Vehicle Lamps

Abstract

To provide a vehicle lamp capable of obtaining desired light distribution characteristics while improving designability.SOLUTION: A stationary side unit FTL and a movable side unit MTL of a tail lamp TL are each composed of a design part 1 and a signature part 2. The design part 1 includes a first light source 15, and a light guide plate 11 formed with a light reflection step 16 for reflecting light from the first light source 15 guided inside to form a required light emission pattern. The signature part 2 includes a second light source, and a light emitting surface 25 that emits the light from the second light source 15 in a plane manner. The design part 1 improves the designability of a lamp, and the signature part 2 provides required light distribution characteristics.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lamp to be installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a vehicle lamp using a light guide having light reflecting steps. [Background technology]

[0002] A lamp using a light guide with reflective steps has been proposed as one type of automotive lamp. This lamp is equipped with a light guide whose front surface faces the exterior of the vehicle body and whose back surface is formed with a required pattern of light reflective steps. When light from a light source is incident on the inside of the light guide, a portion of the light guided inside the light guide is reflected by the light reflective steps, and the reflected light is emitted from the surface of the light guide. This allows the lamp to function as a light emission pattern that corresponds to the pattern shape of the light reflective steps.

[0003] Patent Document 1 proposes a lamp of this type in which a convex lens is arranged on the surface of a light guide and the light refraction effect of this convex lens is utilized so that different light emission patterns are seen when viewed from different directions, thereby making it possible to enhance the design effect of the lamp. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-63890 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The lamp of Patent Document 1 can be said to be a technology using a so-called lenticular lens, and since a convex lens is formed on the front surface of a light guide and a light reflecting step is formed on the back surface, it is necessary to process both the front and back surfaces of the light guide, which makes the structure complicated and difficult to manufacture. In addition, since the light reflecting step needs to be disposed at a position corresponding to the convex lens, the position of the light reflecting step is restricted, which limits the degree of freedom in designing the pattern shape of the light emission pattern formed by the light reflecting step, and also makes it difficult to design to form the light reflecting step at a specified position.

[0006] Therefore, the applicant has previously proposed a highly designable lamp with a simple structure and improved appearance when lit in Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-19456. The lamp of this prior application is capable of presenting the appearance of a three-dimensional (3D) light emission pattern when lit, particularly by mixing light reflection steps with different light reflection forms.

[0007] However, according to the applicant's investigation, when ensuring a light emission pattern with a high design quality in the prior invention, the shape of the light guide and the position of the light source that inputs light into the light guide are sometimes limited. Therefore, the shape of the light emitting surface of the lamp and the light distribution characteristics including brightness are restricted, and the design of the lamp may be restricted by differences in the body shape of the vehicle in which the lamp is installed. Therefore, it is desirable to further improve the design quality and light distribution characteristics of the lamp.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp that is capable of improving design and obtaining desired light distribution characteristics. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The vehicle lamp of the present invention has a lamp unit composed of a design portion and a signature portion, and the design portion includes a first light source and a light guide plate having light reflecting steps formed therein for reflecting the light of the first light source guided therethrough to form a required light emission pattern, and the signature portion includes a second light source and a light emitting surface that emits the light of the second light source in a planar manner.

[0010] In the present invention, the light guide plate is formed in a quadrangle having at least one acute corner, and light from the first light source is incident on a light incident surface provided at the acute corner. The light reflecting step includes a first light reflecting step that performs directional light reflection and a second light reflecting step that performs non-directional light reflection, and the first light emission pattern is formed by the light reflected in the first light reflecting step, and the second light emission pattern is formed by the light reflected in the second light reflecting step. The second light emission pattern is configured such that the pattern shape observed does not change regardless of differences in observation positions, and the pattern shape observed in the first light emission pattern changes depending on differences in observation positions. The light guide plate is preferably formed in a parallelogram shape. Light from the first light source is incident on a light incident surface provided at an acute corner located on the outer or inner side in the vehicle width direction, and the incident light is guided toward the inner or outer side in the vehicle width direction.

