Vehicular lighting device

Abstract

To provide a vehicular lighting device that is configured so that a light-guiding bar is tightly fixed to a storage member, and emitted light is uniformed in a longitudinal direction.SOLUTION: The vehicular lighting device comprises a light-guiding bar 22, and a storage member 24 having light-blocking effect which stores the light-guiding bar 22 at a recess position 28a and makes an opening at the recess position 28a emit light of the light-guiding bar 22. The storage member 24 has a first erect wall part 33 and a second erect wall part 34 which are erected to oppose to each other to form the recess position 28a. The first erect wall part 33 has a claw portion 36 formed to protrude toward the second erect wall part 34, which holds the light-guiding bar 22 in the recess position 28a. The second erect wall part 34 has a penetration hole 38 penetrating through in a thickness direction at a base end side thereof and has a bridging wall portion 34c in a shape bridged in a longitudinal direction at a tip side thereof, at a position opposing to the claw portion 36. Tips of the second erect wall part 34 are formed continuously in the longitudinal direction over the whole area of a range where light is emitted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] An example of a vehicle lighting device is described in Patent Document 1 below. The vehicle lighting device described in Patent Document 1 below is attached to a vehicle interior material and includes a light source, a light guide that guides light incident from one end in the longitudinal direction to the other end, and a light guide holder that holds the light guide. In the vehicle lighting device described in Patent Document 1 below, the light guide holder covers the cabin side of the light guide and transmits light from the light guide, and is a so-called lens member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6128390 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, some vehicle lighting devices are configured to emit light from a light guide rod directly toward an illumination portion of a vehicle interior material without using a lens member when the device is disposed in a position not visible to passengers in the vehicle cabin and used as indirect lighting. A vehicle lighting device configured in this manner includes, for example, a light-blocking, longitudinally extending light guide rod and a housing member that houses the light guide rod in a longitudinal recess and allows light from the light guide rod to exit through an opening in the recess. To hold the light guide rod in the recess, a pair of vertical walls forming the recess must be provided with claws for engaging the light guide rod or notches for fitting into the claws. This configuration presents a problem in that the light emitted from the opening of the recess may be uneven in the longitudinal direction due to the claws or notches.

[0005] The present invention was made in consideration of such circumstances, and its object is to provide a vehicle lighting device that firmly fixes the light guide rod to the accommodating member while uniformizing the emitted light in the longitudinal direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle lighting device disclosed in the present application has the following configuration. (1) A vehicle lighting device that is attached to a vehicle interior material, A light source and a light guiding rod having a longitudinal shape, into which light from the light source is incident from one end in the longitudinal direction and which guides the incident light to the other end; a light-shielding housing member having a longitudinal shape extending along the light guide rod, housing the light guide rod in a recess along the longitudinal direction and allowing light from the light guide rod to exit from an opening of the recess; Equipped with the accommodating member has a first standing wall portion and a second standing wall portion standing opposite each other, and the recess is formed between the first standing wall portion and the second standing wall portion; the first upright wall portion has a claw portion formed to protrude toward the second upright wall portion and to hold the light guide rod in the recess, The second standing wall portion has a through-hole penetrating in a thickness direction at a base end side of the second standing wall portion at a position opposite to the claw portion, and has a bridge wall portion bridging in a longitudinal direction at a tip end side of the second standing wall portion, The vehicle lighting device, wherein the tip of the second standing wall portion is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction over the entire range through which light is emitted.

[0007] The vehicle lighting device disclosed in the present application is premised on a configuration in which a light guiding rod is housed between a pair of upright wall portions (a first upright wall portion and a second upright wall portion) so as to be sandwiched therebetween, and light from the light guiding rod is emitted from between the first upright wall portion and the second upright wall portion. The vehicle lighting device disclosed in the present application has a claw portion formed on the first upright wall portion that protrudes inward (toward the second upright wall portion) to prevent the light guiding rod from slipping out of the recess. Meanwhile, an opening is required in the second upright wall portion at a location facing the claw portion to form the inner surface of the claw portion. For example, if the second upright wall portion is notched at a location facing the claw portion (the tip of the second upright wall portion is not continuous but is interrupted), light will leak not only from the opening in the recess but also from the notch, resulting in unevenness in the light illumination range. Furthermore, there is a risk that the distance between the first standing wall portion (the width of the recessed opening) will differ between the portion of the second standing wall portion on one end side of the bridge wall portion and the portion on the other end side of the bridge wall portion, and in that case, the spread of light will differ between the portion on one end side of the bridge wall portion and the portion on the other end side of the bridge wall portion.In contrast, the vehicle lighting device disclosed in the present application only has a through-hole formed on the base end side at a location of the second standing wall portion facing the claw portion, and the tip of the second standing wall portion is connected by the bridge wall portion and is not interrupted in the longitudinal direction, so that the spread of light emitted from the recessed opening can be aligned in the longitudinal direction.

