Vehicle lighting fixtures

Abstract

To increase light emitting efficiency in a vehicle lamp having light guide bodies in which end parts are arranged close to each other.SOLUTION: A vehicle lamp 200 has first and second light guide bodies 231, 232 whose end surfaces are arranged close to each other, where light emitted from the end surface of the first light guide body 231 enters the end surface of the second light guide body 232, the end surface of the first light guide body 231 is formed in a circular shape, and the end surface of the second light guide body 232 is formed into a rectangular shape having a short side longer than a diameter of the circular shape and a long side longer than the short side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp that is attached to the body of an automobile or the like and emits light in a linear or thin plane form. [Background technology]

[0002] A known vehicle lamp includes two light guides arranged so that their ends are close to each other, and light incident on one light guide from a light source is incident on the other light guide via the close end (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-091846 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If light is transmitted through adjacent edges as described above, a single light source can emit light over a relatively long area. However, if light is transmitted through edges arranged closely together, and the positioning accuracy of the edges is low, the amount of light transmitted through the edges decreases, making it difficult to increase the luminous efficiency.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to make it easier to increase the luminous efficiency of a vehicle lamp having a light guide whose ends are arranged close to each other. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, The present invention provides A vehicle lamp having first and second light guides arranged with their end faces close to each other, The light guide is provided so that light emitted from an end face of the first light guide is incident on an end face of the second light guide, The end face of the first light guide is formed in a circular shape, The end face of the second light guide is formed in a rectangular shape having a short side whose length is equal to or greater than the diameter of the circle and a long side whose length is longer than the short side.

[0007] This makes it possible to easily suppress or reduce leakage of light incident from the first light guide to the second light guide, even if the positioning accuracy in the long side direction is somewhat low, thereby increasing the luminous efficiency. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily increase the luminous efficiency of a vehicle lamp having light guides whose ends are arranged close to each other. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a main part showing an example of a vehicle in which a vehicle lamp is used; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a vehicle lamp. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of the first and second light guides. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the end faces of the first and second light guides. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamps 200 are provided near the left and right sides of a front grille 101 of an automobile 100, and are each designed to emit light in a line or on a relatively narrow surface.

[0012] 2, the vehicle lamp 200 is configured by providing a light guide 230 and a bezel 240 between an outer lens 210 and a housing 220, both of which are made of transparent resin. The housing 220 is fixed to the body of the automobile 100, for example, by screws (not shown), thereby fixing the entire vehicle lamp 200 to the body.

[0013] More specifically, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the light guide 230 is composed of a long, first light guide 231 on the lower side of the figure and a strip-shaped second light guide 232 on the upper side of the figure.

[0014] A wiring board 250 on which an LED module 251 is mounted is provided at the lower end of the first light guide 231, and light from the LED module 251 is incident from the lower end surface. In addition, fine irregularities are formed in a prism shape, for example, on the housing 220 side of the first light guide 231, and light incident from the LED module 251 is reflected and emitted from the outer lens 210 side.

[0015] The first light guide 231 is housed in a groove of the housing 220 (and / or the bezel 240), for example, and is fastened to the bezel 240 at the lower end (light-shielding area) with a screw, and is sandwiched at the upper end between the bezel 240 and the housing 220. Note that the lower end may also be sandwiched between the bezel 240 and the housing 220.

[0016] The second light guide 232 is, for example, subjected to blasting treatment on the housing 220 side, so that light incident from the first light guide 231 is reflected and emitted from the outer lens 210 side.

[0017] The connection between the first light guide 231 and the second light guide 232 will be described in more detail. The second light guide 232 is provided at a predetermined distance from the first light guide 231. More specifically, the second light guide 232 is disposed so that the gap between the lower end surface of the second light guide 232 and the upper end surface of the first light guide 231 is, for example, 0.5 mm. The upper end surface of the first light guide 231 is formed into a circle with a diameter of, for example, 5.5 mm. On the other hand, the lower end surface of the second light guide 232 is formed into a rectangle with short sides of, for example, 6 mm and long sides of 7 mm. The second light guide 232 is disposed so that the long sides are parallel to the inner surface of the bezel 240, and is fixed to the bezel 240 with, for example, adhesive tape.

[0018] In the first light guide 231 and the second light guide 232 described above, providing ribs or the like for positioning or fixing tends to reduce light-guiding performance, making it difficult to achieve high positioning accuracy. In contrast, for example, by fixing them to the bezel 240 with adhesive tape or sandwiching them between the bezel 240 and the housing 220 as described above, it is relatively easy to achieve high positioning accuracy in the direction perpendicular to the inner surface of the bezel 240. Therefore, by setting the directions of the long and short sides of the end face of the second light guide 232 as described above, leakage of light incident from the first light guide 231 to the second light guide 232 can be suppressed or reduced, even if the positioning accuracy in the long side direction is somewhat low, and light emission efficiency can be easily increased.

[0019] Even if there are restrictions on the setting of the light source and it is not possible to provide a light source that directly incidents light on the second light guide 232, the second light guide can be made to emit light with high efficiency by efficiently transmitting light from the first light guide 231 to the second light guide 232.

[0020] The second light guide 232 can be made thinner and narrower to meet the requirements of the vehicle.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the vehicle lamp is described as being used on both the left and right sides of the front grille, but the vehicle lamp of the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be set on the front bumper, rear bumper, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 100 Automobiles 101 Front Grill 200 Vehicle lighting fixtures 210 outer lens 220 Housing 230 Light guide 231 First light guide 232 Second light guide 240 bezel 250 wiring board 251 LED modules

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle lamp having first and second light guides arranged with their end faces close to each other, The light guide is provided so that light emitted from an end face of the first light guide is incident on an end face of the second light guide, The end surface of the first light guide is formed in a circular shape, The vehicle lamp is characterized in that the end face of the second light guide is formed into a rectangle having a short side whose length is equal to or greater than the diameter of the circle and a long side whose length is longer than the short side.

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