Vehicular light-emitting unit and vehicular lamp

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicular light-emitting unit and a vehicular lamp capable of efficiently irradiating all of a plurality of light conversion panels with excitation light from a light source unit via a light guide member.　According to the present invention, the light guide member (4) has a reflection surface (420) for light conversion panels and a reflection surface (430) for overlapping portions. Excitation light (L1) is reflected toward the light conversion panels (3A, 3B, 3C) by the reflection surface (420) for light conversion panels. The excitation light (L1) is reflected toward overlapping portions (33A, 33B) by the reflection surface (430) for overlapping portions. As a result, the present invention can efficiently irradiate all of the three light conversion panels (3A, 3B, 3C) with the excitation light (L1) from the light source unit (2) via the light guide member (4).

Description

Vehicle light emitting unit, vehicle lamp

[0001] The present invention relates to a light emitting unit for a vehicle and a vehicle lamp.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Vehicle light emitting units and vehicle lamps that utilize secondary light (luminescence) emitted upon excitation by excitation light include those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example.

[0003] The configurations of the vehicular lamps of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 will be described below. The vehicular lamps of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 each include an excitation light source, an excitation light control member, and a plurality of light-emitting panels. The excitation light (e.g., blue light) emitted from the excitation light source enters the excitation light control member, is controlled, travels along a predetermined optical path, exits the excitation light control member, and is irradiated toward the plurality of light-emitting panels, where it is converted into secondary light (e.g., red light). The secondary light is emitted from the plurality of light-emitting panels to the outside of the vehicle in a predetermined light distribution pattern (e.g., the light distribution pattern of a tail lamp).

[0004] In this way, the vehicle lamps of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have multiple light-emitting panels that emit light using secondary light, so by designing the arrangement and shapes of the multiple light-emitting panels, the design freedom of the light-emitting surfaces of the multiple light-emitting panels is improved.

[0005] JP 2022-079422 A JP 2022-079423 A

[0006] In such vehicle lighting fixtures (vehicle light-emitting units, vehicle lighting fixtures), it is important to efficiently irradiate the excitation light from the excitation light source (light source section) onto all of the multiple light-emitting panels (light conversion panels) via the excitation light control member (light-guiding member).

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting unit for a vehicle and a vehicle lamp that can efficiently irradiate excitation light from a light source unit to all of a plurality of light conversion panels via a light guide member.

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle light emitting unit comprising a light source section that emits excitation light, a plurality of light conversion panels that convert the excitation light into secondary light, and a light guiding member that receives the excitation light from the light source section and guides it along a predetermined light path, wherein the light guiding member has a plurality of light conversion panel reflective surfaces that reflect the excitation light toward the plurality of light conversion panels, and an overlapping portion reflective surface that is provided upstream of the predetermined light path relative to the plurality of light conversion panel reflective surfaces and reflects the excitation light toward an overlapping portion of the light conversion panel upstream of the predetermined light path that overlaps with the light conversion panel downstream of the predetermined light path in the direction of the predetermined light path.

[0009] In the vehicle lighting unit of the present invention, it is preferable that the multiple light conversion panels are arranged in a direction intersecting the direction of the specified light path and are spaced apart in the direction of the specified light path.

[0010] In the vehicle light-emitting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the reflective surface for the overlapping portion and a portion of the reflective surface for the light conversion panel downstream of the specified optical path relative to the reflective surface for the overlapping portion overlap in the direction of the specified optical path.

[0011] In the vehicle light emitting unit of the present invention, it is preferable that a transmission surface that transmits part of the excitation light to the light conversion panel reflection surface side is provided on a part of the overlap portion reflection surface.

[0012] In the vehicle light-emitting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the multiple light-conversion panels have light-emitting surfaces that emit the secondary light using the excitation light, and that the multiple reflective surfaces for the light-conversion panels are divided into multiple reflective surface segments that uniformly reflect the excitation light onto the light-emitting surfaces of the multiple light-conversion panels.

[0013] In the vehicle light-emitting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the multiple light conversion panels have light-emitting surfaces that emit the secondary light using the excitation light, and the reflection surface for the overlapping portion is divided into multiple reflection surface segments that uniformly reflect the excitation light onto the light-emitting surface of the overlapping portion.

[0014] In the vehicle light-emitting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the light-guiding member has a first portion that receives the excitation light from the light source unit, and a second portion that extends from the first portion in the direction of the specified optical path and guides the excitation light from the first portion along the specified optical path, and the first portion has an incident surface that receives the excitation light from the light source unit, and a composite reflective surface that reflects the excitation light from the incident surface to the second portion, and the second portion has a plurality of reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel and a reflective surface for the overlapping portion, an exit surface for the light conversion panel that emits the excitation light reflected by the plurality of reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel to the plurality of light conversion panels, and an exit surface for the overlapping portion that emits the excitation light reflected by the reflective surface for the overlapping portion to the overlapping portion.

[0015] In the vehicle light-emitting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the direction in which the excitation light is reflected by the multiple reflective surfaces for the light conversion panels and the reflective surfaces for the overlapping portions coincides with a direction intersecting the direction of the predetermined optical path of the second portion, and that the dimension of the second portion in the direction intersecting the direction of the predetermined optical path is smaller than the dimension in the arrangement direction of the light source unit and the first portion.