[0008] The vehicle lighting device having the above-described configuration can be configured in various ways as follows.

[0009] (2) The vehicle lighting device described in (1), wherein the storage member stores the light guide rod in a state where the distance from the tip of the second upright wall portion to the light guide rod is constant in the longitudinal direction.

[0010] In the vehicle lighting device having this configuration, the distance from the tip of the second standing wall to the surface of the light guiding rod facing the opening of the recess (light exit surface) is the same at any position in the longitudinal direction, so that the spread of light leaking from the opening of the housing member toward the first standing wall can be aligned in the longitudinal direction.

[0011] (3) A vehicle lighting device as described in (1) or (2), wherein in the erection direction, which is the direction from the base end to the tip end of the first erection wall portion and the second erection wall portion, the position of the tip end side of the hole edge of the through hole coincides with the position of the apex of the claw portion.

[0012] In the vehicle lighting device having this configuration, when the housing member is molded by injection molding, the through holes can be used for punching when forming the claw portions.

[0013] (4) The storage member has an attachment portion for attachment to the vehicle interior material, The vehicle lighting device according to item (3), wherein the mounting portion is formed so as to extend to a side opposite to the first standing wall portion and the second standing wall portion in the erecting direction.

[0014] The mold for forming the apex of the claw cannot be removed toward the mounting portion, but only toward the second upright wall portion. Therefore, when using a housing member with this configuration, the above-mentioned configuration in which the position of the tip side of the hole edge of the through hole and the position of the apex of the claw coincide with each other is preferable.

[0015] (5) The vehicle lighting device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the second standing wall portion is positioned closer to the vehicle compartment than the first standing wall portion.

[0016] In a vehicle lighting device of this configuration, the light irradiation range is determined by the second standing wall portion located on the vehicle compartment side, so that the light irradiation range of the first standing wall portion having the claw portion is not affected, and the spread of light toward the vehicle compartment side can be aligned in the longitudinal direction.

[0017] (6) The vehicle interior material includes a substrate and a skin material that covers the interior surface of the substrate, the skin material is folded back at an edge of the base material toward the outside of the vehicle cabin and fixed thereto; The vehicle lighting device according to any one of items (1) to (5), wherein the vehicle lighting device is attached to the vehicle interior material in a state where the second standing wall portion is in contact with the folded portion, which is the folded portion of the skin material.

[0018] The vehicle lighting device of this configuration emits light from the edge of the vehicle interior material to illuminate areas around it. For example, if the emitted light from the vehicle lighting device strikes a folded portion of the skin material and the illuminated area is defined by the folded portion, the folded portion may have unevenness in the longitudinal direction (uneven thickness), which could cause the illuminated area to be uneven in the longitudinal direction. In contrast, the vehicle lighting device of this configuration easily uniforms the illuminated area in the longitudinal direction because the illuminated area is defined by the second standing wall portion.

[0019] (7) The vehicle interior material is a door trim having an armrest portion and a wall surface portion that forms a wall surface above the armrest portion, The vehicle lighting device is described in any one of items (1) to (6), and is attached along the lower edge of the wall portion on the outer side of the vehicle cabin, with the opening facing downward and the second standing wall portion positioned on the inner side of the vehicle cabin relative to the first standing wall portion, and irradiates light toward the armrest portion.

[0020] The vehicle lighting device having this configuration is specifically adapted to the location where it is used, and can make the range of light irradiated onto the upper surface of the armrest uniform in the longitudinal direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle lighting device in which the light guide rod is firmly fixed to the housing member, while the emitted light is made uniform in the longitudinal direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1]1 is a front view of a door trim provided with a vehicle lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] Overall view of a vehicle lighting device [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view of the vehicle lighting device (cross-section AA in Figure 2) [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view of the vehicle lighting device (cross-section BB in Figure 2) [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of a vehicle lighting device; [Figure 6] Cross-sectional views showing a molding process of the cover member [Figure 7] Cross-sectional views showing a molding process of the cover member [Figure 8] A diagram showing the mold in an open state in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of a lighting device according to a comparative example. [Figure 10] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to a comparative example; [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an illumination device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] A vehicle lighting device 10 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "lighting device 10") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. As shown in Fig. 1, the lighting device 10 is provided as an interior material for a vehicle on a door trim 12 of a side door, and is used for indirect lighting that irradiates a specific location with light. Note that in some of the drawings, directions are indicated using the symbols Fr, Rr, IN, OUT, U, and D, which respectively represent the front side, rear side, inside and outside of the vehicle cabin (vehicle compartment) in the vehicle width direction, upper side, and lower side of the vehicle.