[0011] In the present invention, the signature portion includes a light guiding rod of a required length, the light guiding rod is configured to guide the light of the second light source in the length direction and emit it from its peripheral surface, and the light emitting surface is disposed along the length direction of the light guiding rod. It is preferable that the signature portion is configured to cover and conceal the first light source so that it is not exposed from the front of the lamp.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle is configured with a fixed unit disposed on a fixed portion of the vehicle body and a movable unit disposed on a movable portion of the vehicle body, and at least one of the fixed unit and the movable unit is provided with a design portion and a signature portion. For example, the vehicle is configured as a tail lamp of an automobile, with the fixed unit mounted on a rear panel of the vehicle body and the movable unit mounted on a trunk lid of the automobile. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, highly aesthetic lighting can be achieved in the design area, and desired light distribution characteristics can be achieved in the signature area, thereby realizing a vehicle lamp that satisfies the requirements for both design and light distribution characteristics. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a portion of an automobile to which the present invention is applied; [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a front view of the fixed tail lamp unit and the movable tail lamp unit. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] Schematic diagram of a directional light reflecting step and a non-directional light reflecting step. [Figure 7] 1 is an enlarged schematic diagram of a portion of light emission pattern P. [Figure 8] 1A to 1C are conceptual diagrams illustrating changes in appearance of light emission patterns. [Figure 9] A conceptual diagram to explain the miniaturization of the design part. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a conceptual plan view for explaining the light distribution characteristics of the design part. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a modified example of the design portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of an automobile CAR in which the present invention is applied to left and right rear combination lamps L-RCL, R-RCL arranged at the rear of the vehicle body. These rear combination lamps RCL are symmetrical, with fixed lamps FL mounted on the rear panel of the automobile and movable lamps ML mounted on the trunk lid that opens and closes vertically, arranged on the left and right.

[0016] The fixed tail lamp unit FTL, the stop lamp unit SL, and the turn signal lamp unit TSL are disposed in the lamp housing of the fixed lamp FL. The movable tail lamp unit MTL and the backup lamp unit BUL are disposed in the lamp housing of the movable lamp ML. The fixed tail lamp unit FTL and the movable tail lamp unit MTL constitute the tail lamp TL. The turn signal lamp unit TSL, the stop lamp unit SL, and the backup lamp unit BUL are not particularly relevant to the present invention, so detailed explanations will be omitted here. In the following description, the left and right directions are based on FIG. 1 as viewed from the rear of the automobile.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a front view of the tail lamp units, i.e., the fixed tail lamp unit (hereinafter referred to as the fixed unit) FTL and the movable tail lamp unit (hereinafter referred to as the movable unit) MTL, which constitute the tail lamp TL of the right rear combination lamp R-RCL. The basic configurations of these lamp units FTL and MTL are almost the same, so equivalent parts will be described with the same reference numerals. Both units FTL and MTL are equipped with a design section 1 whose appearance of the light emission pattern changes depending on the difference in the viewing position, and a signature section 2 that emits light from a surface with a required brightness.

[0018] 3 is a schematic perspective view of the design part 1, and each design part 1 of the fixed side unit FTL and the movable side unit MTL has a light guide plate (plate-shaped light guide) 11 made of colorless and transparent resin, for example PMMA (acrylic) resin. The light guide plate (hereinafter, fixed side light guide plate) 11F of the fixed side unit FTL and the light guide plate (hereinafter, movable side light guide plate) 11M of the movable side unit MTL each have a main surface part 12, which is formed in a shape close to a quadrangle with sides inclined to the right, here a parallelogram, when viewed from the front direction of the lamp (the rear of the car). When viewed in the plate thickness direction, the fixed side light guide plate 11F is formed in a somewhat curved plate shape following the curved shape of the right rear part of the body of the car CAR, and the movable side light guide plate 11M is formed in a substantially flat plate shape. Here, for each of the light guide plates 11F and 11M, the surface facing the front side of the lamp is referred to as the front surface, and the surface opposite thereto is referred to as the rear surface.

[0019] Further, an extension 13 is formed on the upper side of each of the main surface portions 12 of the light guide plates 11F, 11M, extending obliquely upward and rearward by a required dimension. One end of this extension 13, i.e., a portion adjacent to an upper acute corner of the main surface portion 12 having a shape close to a parallelogram, i.e., an upper right corner in a front view, is chamfered as required, and this chamfered surface is formed as a light entrance surface 14.