[0016] In the vehicle lighting unit of this invention, it is preferable that the second part has two planes that include a straight line in the direction in which the multiple light conversion panels are arranged and a straight line in the direction of the specified light path, and has a plate shape with a plate thickness in a direction that intersects with the direction of the specified light path and intersects with the two planes.

[0017] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a vehicle lamp according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a lamp housing and a lamp lens that form a space, and a vehicle light-emitting unit of the present invention that is arranged in the space, and is characterized in that a shielding part is arranged between the lamp lens and the plurality of reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light-emitting unit.

[0018] In the vehicle lighting fixture of the present invention, it is preferable that a shielding member is arranged between the lamp lens and the light source portion of the vehicle light-emitting unit and the portion of the light-guiding member where the excitation light from the light source portion is incident.

[0019] The vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp of the present invention can efficiently irradiate excitation light from the light source unit to all of the plurality of light conversion panels via the light guide member.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a vehicle light emitting unit and a vehicle lamp according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view (viewed along the arrows II-II in FIG. 1 ) showing a light source unit and a light-guiding member of the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 3 is a plan view (viewed along the arrows III-III in FIG. 1 ) showing multiple light conversion panels of the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 4 is a front view (viewed along the arrows IV-IV in FIG. 1 ) showing the light-guiding member and multiple light conversion panels of the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (viewed along the arrows V-V in FIG. 2 ) showing the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view (enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of portion VI in FIG. 5 ) showing a portion of the second portion of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view (enlarged plan view of portion VII in FIG. 2 ) showing a portion of the first portion of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light emitting unit. FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view (enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7 ) showing a portion of the first portion of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light-emitting unit. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the relative positional relationship between the emission range of the excitation light reflected on the light-conversion panel reflective surface of the light-guiding member and the range of the light-emitting surface of the light-conversion panel. FIG. 9(A) is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along line IXA-IXA in FIG. 2 . FIG. 9(B) is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along line IXB-IXB in FIG. 2 . FIG. 9(C) is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along line IXC-IXC in FIG. 2 . FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the reflected light path of the excitation light on the light-conversion panel reflective surface of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light-emitting unit. FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view showing the light-conversion panel reflective surface of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light-emitting unit. FIG. 12 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view (enlarged vertical cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 6 ) showing Modification 1 of the second portion of the light-guiding member of the vehicle light-emitting unit. Fig. 13 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view (enlarged vertical cross-sectional view corresponding to Fig. 6) showing a second modified example of the second portion of the light guiding member of the vehicle light emitting unit. Fig. 14 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view (enlarged vertical cross-sectional view corresponding to Fig. 6) showing a third modified example of the second portion of the light guiding member of the vehicle light emitting unit.

[0021] An embodiment (example) of a vehicle light emitting unit according to the present invention and an embodiment (example) of a vehicle lamp according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical.

[0022] In this specification, the terms "front," "rear," "up," "down," "left," and "right" refer to the front, rear, top, bottom, left, and right directions when the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp according to the present invention are mounted on a vehicle. Furthermore, the terms "front," "up," "down," and "left" refer to the directions when the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp are mounted on a vehicle and viewed from the driver's seat in the direction of vehicle travel. The front and rear directions are the vehicle's travel direction (forward and backward directions), the up and down direction is parallel to the vertical direction, and the left and right direction is the horizontal direction. Regarding the front and rear directions, the direction in which light is emitted from the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp is the front direction, and the direction opposite to the front direction is the rear direction.

[0023] Since the drawings are schematic diagrams showing the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp according to the present invention, only the main components of the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp according to the present invention are shown, and components other than the main components are omitted. Also, some hatching has been omitted. Furthermore, in the drawings, the symbol "F" indicates the "front side" of the vehicle, "B" indicates the "rear side" of the vehicle, "U" indicates the "upper side" of the vehicle, "D" indicates the "lower side" of the vehicle, "L" indicates the "left side" of the vehicle, and "R" indicates the "right side" of the vehicle.

[0024] (Description of Configuration of the Embodiment) Hereinafter, the configuration of the vehicle light emitting unit and vehicle lamp according to this embodiment will be described.

[0025] (Description of Vehicle Lamp 100) In Figure 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a vehicle lamp according to this embodiment. In this example, the vehicle lamp 100 is a rear combination lamp that is attached to each of the left and right sides L and R of the rear of a vehicle (not shown), and emits light in a direction toward the rear side B of the vehicle. Therefore, in this embodiment, the front direction is the rear side B direction, and the back direction is the front side F direction.

[0026] The vehicular lamp 100 shown in Figure 1 is a left-side vehicular lamp 100 mounted on the left rear side L of a vehicle. The left-side vehicular lamp 100 will be described below. Note that a right-side vehicular lamp (not shown) mounted on the right rear side R of the vehicle has the same configuration as the left-side vehicular lamp 100, but is laterally reversed, and therefore will not be described here.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 100 comprises an outer housing (lamp housing) 101, an outer lens (lamp lens) 102, a vehicle lamp unit, in this example, a tail lamp unit 100U as a signal lamp, and other lamp units (not shown).

[0028] The outer housing 101 is made of a non-light-transmitting material (such as a resin material). The outer lens 102 is made of a light-transmitting material (such as a resin material). The outer housing 101 and the outer lens 102 are fixed to each other, and a space, i.e., a lamp space 103, is formed inside the outer housing 101 and the outer lens 102.