[0024] The door trim 12 is mainly composed of a generally plate-shaped trim board 14. The trim board 14 is formed by assembling a plurality of board members together. Specifically, the trim board 14 includes an upper board 15, an armrest board 16, a lower board 17, an ornament board 18, and the like.

[0025] The upper board 15 forms an upper portion of the trim board 14, and the lower board 17 forms a lower portion of the trim board 14. The front side of the lower board 17 is connected to the upper board 15, and the rear side is connected to the armrest board 16. An ornament board 18 is provided above the armrest board 16 and between it and the upper board 15. The lighting device 10 of this embodiment is disposed along the lower edge of the rear side of the ornament board 18, and emits light toward the upper surface of the armrest board 16. That is, in this embodiment, the ornament board 18 is a wall portion that forms the upper wall surface of the armrest board (armrest portion) 16.

[0026] 2, the lighting device 10 of this embodiment includes a light source unit 20, a longitudinal light guide rod 22 that guides light from the light source unit 20, and a cover member (housing member) 24 that houses the light guide rod 22 and attaches it to the trim board 14. The lighting device 10 is formed by assembling the light source unit 20, the light guide rod 22, and the cover member 24 into an integrated unit, and is fixed to the exterior side of the ornament board 18 in this integrated state.

[0027] Although detailed description will be omitted, the light source unit 20 includes an LED, which is a point light source, and a light-blocking case that houses the LED, and is attached to a base 26 provided on a cover member 24. One end 22a of a light guiding rod 22 can be inserted into the case, and the light guiding rod 22 is held in a state where the one end 22a faces the LED. Light is incident on the light source unit 20 from the one end 22a of the light guiding rod 22. The light guiding rod 22 guides the light from the one end 22a toward the other end 22b.

[0028] The light guide rod 22 is made of a nearly transparent synthetic resin material with a refractive index much higher than that of air. In this embodiment, the light guide rod 22 is made of acrylic resin with a critical angle of approximately 42.2°. The light guide rod 22 is configured so that when light traveling inside the rod is incident on the interface with the external air layer at an incident angle greater than the critical angle, the light is totally reflected and propagates inside the rod.

[0029] The cover member 24 includes a longitudinal cover body 28 extending along the light guide rod 22 and housing the light guide rod 22, and a generally plate-like extension (mounting portion) 30 extending from the cover body 28. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the cover body 28 has a generally U-shaped cross section in the longitudinal direction that opens downward, and includes a recess 28a along the longitudinal direction. Specifically, the cover body 28 includes a base 32 that forms the bottom wall of the recess 28a, and a first upright wall 33 and a second upright wall 34 that extend downward from both ends of the base 32 in the vehicle width direction (inside and outside the vehicle), forming the recess 28a with a rectangular cross section that opens downward. The width of the recess 28a is slightly larger than the width of the light guide rod 22, allowing the light guide rod 22 to fit securely within the recess 28a. The protruding portion 30 is formed to extend upward from the end portion of the base portion 32 facing the vehicle exterior. In other words, the protruding portion 30 is formed to extend to the side opposite to the first standing wall portion 33.

[0030] 4 and 5, the first standing wall portion 33 has claw portions 36 formed to protrude toward the second standing wall portion 34. As shown in Fig. 2, two claw portions 36 are provided at a distance in the longitudinal direction, and hook onto the underside of the light guiding rod 22 to hold the light guiding rod 22 in the recess 28a and prevent it from slipping out of the recess 28a.

[0031] The second standing wall portion 34 has a generally rectangular through-hole 38 formed therein at a position opposite the claw portion 36, penetrating the base portion 32 in the thickness direction. The tip of the through-hole 38 of the second standing wall portion 34 has a bridging wall portion 34c that bridges the front wall portion 34a and the rear wall portion 34b. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the second standing wall portion 34 is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction over the entire range through which the tip emits light. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower edge 38a of the through-hole 38 and the apex 36a of the claw portion 36 are located at approximately the same height, or the lower edge 38a of the through-hole 38 is located closer to the tip (lower) than the apex 36a of the claw portion 36.