[0020] A first light source 15 is disposed to face the light incident surface 14. The first light source 15 has a red LED (light emitting diode) 151 that emits red light mounted on a support substrate 150, and is configured to guide the emitted red light from the light incident surface 14 to the extension portion 13 or main surface portion 12 of the light guide plates 11F, 11M. The support substrate 140 of the first light source 15 is fixed to the unit body 3, which will be described later, together with the light guide plates 11F, 11M.

[0021] Here, the angles of the upper right and lower left corners of the main surface portion 12 of each of the light guide plates 11F and 11M are formed to be approximately equal to the light emission angle of 70 degrees of the red LED 151 arranged opposite to each other, or to be slightly smaller than that. In addition, a light reflection step 16 for emitting light in a required light emission pattern P is formed on the rear surface of each of the main surface portions 12. Here, the light emission pattern P is shown as a simplified diagram with some parts omitted. This light reflection step 16 is composed of a minute recess recessed on the rear surface of each of the light guide plates 11F and 11M. That is, the light emitted by the red LED 151 and guided to the main surface portion 12 of each of the light guide plates 11F and 11M is reflected by the light reflection step 16 and is emitted from the surface of each of the light guide plates 11F and 11M to be used as the light irradiated to the fixed side unit FTL and the movable side unit MTL.

[0022] 4, both the fixed unit FTL and the movable unit MTL of the signature section 2 are provided with a light guiding rod (rod-shaped light guiding body) 21 made of colorless and transparent PMMA resin. The fixed unit FTL is provided with a fixed light guiding rod 21F extending horizontally along the upper side of the fixed light guiding plate 11F, and the movable unit MTL is provided with a movable light guiding rod 21M bent and extended from the upper side to the region along the left side of the movable light guiding plate 11M.

[0023] In the fixed-side unit FTL, a second light source 22 is disposed opposite to the right end of the fixed-side light guiding rod 21F. The second light source 22 is configured to include a red LED 221 mounted on a support substrate 220 and emitting red light, and the red light emitted by this second light source 22 is incident on the right end face of the fixed-side light guiding rod 21F and guided in the length direction. A light reflecting step 23 is formed on the upper part of the peripheral surface of the fixed-side light guiding rod 21F, which reflects the guided light downward and emits it downward from the fixed-side light guiding rod 21F.

[0024] Furthermore, the lamp further includes a reflector 24 arranged in parallel along the fixed light guiding rod 21F, and a horizontally long light emitting surface lens 25 arranged on the front side of the reflector 24. The reflector 24 reflects the light emitted from the fixed light guiding rod 21F toward the front direction of the lamp. The light emitting surface lens 25 is formed of a colorless plate-like translucent resin, and a required light diverging step is formed on the rear surface thereof, thereby diffusing the light reflected by the reflector 24 and emitting it with a desired light distribution characteristic. The light diverging step includes a partition step that partitions the light emitting surface into a plurality of parts in the length direction, and is configured to emit surface light in a form in which the plurality of light emitting surfaces are arranged along the length direction at a required pitch dimension.

[0025] The signature section 2 of the movable unit MTL is basically the same as the signature section 2 of the fixed unit FTL, but the second light source 22 including the red LED 221 is disposed at the lower left end of the movable light guiding rod 21M, and the emitted red light is incident on the lower left end face of the movable light guiding rod 21M and guided in the length direction. As shown by the imaginary line in Fig. 4, the second light source 22 may be disposed at the upper right end of the movable light guiding rod 21M, or at both ends. The upper and left peripheral surfaces of the movable light guiding rod 21M are formed with light reflection steps 23, which reflect the guided light downward and to the right and emit it downward and to the right of the movable light guiding rod 21M.

[0026] Furthermore, the lamp is provided with a reflector 24 arranged in parallel along the movable light guiding rod 21M, and a bent light emitting lens 25 arranged on the front side of the reflector 24. The reflector 24 reflects the light emitted from the movable light guiding rod 21M toward the front direction of the lamp. The light emitting lens 25 emits the light reflected by the reflector 24 with desired light distribution characteristics.