[0029] In this example, the outer lens 102 is a colorless, transparent outer cover or the like. The outer lens 102 may be a red lens. The outer lens 102 has a curved shape that protrudes from the inside (the lamp space 103 side) to the outside (the opposite side of the lamp space 103). The outer lens 102 is inclined from top to bottom and from front to rear.

[0030] The tail lamp unit 100U is disposed in the vertical center of the lamp space 103. Other lamp units are also disposed in the lamp space 103. The other lamp units are signal lamps and illuminating lamps such as stop lamps, tail stop lamps, turn signal lamps, backup lamps, and tail fog lamps.

[0031] (Description of Tail Lamp Unit 100U) As shown in FIG. 1, the tail lamp unit 100U includes an inner housing (lamp housing) 101U, an inner lens (lamp lens) 102U, and the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment.

[0032] The inner housing 101U is made of a non-light-transmitting material (such as a resin material). The inner lens 102U is made of a red lens in this example, and is made of a light-transmitting resin material such as PMMA or PC. The inner housing 101U and the inner lens 102U are fixed to each other, and a space, i.e., a lamp unit space 103U, is formed inside the inner housing 101U and the inner lens 102U.

[0033] The inner housing 101U is attached to the outer housing 101 via an attachment member 104. The inner housing 101U may also be attached directly to the outer housing 101. Between the inner housing 101U and the outer housing 101, there are spaces (lamp space 103) on the upper side U, lower side D, and front side F of the inner housing 101U. A through hole 104U is provided in the vertical wall on the front side F of the inner housing 101U. This allows communication between the lamp space 103 and the lamp unit space 103U.

[0034] The inner lens 102U is disposed opposite the outer lens 102. That is, the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 are close to each other and face each other parallel or nearly parallel. Like the outer lens 102, the inner lens 102U has a curved shape that protrudes from the inside (the lamp unit space 103U side) to the outside (the opposite side of the lamp unit space 103U). That is, the inner lens 102U is inclined from top to bottom and from front to back.

[0035] The inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 emit the secondary light L2 emitted from the vehicle light emitting unit 1 to the outside (outside the lamp unit space 103U and the lamp space 103). The inner lens 102U does not have to be a red lens if the outer lens 102 is a red lens. Both the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 may be red lenses. The red lens of at least one of the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 transmits the red secondary light L2 and absorbs light different from the red light (secondary light L2). Therefore, the excitation light L1 component (described below) contained in the external light is absorbed by the red lens. The front view shapes of the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 (viewed from the rear side B of the vehicle to the front side F) are not shown, but their widths in the up-down direction UD (vertical width) are small (narrow) and their widths in the left-right direction LR (left-right width) are large (wide).

[0036] (Description of Vehicle Light Emitting Unit 1) As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 is disposed within a lamp unit space 103U and a lamp space 103. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 includes a light source section (light source unit) 2, a plurality of light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C (in this example, three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C) (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C"), a light guide member 4, and a shielding component 5. The light guide member 4 receives excitation light L1 from the light source section 2 and guides it along a predetermined optical path from the front side F to the rear side B. In this example, the predetermined optical path of the excitation light L1 is a path along which the excitation light L1 travels from the front side F to the rear side B, parallel or substantially parallel to the fore-and-aft direction FB.

[0037] (Description of Light Source Unit 2) The light source unit 2 emits excitation light L1. The light source unit 2 includes a light source 20 and a substrate 21, as shown in FIGS.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1 , the light source 20 is disposed on the front side F of the lamp space 103 between the inner housing 101U and the outer housing 101. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 , multiple light sources 20 are disposed on the left and right sides; in this example, nine light sources 20 are disposed corresponding to the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. The number of light sources 20 is not particularly limited, and may be any number other than nine, or may be just one. The light source 20 is an excitation light source, and in this example, is a blue LED. One surface (bottom surface) of the light source 20 is mounted on one surface (top surface) of the substrate 21. The other surface (top surface) of the light source 20 is an emission surface 22. A line passing through the center of the emission surface 22 and perpendicular to the emission surface 22 is defined as a light source axis Z.

[0039] The light source 20 emits excitation light L1 having a dominant wavelength in the range of approximately 350 nm to approximately 500 nm from the exit surface 22 toward the incident surface (described later) of the light-guiding member 4. Note that a light source other than a blue LED, such as an LD (semiconductor laser), may also be used as the light source 20. In this example, the excitation light L1 is blue light having a dominant wavelength of approximately 450 nm. Furthermore, the excitation light L1 emitted from the exit surface 22 has a wide beam angle of, for example, 180°.

[0040] The board 21 is made of a material (such as a resin material or a metal material) that is optically opaque and has high thermal conductivity. The board 21 is attached to at least one of the outer housing 101 or the inner housing 101U. In this example, the board 21 is made of one board 21 on which three light sources 20 are mounted. Note that the board 21 may also be made of one board 21 on which one light source 20 is mounted. The number of boards 21 is not limited, just like the number of light sources 20.

[0041] 1, 2, and 5, the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged on the rear side B within the lamp unit space 103U. As a result, the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged with a gap in the front-to-rear direction FB from the light source section 2. The light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C convert the excitation light L1 emitted from the light source section 2 into secondary light L2 and emit the secondary light L2.

