Vehicular lighting fixture

Abstract

To provide a cheap vehicular lighting fixture.SOLUTION: A vehicular lighting fixture includes: an LED 34; a substrate 22 mounting the LED 34; and a first light guide body 26. The first light guide body 26 extends in the direction inclined with respect to the lighting fixture left-to-right direction. The substrate 22 is arranged inclined with respect to the lighting fixture left-to-right direction along the first light guide body 26. The first light guide body includes a light guide element 38 which includes: a condensing light incident surface 40; a lateral incident surface 42 formed further on the outside in the lighting fixture left-to-right direction than the condensing light incident surface 40; and a reflection surface 44 formed on the lateral side of the lateral incident surface 42. The LED 34 is arranged with respect to the light guide element 38 in such a manner that an intersection point P1 between an optical axis Ax and a rear surface 26a is positioned closer to the lateral incident surface 42 than an intersection point P2 between a center axis Cx of the condensing light incident surface 40 and the condensing light incident surface 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, a vehicle lamp has been proposed that combines multiple LEDs with a plate-shaped light guide that controls the light from the multiple LEDs. In such a vehicle lamp, the light emitted from the multiple LEDs enters the light guide from an incident surface provided on the rear surface of the light guide, travels through the light guide, and is emitted forward of the lamp from an exit surface provided on the front surface of the light guide (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-208192 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the vehicle lamp described in Patent Document 1, the light guide is arranged so as to be inclined rearward from the inside to the outside of the vehicle, following the shape of the vehicle. In order to direct light into such an inclined light guide, the lamp body is formed in a stepped shape, and a board carrying an LED is arranged on each step. However, in this case, the board carrying the LED is formed in separate parts, which may increase costs.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide an inexpensive vehicle lamp. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle lamp including a plurality of light sources, a single substrate on which the plurality of light sources are mounted, and a light guide that receives light from the plurality of light sources from a rear surface, guides the light internally, and emits the light from an exit surface formed on a front surface, wherein the light guide extends in a direction oblique to the left-right direction of the lamp, the substrate is disposed obliquely along the light guide with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, and the light guide includes a plurality of light guide elements, including a light-collecting incident surface formed on the rear surface to collect a portion of the light from the light sources and direct it toward the exit surface, a side incident surface formed on the rear surface outward in the left-right direction of the lamp from the light-collecting incident surface and to receive another portion of the light from the light sources, and a reflecting surface formed to the side of the side incident surface on the rear surface to totally reflect the light incident from the side incident surface toward the exit surface. Each light source is disposed with respect to each light guide element such that an intersection of the optical axis of the light source and the rear surface is located closer to the side incident surface than an intersection of the central axis of the light-collecting incident surface and the light-collecting incident surface.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicular lamp including a plurality of light sources, a single substrate on which the plurality of light sources are mounted, and a light guide that receives light from the plurality of light sources from a rear surface, guides the light internally, and emits the light from an emission surface formed on a front surface, the light guide extending in a direction oblique to the left-right direction of the lamp, the substrate being disposed obliquely along the light guide with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, and the light guide including a light-collecting incidence surface formed on the rear surface to collect a portion of the light from the light sources and direct the light toward the emission surface, side incidence surfaces formed on both sides of the light-collecting incidence surface on the rear surface in the left-right direction of the lamp so as to receive another portion of the light from the light sources, and reflection surfaces formed on the sides of each side incidence surface on the rear surface to totally reflect the light that has entered from the side incidence surface toward the emission surface. Each light source is arranged relative to each light-guiding element so that the intersection of the optical axis of the light source and the rear surface is located closer to the lateral entrance surface on the outer side in the left-right direction of the lamp than the intersection of the central axis of the light-collecting entrance surface and the light-collecting entrance surface. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, an inexpensive vehicle lamp can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the third lamp unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the third lamp unit shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line AA. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of a first light guide. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the first light guide. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rear surface and its vicinity of the light-guiding element. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the results of a ray tracing simulation of the third lamp unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the first light guide. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another modified example of the first light guide. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The following configurations are for illustrative purposes only to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined solely by the appended claims. Identical or equivalent components and members shown in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted where appropriate. The dimensions of the components in each drawing are enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Some components that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted from the drawings. Furthermore, when terms indicating directions, such as "up," "down," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "inside," and "outside," are used in this specification, they refer to the directions in the position of the vehicular lamp when mounted on a vehicle.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle lamp 10 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle lamp 10 includes a lamp body 12 and a transparent outer cover (not shown) that covers the front opening of the lamp body 12. The lamp body 12 and the outer cover form a lamp chamber.

[0012] The vehicle lamp 10 shown in Figure 1 is a combination headlamp located on the front right side of the vehicle, and has a first lamp unit 14, a second lamp unit 16, and a third lamp unit 20 arranged within the lamp chamber.