[0027] The design section 1 and signature section 2 configured as above are integrally incorporated into the unit body 3 shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Fig. 2, showing the fixed side unit FTL. The fixed side light guiding plate 11F and first light source 15 constituting the design section 1 are incorporated into the unit body 3, and the fixed side light guiding rod 21F, second light source 22, reflector 24 and light emitting surface lens 25 constituting the signature section 2 are also integrally incorporated into the same unit body 3. The same is true for the movable side unit MTL.

[0028] In both the fixed unit FTL and the movable unit MTL, when the design section 1 and the signature section 2 are assembled into the unit body 3, the extension section 13 of the light guide plate 11 of the design section 1 and the first light source 15 are disposed on the rear side of the signature section 2, here, on the rear side of the reflector 24 and the light-emitting surface lens 25. Since this extension section 13 extends obliquely rearward and upward from the upper side of the main surface section 12, even if the main surface section 12 and the light-emitting surface lens 25 are disposed at approximately the same elevational position in the unit body 3, the extension section 13 and the first light source 15 are prevented from interfering with the signature section 2. At the same time, the extension section 13 and the first light source 15 are covered by the signature section 2 and are not exposed in the front direction of the lamp, and the external appearance of the lamp is not impaired.

[0029] Here, the light reflecting steps 16 formed on the main surface portions 12 of the light guide plates 11 (11F, 11M) will be described. The light reflecting steps 16 are composed of a first light reflecting step 161 and a second light reflecting step 162, similar to the prior application (Patent Application No. 2021-19456).

[0030] As shown in Fig. 6(a), the first light reflecting step 161 is formed as a recess having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape with the axis of the column in the horizontal direction or tilted at a required angle θA with respect to the horizontal direction, in other words, as a cylindrical recess. When the guided light L is projected, the light is reflected in a divergent state to a certain extent in the direction V perpendicular to the axis of the column on the peripheral surface of the first light reflecting step 161, but the divergence of the light L is suppressed in the direction H of the axis of the column, resulting in directional light reflection. In other words, the first light reflecting step 161 is formed as a directional light reflecting step that reflects light with directionality at least in the horizontal direction H. Note that the first light reflecting step 161 may be formed as a triangular or rectangular prism recess that reflects light with directionality in both the horizontal and vertical directions, as long as it is configured to reflect light with directionality in the horizontal direction.

[0031] On the other hand, the second light reflecting step 162 is a step that reflects light in all directions, that is, in the horizontal and vertical directions, in a divergent state, as shown in Fig. 6(b), and is formed as a spherical recess here. The second light reflecting step 162, which is a spherical recess, is configured to reflect light in a divergent state in each of the vertical direction V and the horizontal direction H on its spherical surface when the guided light L is projected. In other words, it is formed as a non-directional light reflecting step that reflects light without directionality. The second light reflecting step 32 may be formed as a conical recess as long as it is configured to reflect light in a divergent state in each of the vertical direction V and the horizontal direction H.

[0032] The light emitting patterns P formed on the main surface portion 12 are partially different between the fixed light guide plate 11F and the movable light guide plate 11M, but the basic pattern shapes are almost the same. The light emitting patterns P of both light guide plates 11F and 11M will be explained collectively with reference to FIG. 2. A plurality of main patterns Pm having a rectangular or triangular shape are formed by the second light reflecting step 162, which is a non-directional light reflecting step. The plurality of main patterns Pm are formed in a state aligned vertically and horizontally in a grid pattern. In addition, a sub-pattern Ps for providing a sense of depth is formed on one side of the main pattern Pm by the first light reflecting step 161, which is a directional light reflecting step.

[0033] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an enlarged portion of the light-emitting pattern P, in which the main pattern Pm has a number of second light-reflecting steps 162, each of which is made up of a spherical recess, arranged in a plane to form a triangle or a rectangle. The sub-pattern Ps has a number of first light-reflecting steps 161, each of which is made up of a cylindrical recess. The sub-pattern Ps has a pattern arranged in an inverted L shape (hereinafter, inverted L pattern) arranged in multiple rows. Here, an example of three rows is shown, and the multiple inverted L patterns Ps1, Ps2, and Ps3 are arranged so as to gradually move away from the main pattern Pm. The inclination of the longitudinal axis (column axis) of the cylindrical recess of the first light-reflecting step 161 constituting the sub-pattern Ps, that is, the inclination angle with respect to the horizontal line H (a line extending in the horizontal direction), is configured to gradually increase from the inverted L pattern Ps1 close to the main pattern Pm toward the inverted L pattern Ps3, which is farther away.