[0042] The three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged in a direction (in this example, the left-right direction LR) that intersects with the direction of the predetermined light path (in this example, the front-to-rear direction FB), as shown in the plan view of Fig. 3 (a view from the upper side U of the vehicle to the lower side D) and the front view of Fig. 4 (a view from the rear side B of the vehicle to the front side F), and are arranged with spaces in between in the direction of the predetermined light path (the front-to-rear direction FB). Portions of adjacent light conversion panels on the left and right overlap in the direction of the predetermined light path.

[0043] Of the light conversion panel 3A or 3B on the upstream side of the predetermined optical path (in this example, the front side F), a portion that overlaps with the light conversion panel 3B or 3C on the downstream side of the predetermined optical path (in this example, the rear side B) is referred to as the overlapping portion 33A or 33B. That is, of the light conversion panel 3A on the upstream side of the predetermined optical path, which is located on the far left side L, a portion (right end portion) that overlaps with the light conversion panel 3B on the downstream side of the predetermined optical path, which is located in the middle to the right, is referred to as the overlapping portion 33A. Also, of the light conversion panel 3B on the upstream side of the predetermined optical path (front side F) which is located in the middle, a portion (right end portion) that overlaps with the light conversion panel 3C on the downstream side of the predetermined optical path, which is located on the far right side R to the right, is referred to as the overlapping portion 33B.

[0044] The light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are attached to the inner housing 101U via mounting members (not shown) or directly. The front surfaces of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C (the surfaces facing the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102) are tilted and facing upward. The front surfaces of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C form light-emitting surfaces 30 that emit secondary light L2.

[0045] The light-emitting surfaces 30 on the front of the light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are formed as a design surface of any shape. The planar shape of the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C (the shape when viewed from the upper side U of the vehicle to the lower side D) is as shown in Figure 3. The front view shape of the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C is as shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C is as shown in Figures 1, 5, and 9(A), 9(B), and 9(C). As a result, the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C form a design surface that can be arbitrarily changed in the front-to-rear direction FB, the up-down direction UD, and the left-to-right direction LR (three-dimensional directions). In addition, the symbol "BP" in Figures 2 and 9(A), (B), and (C) indicates the end located at the rearmost B of the light conversion panel 3C and the light-guiding member 4 located on the far right (hereinafter referred to as the "rearmost end").

[0046] The light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C each have a holding member 31 and a light conversion layer 32. The holding member 31 has a thin plate shape. In this example, the holding member 31 is made of a material that reflects the excitation light L1. The holding member 31 is made of a material that is not affected by heat or the like that occurs when the light conversion layer 32 is directly formed, such as glass or a resin material, and the thickness of the holding member 31 is determined based on a relative relationship with the attenuation of the excitation light L1, and is not particularly limited.

[0047] The light conversion layer 32 is formed directly on the front surface of the holding member 31. In this way, the light conversion layer 32 is held by the holding member 31. The light conversion layer 32 converts the excitation light L1 emitted from the light-guiding member 4 and the excitation light L1 reflected from the holding member 31 into secondary light L2, and emits the secondary light L2 from the front surface toward the inner lens 102U and outer lens 102. The front surface of the light conversion layer 32 forms the light-emitting surface 30.

[0048] The light conversion layer 32 may be made of either an organic or inorganic light emitting material. That is, the material of the light conversion layer 32 is made of at least one of an organic fluorescent material, an organic phosphorescent material, and an inorganic fluorescent material. The thickness of the light conversion layer 32 is determined based on the relative relationship with the conversion of the excitation light L1 to the secondary light L2, and is not particularly limited.

[0049] (Explanation of Light-Guiding Member 4) The light-guiding member 4 is a light-transmitting member (such as a resin member), and in this example is made of a colorless, transparent resin material such as acrylic resin, PC (polycarbonate), or PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate, methacrylic resin). The light-guiding member 4 is a lens member, or what is known as a light guide. The light-guiding member 4 receives excitation light L1 from the light source unit 2 on the front side F and guides the incident excitation light L1 to the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C on the rear side B along a predetermined optical path.

[0050] 1 and 5, the light guide member 4 is disposed in the lamp space 103 and the lamp unit space 103U through a through hole 104U of the inner housing 101U. The light guide member 4 is disposed in a state of spanning (straddling) between the light source section 2 on the front side F and the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, 3C on the rear side B in the front-to-rear direction FB and on the upper side U.

[0051] 1, 2, and 4 to 14, the light-guiding member 4 has a first portion 41 on one side (the portion on the front side F) and a second portion 42 on the other side (the portion on the rear side B). Note that the symbol "BL" in FIGS. 2 and 5 indicates a boundary line between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 (see the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 2 and 5). The boundary line BL between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 is not limited to this example.

[0052] (Explanation of First Portion 41) The first portion 41 is one side portion of the light-guiding member 4 and is a portion disposed above the light source unit 2. The first portion 41 receives the excitation light L1 from the light source unit 2. The first portion 41 has an incident surface and a composite primary reflection surface.

[0053] The incident surface has a first incident surface 411 and a second incident surface 412. As shown in FIGS. 1 , 5 , and 8 , the first incident surface 411 is a surface that refracts and incidents the excitation light L1 from the light source unit 2 (excitation light L1 having a solid angle of approximately 70° to 80° with the center of the exit surface 22 as the vertex) as parallel or nearly parallel first incident light L11 (a part of the incident light), i.e., a collimator. The first incident light L11 is parallel or nearly parallel to the light source axis Z. The first incident surface 411 is provided opposite the exit surface 22 of the light source unit 2. The first incident surface 411 is a refracting surface of a hyperboloid of revolution formed by rotating a hyperbola having a focus at or near the center of the exit surface 22 around the major axis (light source axis Z) of the hyperbola as the rotation axis.