[0013] The first lamp unit 14 is a lamp unit that functions as a low beam lamp. The second lamp unit 16 is a lamp unit that functions as a high beam lamp. The structures of the first lamp unit 14 and the second lamp unit 16 are not particularly limited, and for example, reflector type or projector type lamp units can be used. The third lamp unit 20 is a lamp unit that functions as a daytime running lamp, clearance lamp, and turn signal lamp.

[0014] Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the third lamp unit 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the third lamp unit 20 includes a substrate 22, a reflector 24, a first light guide 26, a second light guide 28, an inner lens 30, and an extension member 32.

[0015] Fig. 3 is a schematic AA cross-sectional view of the third lamp unit 20 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the third lamp unit 20 includes a plurality of LEDs 34, a single substrate 22 on which the LEDs 34 are mounted, and a first light guide 26 that receives light from the LEDs 34 and emits it forward of the lamp. Fig. 4 is a front view of the first light guide 26. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the first light guide 26. Fig. 6 is a front view of the substrate 22.

[0016] 3, an outer cover 18 is disposed in front of the third lamp unit 20. The outer cover 18 is inclined rearward from the center of the vehicle (left side) to the outer side of the vehicle (right side) following the shape of the vehicle.

[0017] The first light guide 26 receives light from the multiple LEDs 34 through a rear surface 26a, guides the light internally, and emits the light from an emission surface 36 formed on the front surface 26b. The first light guide 26 extends in a direction inclined with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, following the shape of the outer cover 18. The first light guide 26 may be made of a transparent resin such as acrylic. The emission surface 36 may have multiple steps formed thereon to diffuse the emitted light (see FIG. 4).

[0018] The first light guide body 26 is composed of a plurality of integrally formed light guide elements 38. These light guide elements 38 are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction inclined rearward from the vehicle center (left side) to the vehicle outer side (right side) in accordance with the shape of the outer cover 18. Each light guide element 38 has a similar shape, and one LED 34 is arranged for each light guide element 38. Each light guide element 38 is connected to the adjacent light guide element 38.

[0019] The substrate 22 may be a flat rigid substrate such as a glass epoxy substrate. A plurality of LEDs 34 are mounted on the substrate 22 such that the optical axis Ax is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 22. Wiring for supplying power to the LEDs 34 is formed on the substrate 22. As shown in Fig. 3, the substrate 22 is disposed along the rear surface 26a of the first light guide 26, inclined relative to the left-right direction of the lamp.

[0020] 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rear surface 26a and its vicinity of the light-guiding element 38. The rear surface 26a of the light-guiding element 38 is provided with an incident portion for allowing light from the LED 34 to enter the inside of the light-guiding element. The incident portion is made up of a light-collecting incident surface 40 and a side incident surface 42.

[0021] The light-collecting incident surface 40 is formed on the rear surface 26a so as to collect a portion of the light from the LEDs 34 and direct it toward the exit surface 36. The light-collecting incident surface 40 has a horizontal cross-sectional shape formed as a convex curve with Cx as the central axis, and the curvature is set to a size that refracts the light from the LEDs 34 toward the exit surface 36. Light that enters the light-guiding element from the light-collecting incident surface 40 is refracted by the light-collecting incident surface 40, then travels inside the light-guiding element toward the front surface 26b, and is emitted from the exit surface 36 formed on the front surface 26b toward the front of the lamp (see light L1 in FIG. 7 ).

[0022] The side entrance surface 42 receives another portion of the light from the LED 34. The side entrance surface 42 is formed on the outer side in the left-right direction of the lamp (on the right side in FIG. 7) of the light-collecting entrance surface 40 on the rear surface 26a.

[0023] A reflective surface 44 is formed on the rear surface 26a of the light-guiding element 38 on the side (outside the left-right direction of the lamp) of the side incident surface 42. The reflective surface 44 totally reflects the light incident from the side incident surface 42 towards the exit surface 36. The light totally reflected by the reflective surface 44 passes through the light-guiding element and is emitted from the exit surface 36 towards the front of the lamp (see light L2 in FIG. 7).

[0024] The positional relationship between the LED 34 and the light-guiding element 38 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The substrate 22 is disposed at an angle with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp. The angle of inclination θ may be 20° to 50°, for example, 40°. Here, the intersection point between the optical axis Ax of the LED 34 and the rear surface 26a is designated as P1. Furthermore, the intersection point between the central axis Cx of the light-collecting entrance surface 40 and the light-collecting entrance surface 40 is designated as P2. In this case, the LED 34 is disposed with respect to the light-guiding element 38 so that the intersection point P1 is located closer to the side entrance surface 42 than the intersection point P2.