[0034] The lighting operation of the tail lamp TL having the above configuration will be described. In each design part 1 of the fixed side unit FTL and the movable side unit MTL, the first light source 15 emits light, and when red light is incident on each light guide plate 11F, 11M, the red light is guided inside each light guide plate 11F, 11M. The guided light is reflected by the first light reflecting step 161 and the second light reflecting step 162 formed on the rear surface of each light guide plate 11F, 11M, and the reflected light is emitted from the front surface of each light guide plate 11F, 11M.

[0035] The light reflected by the non-directional second light reflecting step 162 constituting the main pattern Pm is emitted toward a wide angle range in front of the lamp. On the other hand, the light reflected by the directional first light reflecting step 161 constituting the sub-pattern Ps is emitted toward a predetermined narrow angle in the horizontal direction in front of the lamp. As a result, from the rear of the automobile CAR, the rectangular or triangular main pattern Pm is visible in an angle range that satisfies the required light distribution characteristics, and a part of the sub-pattern Ps is visible at a required angle position.

[0036] That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the viewer M is present in different left and right directions behind the vehicle or when the viewer's position changes, the observed main pattern Pm does not change, but the sub-pattern Ps changes. When the viewer M1 is present in a position close to the rear of the vehicle, the main pattern Pm and a sub-pattern close to it (for example, Ps1) are viewed. When the viewer M2 or M3 is present at a required angle to the right from the rear of the vehicle, the main pattern Pm does not change, but the sub-patterns Ps that are successively farther from the main pattern Pm (for example, Ps2 or Ps3) are viewed. By changing the viewed sub-pattern Ps in this way, the length of the portion shaded by the main pattern Pm is changed, and a three-dimensional effect (sense of depth) of the light emission pattern P is obtained. When the vehicle is moving, even if the viewer is stationary, the visibility of the light emission pattern P as if the sense of depth has changed is obtained. This improves the visibility of the tail lamp TL to the viewer, and improves the design of the tail lamp TL.

[0037] On the other hand, when the tail lamp is turned on, the second light source 22 is emitted in each signature portion 2 of the fixed unit FTL and the movable unit MTL, and when the red light is incident on each light guiding rod 21F, 21M, the red light is guided in the length direction inside each light guiding rod 21F, 21M. The guided light is reflected by the light reflecting step 23 of each light guiding rod 21F, 21M and emitted from the peripheral surface of each light guiding rod 21F, 21M. The emitted light is reflected by the reflector 24 and is emitted toward the front direction of the lamp through the light emitting surface lens 25.

[0038] In this way, the design portion 1 of the tail lamp TL is lit up as a tail lamp with an appearance in which multiple light emitting patterns P are arranged in a grid pattern, and the signature portion 2 is lit up as a tail lamp with an appearance in a line pattern extending from the top side of the design portion 1 along one side. Therefore, the tail lamp TL can obtain light distribution characteristics with the required amount of light by the light irradiation from both the design portion 1 and the signature portion 2.

[0039] Regarding this light distribution characteristic, in the design part 1, the light reflection step 16 forms the light emission pattern P. That is, a large number of point-like emitted lights are collected to form the required light distribution pattern P. Also, in the design part 1, the first light reflection step 161 gives the light emission pattern P a three-dimensional appearance depending on the angle at which the lamp is viewed. Therefore, the light guided inside the light guide plate 11 is required to have a single light guide direction, and the first light source 15 needs to be configured as a single light source. That is, it needs to be configured with one LED, and for this reason, the amount of light in the design part 1 is limited from increasing, making it difficult to satisfy the light distribution characteristic with the amount of light required for the tail lamp TL.

[0040] On the other hand, in the signature section 2, the second light source 22 can be set arbitrarily, and can be configured with, for example, a plurality of LEDs. That is, it is easy to adjust the amount of light emitted from the light guiding rod 21, and it is possible to increase the amount of light at the light-emitting surface lens 25 by the light emitted from the light guiding rod 21. Therefore, by compensating for the amount of light that is insufficient in the design section 1 with the amount of light in the signature section 2, a tail lamp TL having light distribution characteristics with a required amount of light can be configured.