[0054] As shown in FIGS. 1 , 5 , and 8 , the second incident surface 412 is a surface that refracts and enters the excitation light L1 from the light source unit 2 (excitation light L1 having a solid angle of approximately 70°-80° to approximately 180° with the center of the exit surface 22 as the vertex) as second incident light L12 (a part of the incident light). The second incident surface 412 is an outer peripheral side portion of the first incident surface 411, and is provided opposite the exit surface 22 of the light source unit 2. The second incident surface 412 is a refracting surface that is a surface of revolution formed by rotating a straight line or a curved line about the light source axis Z as the rotation axis. The second incident surface 412 is a refracting surface that is inclined with respect to the light source axis Z by at least the amount of a draft slope (not shown) of a molding die (not shown) for the light-guiding member 4.

[0055] The composite primary reflecting surface has a first reflecting surface 413, three-part second reflecting surfaces 414B, 414L, and 414R, and a left-side third reflecting surface 415L and a right-side third reflecting surface 415R. Furthermore, the three-part second reflecting surfaces 414B, 414L, and 414R each have a rear-side second reflecting surface 414B, a left-side second reflecting surface 414L, and a right-side second reflecting surface 414R.

[0056] 5 and 8 , the first reflecting surface 413 is a surface that totally reflects the second incident light L12 incident from the second incident surface 412 as the first reflected light L13 that is parallel or nearly parallel to the light source axis Z, i.e., a collimator. The first reflecting surface 413 is a paraboloid of revolution formed by rotating a parabola having a focus at or near the center of the exit surface 22 of the light source unit 2 around the light source axis Z as the axis of rotation. Alternatively, the first reflecting surface 413 is a reflecting surface of revolution formed by rotating a straight line that follows the parabola around the light source axis Z as the axis of rotation.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 5 , the rear-side second reflecting surface 414B is a surface that totally reflects a portion of the first incident light L11 from the first incident surface 411 and a portion of the first reflected light L13 from the first reflecting surface 413 as second reflected light L14 along a predetermined optical path to the rear side B. The second reflected light L14 is a parallel light that is perpendicular to the light source axis Z, which in this example is parallel or substantially parallel to the front-to-rear direction FB. The rear-side second reflecting surface 414B is provided opposite the rear portions of the first incident surface 411 and the first reflecting surface 413. The rear-side second reflecting surface 414B is a curved-of-revolution reflecting surface formed by rotating a straight line that intersects (is inclined at) 45° with respect to the light source axis Z, around the light source axis Z as the rotation axis.

[0058] 8 , the left-side second reflecting surface 414L is a surface that totally reflects a portion of the first incident light L11 from the first incident surface 411 and a portion of the first reflected light L13 from the first reflecting surface 413 to the left as left-side second reflected light L14L that is parallel or substantially parallel to a direction perpendicular to the light source axis Z. The left-side second reflecting surface 414L is provided opposite to a left portion of the first incident surface 411. The left-side second reflecting surface 414L is a curved-of-revolution reflecting surface formed by rotating a straight line that intersects (is inclined at) 45° with respect to the light source axis Z in this example, around the light source axis Z as the rotation axis.

[0059] 8 , the right-side second reflecting surface 414R is a surface that totally reflects a portion of the first incident light L11 from the first incident surface 411 and a portion of the first reflected light L13 from the first reflecting surface 413 to the right as right-side second reflected light L14R that is parallel or substantially parallel to a direction perpendicular to the light source axis Z. The right-side second reflecting surface 414R is provided to face the right-side portion of the first incident surface 411 and the right-side portion of the first reflecting surface 413. The right-side second reflecting surface 414R is a curved-of-revolution reflecting surface formed by rotating a straight line that intersects (is inclined at) 45° with respect to the light source axis Z in this example, around the light source axis Z as the rotation axis.

[0060] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the left-side third reflecting surface 415L is a surface that totally reflects the left-side second reflected light L14L from the left-side second reflecting surface 414L as the left-side third reflected light L15L along a predetermined optical path to the rear side B. Like the second reflected light L14, the left-side third reflected light L15L is perpendicular to the light source axis Z. In this example, the left-side third reflected light L15L is a parallel light that is parallel or nearly parallel to the front-to-rear direction FB, and is also parallel or nearly parallel to the second reflected light L14. The left-side third reflecting surface 415L is disposed opposite the left-side second reflecting surface 414L. The left-side third reflecting surface 415L is a flat reflecting surface that is parallel to the light source axis Z and intersects (inclines) with the front-to-rear direction at an angle of 45°.

[0061] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the right-side third reflecting surface 415R is a surface that totally reflects the right-side second reflected light L14R from the left-side second reflecting surface 414L as right-side third reflected light L15R along a predetermined optical path to the rear side B. Like the second reflected light L14 and the left-side third reflected light L15L, the right-side third reflected light L15R is perpendicular to the light source axis Z. In this example, the right-side third reflected light L15R is a parallel light that is parallel or nearly parallel to the front-to-rear direction FB, and is also parallel or nearly parallel to the second reflected light L14 and the left-side third reflected light L15L. The right-side third reflecting surface 415R is disposed opposite the right-side second reflecting surface 414R. The right-side third reflecting surface 415R is a reflecting surface formed of a plane parallel to the light source axis Z and intersects (is inclined at) 45° with respect to the front-to-rear direction in this example.