[0025] In an optical system in which light from multiple LEDs enters the rear surface of a light guide and exits from the front surface, the LEDs are usually arranged so that the optical axis of each LED is parallel to the front-to-rear direction of the lamp. However, when the light guide is inclined with respect to the left-to-right direction of the lamp, if the LEDs are arranged so that the optical axis of each LED is parallel to the front-to-rear direction of the lamp, as disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is necessary to form the substrate for each LED separately, which may lead to an increase in costs.

[0026] In this embodiment, by arranging the LEDs 34 relative to the light-guiding element 38 as described above, even if the optical axis Ax of the LEDs 34 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, in addition to the light collected by the light-collecting incident surface 40, a large amount of light can be directed forward of the lamp by the side incident surface 42 and the reflecting surface 44. When the optical axis Ax of the LEDs 34 is allowed to be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, as shown in Fig. 3, multiple LEDs 34 can be mounted on a single substrate 22, thereby reducing the cost of the vehicle lamp 10.

[0027] Fig. 8 shows the results of a ray tracing simulation of the third lamp unit 20 according to this embodiment. From Fig. 8, it can be seen that in each light-guiding element 38, the light that enters the first light guide 26 from the LED 34 is emitted from the emission surface 36 to the front of the lamp by the light-collecting incidence surface 40, the side incidence surface 42, and the reflection surface 44.

[0028] Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the light-guiding element 38. Fig. 9 also shows the LEDs 34 that emit light toward the light-guiding element 38. In this embodiment, white LEDs 34a for daytime running lamps and clearance lamps and amber LEDs 34b for turn signal lamps are arranged adjacent to each other above and below. In addition, the light-collecting entrance surface 40 is also divided into a light-collecting entrance surface 40a for the white LEDs and a light-collecting entrance surface 40b for the amber LEDs above and below.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 9, cylindrical steps for diffusing light are formed on the light-collecting incident surface 40. Cylindrical steps with relatively strong diffusion are formed on the light-collecting incident surface 40a for white LEDs for daytime running lamps and clearance lamps, while cylindrical steps with relatively weak diffusion are formed on the light-collecting incident surface 40b for amber LEDs for turn signal lamps.

[0030] In this embodiment, the light guide elements 38 are arranged side by side so as to incline upward toward the outside in the left-right direction of the lamp, as shown in Fig. 5. The LEDs 34 corresponding to each light guide element 38 are arranged rotated according to the inclination angle of each light guide element 38, as shown in Fig. 6. By rotating the LEDs 34 according to the inclination angle of the light guide element 38 in this way, the light distribution for each light guide element 38 can be made uniform.

[0031] The above description has mainly focused on the first light guide 26 located at the bottom of the third lamp unit 20. However, the third lamp unit 20 also includes a second light guide 28 located at the top, as shown in FIG. 2. The second light guide 28 receives light from a light source at one longitudinal end 28a, propagates within, and emits it forward from an exit surface 28b formed on a part of the side surface. The light emitted from the exit surface 28b of the second light guide 28 is emitted forward from the lamp via an inner lens 30 arranged in front of the second light guide 28. The inner lens 30 may be formed with a plurality of steps to diffuse the emitted light.

[0032] 6, in this embodiment, the LEDs 35, which are light sources for the second light guide 28, are also mounted on the substrate 22 on which the LEDs 34 for the first light guide 26 are mounted. The LEDs 34 and 35 are connected in series and can be turned on and off simultaneously. By arranging the LEDs 34 for the first light guide 26 and the LEDs 35 for the second light guide 28 on the common substrate 22 in this way, costs can be reduced compared to mounting them on separate substrates.

[0033] Fig. 10 shows a modified example of the first light guide 26. In the first light guide 26 shown in Fig. 10, a connecting portion 41 between the light-collecting incidence surface 40 and the side incidence surface 42 is formed as a curved surface. The curvature of the curved surface of the connecting portion 41 may be, for example, XX to XX.

[0034] In this modification, by forming the connection portion 41 with a curved surface, the light incident on the connection portion 41 from the LED 34 can be refracted and diffused. This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of point light, which is the light incident on the connection portion 41 being emitted locally and strongly from the emission surface.

[0035] Fig. 11 shows another modified example of the first light guide 26. In the first light guide 26 shown in Fig. 11, in addition to a side incidence surface 42 and a reflection surface 44 provided on the outer side of the light-collecting incidence surface 40 in the left-right direction of the lamp (right side in Fig. 11), a side incidence surface 46 and a reflection surface 48 are provided on the inner side of the light-collecting incidence surface 40 in the left-right direction of the lamp (left side in Fig. 11). That is, the side incidence surfaces 42, 46 are formed on both sides of the light-collecting incidence surface 40 in the left-right direction of the lamp, and the reflection surfaces 44, 48 are formed on the sides of these.