[0041] In addition, in order to obtain visibility of the light emitting pattern P in the design section 1, particularly visibility with a three-dimensional effect, it is necessary for the light incident on the light guide plate 11 to be guided to all the light reflecting steps 16 and reflected. Here, as shown in FIG. 9(a), the first light source 15 is incident on the light incident surface 14 provided at the acute corner of the light guide plate 11. The light emission angle θL of the LED 151 of the first light source 15 is about 70 to 80 degrees, and the angle of the corner of the light guide plate 11 is also approximately the same angle, so that the light is guided toward approximately the entire area of ​​the main surface portion 12 of the light guide plate 11. Therefore, the light is guided to all the first light reflecting steps 161 and the second light reflecting steps 162 formed on the light guide plate 11, and light irradiation in the light emitting pattern P is realized. In addition, the distance between the first light source 15 and the light guide plate 11 can be minimized, and the design section 1 can be made smaller.

[0042] 9(b), in the case where the light from the first light source 15 is made incident on one side of the light guide plate 11, for example the upper side, in order to guide the light to the entire area of ​​the light guide plate 11, the first light source 15 needs to be located at a position away from the light guide plate 11, that is, the light emitted from the first light source 15 needs to be made incident on an area covering the entire length of the upper side of the light guide plate 11. Therefore, the distance from the first light source 15 to the light guide plate 11 becomes long, and if the extension portion 13 is provided, the height dimension of the light guide plate 11 becomes long, making it difficult to reduce the size of the design portion 1.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a triangular wave-shaped light internal reflection step 17 is formed on the edge of the extension 13 adjacent to the light incident surface 14. A part of the light of the first light source 15 incident from the light incident surface 14, which is about to leak out from the edge of the extension 13, is internally reflected by the light internal reflection step 17 and prevented from leaking out. Even if the angle of the corner where the light incident surface 14 is formed is formed to be the same as or smaller than the emission angle of the light emitted from the first light source 15, or larger than the angle, and the light is guided to all the light reflection steps 16, a part of the light of the first light source 15 is prevented from leaking out from the edge. This can increase the utilization efficiency when the light of the first light source 15 is guided from the extension 13 to the main surface 12, reflected by the light reflection step 16, and becomes the illumination light as the design part 1.

[0044] In this way, in the tail lamp TL, by integrating the signature portion 2 with the design portion 1, it is possible to obtain a light distribution characteristic with a desired amount of light by the signature portion 2 while enhancing the design effect of the design portion 1. Since the light-emitting surface of the signature portion 2 has a uniform brightness, it is also effective in further enhancing the design effect by emitting light in the light-emitting pattern of the design portion 1. Furthermore, in the signature portion 2, the appearance is such that a plurality of rectangular light-emitting surfaces are partitioned in the length direction in response to the vertical and horizontal arrangement pitch of the light-emitting pattern P of the design portion 1. This achieves a commonality in the designs of the design portion 1 and the signature portion 2, resulting in a tail lamp TL with a high design quality in which the design portion 1 and the signature portion 2 are integrated.

[0045] Here, as shown in Fig. 10(a) which is a conceptual diagram of the planar configuration of the design section 1, in the design section 1, the first light source 15 is disposed at the upper right corner of the light guide plate 11, that is, on the outside in the vehicle width direction. The light incident on the light guide plate 11 is guided toward the inside in the vehicle width direction, and is reflected by the light reflection step 16 and emitted. Therefore, the light reflected toward the outside in the vehicle width direction tends to be less than the light reflected toward the inside, and it may be difficult to obtain the required light distribution characteristics. This is likely to occur because the fixed-side light guide plate 11F has a relatively large degree of curvature, whereas the movable-side light guide plate 11M has a shape close to a plane that is nearly parallel to the front of the lamp.

[0046] Therefore, as shown in a schematic perspective view of a modified example in Fig. 11, the first light source 15 may be disposed in the lower left corner of the movable light guide plate 11M of the design portion 1 of the movable unit MTL, i.e., in the inner corner in the vehicle width direction. Here, an extension portion 13 is provided in the lower left corner to allow the light of the first light source 15 to be incident. This makes it easy to increase the amount of light that is incident on the movable light guide plate 11M, reflected by the light reflection step 16, and reflected outward in the vehicle width direction, as shown in Fig. 10(b), and thus makes it possible to obtain the desired light distribution characteristics.