[0032] As described above, the lighting device 10 is attached to the trim board 14 in a state in which the light source unit 20, the light guide rod 22, and the cover member 24 are assembled and integrated. Specifically, the cover member 24 has a positioning hole 30a and a plurality of fastening holes 30b formed therethrough in the protruding portion 30. Meanwhile, the ornament board 18 has a positioning protrusion 18a (see FIG. 4) and a plurality of bosses 18b (see FIG. 3) formed on the back surface thereof. The protrusion 18a is fitted into the positioning hole 30a, and the plurality of bosses 18b are inserted into the fastening holes 30b. The armrest board 16 is then placed on top of the lighting device 10 from the exterior side and fastened together with the bolts 40. As a result, the lighting device 10 is attached along the lower edge of the exterior side of the ornament board 18, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this assembled state, a gap S is formed between the lower end of the ornament board 18 and the upper surface of the armrest board 16. The ornament board 18 is made of a plate-shaped base material 42 made of thermoplastic resin and a skin material 44 that covers the interior side of the base material 42, and the skin material 44 is folded back to the exterior side of the base material 42 at an edge thereof and fixed to the exterior side of the base material 42. In the lighting device 10, the second standing wall portion 34 of the cover member 24 is pressed against a folded-back portion 44a, which is the folded-back portion of the skin material 44.

[0033] The cover member 24 has a light-blocking property, and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the light from the light guide rod 22 is emitted downward from the opening of the recess 28a, and the light is then irradiated onto the exterior side of the upper surface of the armrest board 16.

[0034] In this embodiment, the cover member 24 is formed by injection molding. The cover member 24 has claws 36 formed on the first standing wall portion 33 that protrude inward (toward the second standing wall portion 34). Therefore, the cover member 24 needs to be removed from the mold to form a hollowed-out shape from the apex 36a of the claws 36 to the base end side. However, the cover member 24 has a protruding portion 30 on the side of the base portion 32 (the upper side in FIG. 4), making it difficult to remove from the mold. Therefore, the cover member 24 needs to be removed from the mold toward the second standing wall portion 34, and an opening is formed in the second standing wall portion 34.

[0035] Here, the manufacturing process of the cover member 24 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. The cover member 24 is molded by injection molding as described above, and for example, a molding die 60 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is used. The molding die 60 includes an upper die 62, which is a movable die, and a lower die 64, which is a fixed die. The lower die 64 is configured to include a main body portion 64a and a sliding portion 64b that is slidable in the planar direction of the main body portion 64a. The sliding portion 64b is basically the portion that forms the recess 28a of the cover member 24. However, since the sliding portion 64b cannot be used to remove the mold at the location where the claw portion 36 is present, the sliding portion 64b molds the area from the apex 36a to the tip 36b. The portion from the apex 36a of the claw portion 36 to the base 32 is formed by the upper mold 62, and a through hole 38 of approximately the same size (actually, slightly larger) as the size from the apex 36a of the claw portion 36 to the base 32 is formed in the second upright wall portion 34 located in the direction of removal of the upper mold 62, so that a wall portion (bridge wall portion) 34c remains on the tip side of the through hole 38.

[0036] 9 and 10, if a notch 72 is formed in the second standing wall portion 70 to remove the mold when molding the inner surface of the claw portion 36, the second standing wall portion 70 will have a shape that is interrupted in the longitudinal direction. In this case, light from the light guiding rod 22 will leak from the portion where the notch 72 is formed, and the light will spread more toward the interior than the portion where the second standing wall portion 70 is present, causing unevenness in the illumination range of the armrest board 16.

[0037] In contrast, in the present lighting device 10, the portion of the second standing wall portion facing the claw portion 36 is formed by a through-hole 38 and a bridge wall portion 34c, and the tip 34d of the second standing wall portion 34 is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction over the entire light-emitting range. Furthermore, the distance from the lower surface 22c, which is the light-emitting surface of the light guide rod 22, to the tip 34d of the second standing wall portion 34 is constant in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, in the present lighting device 10, the spread of the emitted light toward the interior of the vehicle cabin is determined by the tip 34d of the second standing wall portion 34, and the illumination range of the upper surface of the armrest board 16 can be aligned in the front-to-rear direction. With this configuration, the illumination device 10 can easily adjust the spread of the emitted light, i.e., the illumination range of the light, by adjusting the distance from the lower surface 22c, which is the light-emitting surface of the light guide rod 22, to the tip 34d of the second standing wall portion 34. The through-hole 38 is closed by the second standing wall portion 34 being pressed against the covering material 44 of the ornament board 18, so that light does not leak out from the through-hole 38.