[0036] In this modified example, when the intersection point between the optical axis Ax of the LED 34 and the rear surface 26a is defined as P1 and the intersection point between the central axis Cx of the light-collecting incident surface 40 and the light-collecting incident surface 40 is defined as P2, the LED 34 is positioned relative to the light-guiding element 38 so that the intersection point P1 is located closer to the lateral incident surface 42 than the intersection point P2.

[0037] In this modified example, the area of ​​the side incidence surface 42 located outside (on the right side) of the light-collecting incidence surface 40 in the left-right direction of the lamp is larger than the area of ​​the side incidence surface 46 located inside (on the left side) of the light-collecting incidence surface 40 in the left-right direction of the lamp. This is because the space required to form the side incidence surface due to the tilted arrangement of the substrate 22 is taken into consideration.

[0038] In this modification, a portion of the light emitted from the LED 34 enters the first light guide 26 through the side entrance surface 46. The light incident through the side entrance surface 46 is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 48. The light totally reflected by the reflecting surface 48 passes through the light guide element and is emitted from the exit surface 36 towards the front of the lamp (see light L3 in FIG. 7). When the inclination angle θ of the substrate 22 is relatively small (for example, about 20° to 30°), a side entrance surface and a reflecting surface may be provided on both sides of the light-collecting entrance surface 40, as in this modification. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the light emitted from the LED 34 at a relatively large exit angle.

[0039] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. These embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component and each treatment process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10 Vehicle lamp, 12 Lamp body, 14 First lamp unit, 16 Second lamp unit, 18 Outer cover, 20 Third lamp unit, 22 Board, 24 Reflector, 26 First light guide, 28 Second light guide, 30 Inner lens, 32 Extension member, 34, 35 LED, 36 Emission surface, 38 Light guide element, 40 Light collecting entrance surface, 41 Connection portion, 42, 46 Side entrance surfaces, 44, 48 Reflecting surfaces.

Claims

1. Multiple light sources; a single substrate carrying the plurality of light sources; a light guide body that receives light from the plurality of light sources from a rear surface, guides the light therein, and emits the light from an emission surface formed on a front surface; A vehicle lamp comprising: The light guide extends in a direction inclined with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, The substrate is disposed along the light guide at an angle with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, The light guide is a light-collecting entrance surface formed on the rear surface so as to receive and collect a portion of the light from the light source and direct the light toward the exit surface; a side entrance surface formed on the rear surface on the outer side in the left-right direction of the lamp from the light collecting entrance surface so as to receive another portion of the light from the light source; a reflecting surface formed on the rear surface at a side of the side entrance surface so as to totally reflect the light incident from the side entrance surface toward the exit surface; a plurality of light-guiding elements including Each of the light sources is disposed with respect to each light-guiding element such that an intersection between the optical axis of the light source and the rear surface is located closer to the side entrance surface than an intersection between the central axis of the light-collecting entrance surface and the light-collecting entrance surface.

2. Multiple light sources; a single substrate carrying the plurality of light sources; a light guide body that receives light from the plurality of light sources from a rear surface, guides the light therein, and emits the light from an emission surface formed on a front surface; A vehicle lamp comprising: The light guide extends in a direction inclined with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, The substrate is disposed along the light guide at an angle with respect to the left-right direction of the lamp, The light guide is a light-collecting entrance surface formed on the rear surface so as to receive and collect a portion of the light from the light source and direct the light toward the exit surface; a side entrance surface formed on the rear surface on both sides of the light collecting entrance surface in the left-right direction of the lamp so as to receive another portion of the light from the light source; a reflecting surface formed on the rear surface at a side of each of the side incident surfaces so as to totally reflect the light incident from the side incident surface toward the exit surface; a plurality of light-guiding elements including Each of the light sources is disposed with respect to each light-guiding element such that the intersection of the optical axis of the light source and the rear surface is located closer to the side entrance surface on the outer side in the left-right direction of the lamp than the intersection of the central axis of the light-collecting entrance surface and the light-collecting entrance surface.

3. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein an area of ​​the side incidence surface on the outer side of the light collecting incidence surface in the left-right direction of the lamp is larger than an area of ​​the side incidence surface on the inner side of the light collecting incidence surface in the left-right direction of the lamp.

4. 4. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle of the substrate relative to the left-right direction of the lamp is 20° to 50°.

5. The plurality of light guide elements are arranged side by side so as to incline upward or downward as they move outward in the left-right direction of the lamp, 4. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light sources corresponding to the light guide elements are arranged so as to be rotated in accordance with the inclination angle of the light guide elements.

6. another light source disposed on the substrate; Another light guide that receives light from the other light source at one end in the longitudinal direction, propagates inside, and emits the light in front of the lamp from an exit surface formed on a part of the side surface; 4. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, further comprising:

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