[0047] In this modified example, a light internal reflection step 17 may be formed on the edge of the extension portion 13. When configured in this manner, the external appearance is not impaired if the extension portion 13 and the first light source 15 arranged on the lower side of the movable-side light guide plate 11M are covered and hidden by the stop lamp SL and the backup lamp BUL arranged on the lower side of the movable-side unit MTL, as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, the signature portion can be configured in the same manner as in the embodiment, and there is no need to change the design of the signature portion.

[0048] The present invention is not limited to application to the tail lamp described in the embodiment, but can be applied to any lamp using a light guide plate. For example, it may be made to blink as a welcome lamp. In this case, a new way of showing the lamp is possible, where the lamp blinks and changes its appearance when a person approaches the car. In addition, when the lamp is composed of a fixed unit and a movable unit as in the embodiment, the design part and the signature part may be disposed in one of the units. Furthermore, the specific configuration of the design part and the signature part, particularly the shape when viewed from the front of the lamp, may be arbitrarily configured. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Design Department 2 Signature Section 3 Unit Body 11(11F,11M) Light guide plate 12 Main surface 13 Extension 14 Light incidence surface 15 1st light source 16 Light Reflection Steps 17. Light internal reflection step 21 (21F, 21M) Light guide rod 22 Second light source 23 Light Reflection Step 24 Reflector 25 Light-emitting surface lens 161 First light reflection step (directional light reflection step) 162 Second light reflection step (non-directional light reflection step) TL tail lamp FTL Fixed tail lamp unit (Fixed unit) MTL Movable tail lamp unit (movable unit)

Claims

1. A lamp unit is composed of a design section and a signature section, the design section includes a first light source, and a light guide plate having a light reflecting step formed therein for reflecting light of the first light source guided therethrough to form a required light emission pattern, the signature section includes a second light source, and a light emitting surface for emitting light of the second light source in a planar manner, the light guide plate is formed in a quadrangle having at least one acute corner, light of the first light source is incident on a light incident surface provided at the acute corner, the light reflecting step includes a first light reflecting step that performs directional light reflection and a second light reflecting step that performs non-directional light reflection, a first light emission pattern is formed by the light reflected by the first light reflecting step, a second light emission pattern is formed by the light reflected by the second light reflecting step, the pattern shape observed of the second light emission pattern does not change regardless of differences in observation position, and the pattern shape observed of the first light emission pattern changes depending on differences in observation position.

2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the light guide plate is formed in a parallelogram shape.

3. A vehicle lamp as described in claim 1, wherein the first light reflecting step is composed of a cylindrical recess, and the second light reflecting step is composed of a spherical recess.

4. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein light from the first light source is incident on a light incident surface provided at an acute corner portion located on an outer side of the light guide plate in a vehicle width direction, and the incident light is guided toward an inner side in the vehicle width direction.

5. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 2, wherein light from the first light source is incident on a light incident surface provided at an acute corner portion located on an inner side of the light guide plate in a vehicle width direction, and the incident light is guided toward an outer side in the vehicle width direction.

6. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the first light reflecting step has directivity in at least a horizontal direction and is composed of a plurality of steps having different directivities in the horizontal direction.

7. 7. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the signature portion includes a light-guiding rod of a required length, the light-guiding rod is configured so that light from the second light source is guided in a longitudinal direction and emitted from a peripheral surface thereof, and the light-emitting surface is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the light-guiding rod.

8. The vehicle lamp according to claim 7 , wherein the signature portion is configured to cover and conceal the first light source so that the first light source is not exposed from a front surface of the lamp.

9. 9. A vehicle lamp as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising a fixed unit disposed on a fixed portion of a vehicle body and a movable unit disposed on a movable portion of the vehicle body, and at least one of the fixed unit and the movable unit is provided with a design portion and a signature portion.

10. 10. The vehicle lamp according to claim 9, which is configured as a tail lamp of an automobile, the fixed unit being mounted on a rear body panel of the automobile, and the movable unit being mounted on a trunk lid of the automobile.

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