[0062] (Explanation of second portion 42) The second portion 42 is provided integrally with the first portion 41 and extends from the front side F to the rear side B along a predetermined optical path. The second portion 42 guides the second reflected light L14, the left-side third reflected light L15L, and the right-side third reflected light L15R from the first portion 41 as parallel light from the front side F to the rear side B along the predetermined optical path. A boundary line BL is defined between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42.

[0063] The second portion 42 is a portion from the boundary line BL to the other side portion in the middle of the light-guiding member 4. The middle portion of the second portion 42 is disposed in the lamp space 103 and the lamp unit space 103U through the through-hole 104U of the inner housing 101U. A rear side B of the second portion 42 is disposed in the lamp space 103 and above the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0064] The second portion 42 guides the excitation light L1 from the first portion 41 along a predetermined optical path and emits it toward the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C on the lower side D. The second portion 42 has secondary reflecting surfaces 420 and 430 and exit surfaces 421 and 431. The secondary reflecting surfaces 420 and 430 each include a plurality of light conversion panel reflecting surfaces 420 (three in this example) and a plurality of overlap portion reflecting surfaces 430 (two in this example). The exit surfaces 421 and 431 each include the light conversion panel exit surface 421 and the overlap portion exit surface 431.

[0065] 1, 4, 5, and 6, the direction in which the excitation light L1 is reflected by the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 and the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 coincides with or substantially coincides with a direction (up-down direction UD) that intersects with the direction of the predetermined optical path (front-back direction FB) of the second portion 42. A dimension T1 of the second portion 42 in the up-down direction UD is smaller than a dimension T2 of the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 in the vertical arrangement direction.

[0066] The second portion 42 has two planes that include a straight line in the direction in which the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged (left-right direction LR) and a straight line in the direction of the predetermined optical path (front-back direction FB), and has a plate shape with a plate thickness in a direction (up-down direction UD) that intersects with the predetermined optical path and intersects with the two planes (two upper and lower planes). The two upper and lower planes are wide in the front-back direction FB and the left-right direction LR.

[0067] The up-down direction UD of the second portion 42 coincides with the thickness direction of the second portion 42. The dimension T1 of the second portion 42 in the up-down direction UD is equal to the thickness dimension T1 of the second portion 42. As described above, the thickness dimension T1 of the second portion 42, which is the dimension T1 of the second portion 42 in the up-down direction UD, is smaller than the dimension T2 of the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 in the vertical arrangement direction.

[0068] 1 and 5 , the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 is provided on the opposite side of the second portion 42 to the first portion 41, in this example, on the other side (the end surface of the rear side B). The light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 is inclined from the upper side U to the lower side D and from the front side F to the rear side B. The light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 reflects, toward the lower side D, the parallel excitation light L1 (second reflected light L14, left-side third reflected light L15L, and right-side third reflected light L15R) guided from the first portion 41 along a predetermined optical path from the front side F to the rear side B.

[0069] The light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 is divided into a plurality of reflecting surface segments 422 in the up-down direction UD and the left-right direction LR, i.e., vertically and horizontally. Vertically and horizontally adjacent reflecting surface segments 422 are connected to each other via step surface segments 423 that serve as connecting surfaces. This makes it possible to adjust the inclination angles of the plurality of reflecting surface segments 422 while keeping the plate thickness dimension T1 of the second portion 42 the same (constant), as shown in Figures 9(A), (B), and (C). Furthermore, the dimension of the step surface segments 423 can be adjusted to adjust the distance between adjacent reflecting surface segments 422.

[0070] As a result, even though the front view shape of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 is rectangular as shown in Fig. 4 and differs from the front view shapes of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, the plan view shape of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 is the shape shown in Fig. 3, which is the same as or nearly the same as the plan view shapes of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. As a result, the range of the excitation light L1 reflected by the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 and emitted from the light conversion panel emission surface 421 matches the range of the light emitting surfaces 30 of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0071] Adjustment of the inclination angle of the reflecting surface segment 422 of the reflecting surface 420 for the light conversion panel will be described below with reference to Fig. 10. The excitation light L1 (the second reflected light L14, the left-side third reflected light L15L, and the right-side third reflected light L15R indicated by solid arrows in Fig. 10) guided through the second portion 42 along a predetermined optical path is reflected toward the lower side D by the reflecting surface segment 422 of the reflecting surface 420 for the light conversion panel (see the solid lines in Fig. 10). The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection at this time are 45°.

[0072] Here, when the reflecting surface segment 422 is tilted counterclockwise, the excitation light L1 is reflected by the reflecting surface segment 422 in a diagonally downward forward direction (see the dashed line in FIG. 10 ). The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection at this time are 30°. On the other hand, when the reflecting surface segment 422 is tilted clockwise, the excitation light L1 is reflected by the reflecting surface segment 422 in a diagonally downward backward direction (see the dashed line in FIG. 10 ). The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection at this time are 60°.