[0038] <Other embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. For example, the following embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the light guide rod 22 has a square cross section, but this is not limited to this. For example, it may have a circular cross section like the light guide rod 80 shown in Figure 11, and various other cross-sectional shapes can be used depending on the orientation of the light emitting surface of the light guide rod, etc.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the lighting device 10 was arranged on the back side of the ornament board 18 so that the entire lighting device 10 could not be seen, but the tip of the second standing wall portion 34 (the portion tip side from the through hole 38) is formed in a continuous line in the longitudinal direction, so that this portion can also be exposed, that is, used as a design surface for the vehicle interior.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the portion of the light guiding bar 22 corresponding to the light irradiation range is formed in a straight line, but it may also be formed in a curved line.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the vehicle lighting device 10 provided on the door trim of a side door of an automobile is exemplified as a vehicle lighting device, but the technology disclosed in the present application is not limited to this, and can be applied to lighting provided on various trims other than door trims, instrument panels, console boxes, dashboards, and other vehicle interior materials, as well as lighting provided on interior materials of vehicles such as trains, airplanes, ships, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10...vehicle lighting device (vehicle lighting device), 12...door trim (vehicle interior material), 16...armrest board (armrest portion), 18...ornament board (wall surface portion), 20...light source unit (light source), 22...light guide rod, 24...cover member (accommodating member), 28a...recess, 30...extension portion (mounting portion), 33...first standing wall portion, 34...second standing wall portion, 34c...bridge wall portion, 34d...tip, 36...claw portion, 36a...vertex, 36b...tip, 38...through hole, 38a...lower edge, 42...base material, 44...skin material, 44a...folded portion

Claims

1. A vehicle lighting device attached to a vehicle interior material, A light source and a light guiding rod having a longitudinal shape, into which light from the light source is incident from one end in the longitudinal direction and which guides the incident light to the other end; a light-shielding housing member having a longitudinal shape extending along the light guide rod, housing the light guide rod in a recess along the longitudinal direction and allowing light from the light guide rod to exit from an opening of the recess; Equipped with the accommodating member has a first standing wall portion and a second standing wall portion that are erected opposite to each other, and the recess is formed between the first standing wall portion and the second standing wall portion; the first upright wall portion has a claw portion formed to protrude toward the second upright wall portion for holding the light guide rod in the recess, The second standing wall portion has a through hole penetrating in a thickness direction at a base end side of the second standing wall portion at a position opposite to the claw portion, and has a bridge wall portion bridging in a longitudinal direction at a tip end side of the second standing wall portion, The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the second standing wall portion is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction over the entire area through which light is emitted.

2. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the housing member houses the light guide rod in a state where a distance from a tip of the second standing wall portion to the light guide rod is constant in the longitudinal direction.

3. 3. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein in the vertical direction, which is the direction from the base end to the tip end of the first vertical wall portion and the second vertical wall portion, the position of the tip end side of the hole edge of the through hole coincides with the position of the apex of the claw portion.

4. the housing member has an attachment portion for attachment to the vehicle interior material, The vehicle lighting device according to claim 3 , wherein the mounting portion is formed to extend in a direction opposite to the first and second standing wall portions in the erecting direction.

5. 3. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the second standing wall portion is located closer to a vehicle compartment than the first standing wall portion.

6. The vehicle interior material includes a base material and a skin material that covers an interior surface of the base material, the skin material is folded back at an edge of the base material toward the outside of the vehicle cabin and fixed thereto; 3. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle lighting device is attached to the vehicle interior material in a state where the second standing wall portion is in contact with a folded portion that is a folded portion of the skin material.

7. the vehicle interior material is a door trim having an armrest portion and a wall surface portion that forms a wall surface above the armrest portion, 3. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle lighting device is attached along a lower edge of the wall portion on an outer surface of the vehicle cabin, with the opening facing downward and the second standing wall portion positioned on an inner side of the vehicle cabin relative to the first standing wall portion, and irradiates light toward the armrest portion.

Images