat sink 22 with a screw 24, and the reflector 16 is fastened to the heat sink 22 with a screw 26, so that the optical member 19 is sandwiched and fixed between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 20.

[0034] As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the above-described embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention also includes those obtained by appropriately combining or replacing the configurations of the embodiments. Further, it is possible to appropriately rearrange the combinations and processing orders in the embodiments based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and to add various design changes and other modifications to the embodiments. Embodiments with such modifications may also be included in the scope of the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0035] 10 Vehicle lamp unit, 16 Reflector, 16a Opening, 16b Main body portion, 16c Side reflection portion, 16d Contact portion, 16e Pressing portion, 16f Projection, 18 Shade, 19 Optical member, 19a Back side, 19b Front side, 19c Condensing lens, 19d Condensing lens, 19e Base portion, 19f Projection, 19g Groove, 20 Circuit board, 20a First light source, 20b Second light source, 21a Light emitting element, 21b Light emitting element, 22 Heat sink, 50 Light source unit, 100 Vehicle lamp.

Claims

1. An optical member made of a resin material, comprising: a lens portion that controls light incident from the back side and emits it from the front side; a protrusion that deforms when pressed by a pressing member; a groove formed around the protrusion; and an optical member having the same.

2. A plurality of the protrusions are provided, and the lens portion is provided in a region surrounded by the plurality of protrusions. The optical member according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. further having a flat base adjacent to the lens portion, and the protrusion has a height of 0.3 to 1.0 mm from the surface of the base. The optical member according to claim 1, characterized in that.

4. The optical member according to claim 1, characterized in that a silicone resin is used as the resin material.

5. The optical member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a circuit board on which a light-emitting element facing the lens portion is mounted, and a pressing member for deforming the protrusion, comprising: The pressing member has a pressing portion for pressing the protrusion on a surface facing the optical member, and an abutting portion for regulating a distance between the pressing member and the circuit board. A light source unit, characterized in that.

6. The pressing member is a resin-made reflector having a reflecting surface for reflecting light emitted from the lens portion. The light source unit according to claim 5, characterized in that.

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