[0073] In this way, by adjusting the inclination angle of the reflecting surface segments 422, it is possible to adjust the reflection direction (reflection range) of the excitation light L1 from the reflecting surface segments 422 of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420. Furthermore, by adjusting the dimension between adjacent reflecting surface segments 422, it is possible to adjust the reflection range of the excitation light L1 from the reflecting surface segments 422.

[0074] In this example, the reflecting surface segment 422 and the step surface segment 423 are flat surfaces. By making at least the reflecting surface segment 422 a curved surface and adjusting the curvature, the reflection range of the excitation light L1 from the reflecting surface segment 422 can be adjusted.

[0075] 1 and 5 , the light conversion panel emission surface 421 is provided on the side of the second portion 42 opposite to the first portion 41, in this example, on the underside of the other side portion (rear side B portion), facing the light conversion panel reflection surface 420. The light conversion panel emission surface 421 emits the excitation light L1 reflected by the light conversion panel reflection surface 420 toward the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C on the lower side D. In this example, the light conversion panel emission surface 421 is flat, but may be curved.

[0076] 1 and 5, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is provided on the upstream side of the predetermined optical path relative to the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 of the second portion 42, in this example, on the front side F. As a result, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 and a part of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 that is downstream of the predetermined optical path relative to the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 overlap in the direction of the predetermined optical path.

[0077] The overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is provided on the surface of the front side F of the recessed space S recessed from the upper surface of the second portion 42, and is inclined from the front side F to the rear side B from the upper side U to the lower side D. The overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 reflects, toward the lower side D, a portion of the parallel excitation light L1 (the second reflected light L14, the left-side third reflected light L15L, and the right-side third reflected light L15R) guided from the first portion 41 along a predetermined optical path from the front side F to the rear side B, and transmits the remaining portion of the excitation light L1 toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420.

[0078] Similar to the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420, the overlap portion reflecting surface 430 is divided in the up-down direction UD and the left-right direction LR, i.e., vertically and horizontally, into a plurality of reflecting surface segments 432. Vertically and horizontally adjacent reflecting surface segments 432 are connected to each other via transmitting surface segments 433 that also serve as connecting surfaces. This allows the inclination angles of the plurality of reflecting surface segments 432 to be adjusted, similar to the reflecting surface segments 422 of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 shown in Figures 9(A), (B), and (C), and also allows the dimensions of the transmitting surface segments 433 to be adjusted to adjust the distance between adjacent reflecting surface segments 432.

[0079] As a result, the range of the excitation light L1 reflected by the two overlapping portion reflecting surfaces 430 and emitted from the overlapping portion emitting surface 431 matches the range of the light emitting surfaces 30 of the two overlapping portions 33A, 33B. Furthermore, adjustment of the inclination angle of the reflecting surface segment 432 of the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is similar to adjustment of the inclination angle of the reflecting surface segment 422 of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 described above, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0080] In this example, the reflecting surface segment 432 and the transmitting surface segment 433 are flat. By making at least the reflecting surface segment 432 a curved surface and adjusting the curvature, it is possible to adjust the reflection range of the excitation light L1 from the reflecting surface segment 432. Furthermore, by making the transmitting surface segment 433 a curved surface and adjusting the curvature, it is possible to adjust the transmission range of the excitation light L1 from the transmitting surface segment 433 side to the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 side.

[0081] 1 and 5 , the overlapping portion exit surface 431 is provided on the upstream side of the predetermined optical path with respect to the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 of the second portion 42, in this example, on the lower surface of the portion on the front side F. The overlapping portion exit surface 431 emits the excitation light L1 reflected by the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 toward the overlapping portions 33A and 33B on the lower side D. In this example, the overlapping portion exit surface 431 is a flat surface, but may be a curved surface.

[0082] 1 and 5, the shielding part 5 is disposed within the lamp unit space 103U between the light conversion panel reflective surface 420 and the light conversion panel emission surface 421 of the second part 42 of the light guide member 4 and the lamp lens (the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102). The shielding part 5 is, for example, an inner panel, and is made of a light-impermeable member (such as a resin member).

[0083] The shielding part 5 covers and conceals the light guide member 4 so that the light guide member 4 cannot be seen when the interior of the lamp unit space 103U is viewed through the lamp lens. As shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 4, the shape of the shielding part 5 in a front view is a rectangle that is slightly larger than the rectangular shape of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 of the light guide member 4 in a front view. The rectangular shape of the shielding part 5 in a front view has a small vertical width (narrow) and a large horizontal width (wide).

[0084] An inner housing 101U serving as a shielding member is disposed between the lamp lens and the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 of the light guiding member 4. The inner housing 101U is made of a light-impermeable material (such as a resin material) so that the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 of the light guiding member 4 cannot be seen when the space (the lamp space 103 and the lamp unit space 103U) is viewed from the lamp lens, and covers and conceals the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 of the light guiding member 4. Note that instead of the inner housing 101U, an inner panel made of a light-impermeable material (such as a resin material) and separate from the inner housing 101U may also be used.

[0085] (Explanation of Operation of the Embodiment) The vehicle light emitting unit 1 and the vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment are configured as described above, and their operation will be described below.

[0086] When the light source 20 is turned on, excitation light L1 is emitted from the exit surface 22 of the light source 20. A portion of this excitation light L1 is incident on the first entrance surface 411 of the light-guiding member 4 as first incident light L11 parallel to the light source axis Z. The remaining portion of the excitation light L1 is incident on the second entrance surface 412 of the light-guiding member 4 as second incident light L12, and this second incident light L12 is reflected by the first reflecting surface 413 as first reflected light L13 parallel to the light source axis Z.

[0087] A portion of the parallel first incident light L11 and the first reflected light L13 is reflected by the rear second reflecting surface 414B toward the rear side B as parallel second reflected light L14. The remaining portion of the parallel first incident light L11 and the first reflected light L13 is reflected to the left and right by the left second reflecting surface 414L and the right second reflecting surface 414R as parallel second reflected light L14L and second right reflected light L14R. The parallel second reflected light L14L and second right reflected light L14R are reflected by the left third reflecting surface 415L and the right third reflecting surface 415R toward the rear side B as parallel third reflected light L15L and third right reflected light L15R.

[0088] The second reflected light L14, the left-side third reflected light L15L, and the right-side third reflected light L15R (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "excitation light L1") of the parallel light reflected to the rear side B are guided from the first part 41 to the second part 42 of the light-guiding member 4 along a predetermined optical path.

[0089] A portion of the excitation light L1 guided along a predetermined optical path to the second portion 42 of the light-guiding member 4 and passing through an upper side U of the second portion 42 is reflected toward the lower side D by the reflecting surface segment 432 of the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 upstream of the light-conversion panel reflecting surface 420. This reflected excitation light L1 is emitted from the overlapping portion exit surface 431 on the lower surface of the intermediate portion of the light-guiding member 4 toward the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the light-conversion panels 3A and 3B on the lower side D.

[0090] The blue excitation light L1 (see the dashed line in FIG. 4 ) emitted from the overlapping portion emission surface 431 is converted into red secondary light L2 by the light conversion layer 32 of the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the light conversion panels 3A and 3B. The secondary light L2 is emitted from the light-emitting surface 30 on the front side of the light conversion layer 32. This causes the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the upstream light conversion panels 3A and 3B, which are covered by the downstream light conversion panels 3B and 3C, to emit light.

[0091] On the other hand, in the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430, the excitation light L1 that is not reflected by the reflecting surface segment 432 passes through the transmitting surface segment 433, exits into the recessed space S, and re-enters the second portion 42 from the surface of the rear side B of the recessed space S, proceeding toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420. As a result, even if the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is provided midway through the second portion 42 of the light-guiding member 4, the excitation light L1 proceeding toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 is not completely blocked, and part of the excitation light L1 can proceed toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420.

[0092] Furthermore, the remaining portion of the excitation light L1 guided to the second portion 42 of the light-guiding member 4 along the predetermined optical path, which passes through the portion on the lower side D of the second portion 42, travels toward the light-conversion panel reflecting surface 420. The excitation light L1 guided to the light-conversion panel reflecting surface 420 is reflected toward the lower side D by the reflecting surface segments 422 of the light-conversion panel reflecting surface 420. This reflected excitation light L1 is emitted from a light-conversion panel emission surface 421 on the lower surface of the other portion of the light-guiding member 4 toward the three light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C on the lower side D.

[0093] The blue excitation light L1 (see the solid line in FIG. 4 ) emitted from the light conversion panel emission surface 421 is converted into red secondary light L2 by the light conversion layer 32 of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. The secondary light L2 is emitted from the light-emitting surface 30 on the front side of the light conversion layer 32. As a result, the entire surfaces of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, excluding the overlapping portions 33A and 33B, emit light together with the entire surface emission of the overlapping portions 33A and 33B. As a result, the secondary light L2 emitted from the entire surfaces of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C passes through the inner lens 102U and the outer lens 102 and is emitted to the outside as a predetermined light distribution pattern, in this example, the light distribution pattern of a tail lamp.

[0094] (Explanation of Effects of the Embodiment) The vehicle light emitting unit 1 and the vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment have the above-described configuration and functions, and the effects thereof will be described below.

[0095] In this embodiment, the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 has a light-guiding member 4 that has three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 that reflect the excitation light L1 toward the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, and an overlapping portion reflective surface 430 that is provided upstream (front side F) of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 in the predetermined optical path and reflects the excitation light L1 toward the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the light conversion panels 3A and 3B on the upstream side (front side F) of the predetermined optical path that overlap with the light conversion panels 3B and 3C on the downstream side (rear side B) of the predetermined optical path in the direction of the predetermined optical path (front-to-back direction FB).

[0096] As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can reflect the excitation light L1 toward the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C by the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420, and can also reflect the excitation light L1 toward the two overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the two light conversion panels 3A and 3B by the two overlapping portion reflective surfaces 430. As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can efficiently irradiate the excitation light L1 from the light source section 2 via the light-guiding member 4 to all three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0097] The vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment has three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C arranged in a direction (left-right direction LR) intersecting the direction of a predetermined light path (front-rear direction FB) and spaced apart in the direction of the predetermined light path (front-rear direction FB). As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can obtain a light emitting surface that is elongated in the left-right direction LR by the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0098] Moreover, in the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the overlapping portions 33A, 33B of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B on the front side F that overlap with the light conversion panels 3B, 3C on the rear side B in the direction of the predetermined light path (front-rear direction FB) emit light as described above. As a result, when the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment is viewed from a viewpoint EP on the outside (left side L) in the vehicle width direction to the inside (right side R) in the vehicle width direction, as shown in Figure 3, the overlapping portion 33A of the light conversion panel 3A on the front side F can be seen between the overlapping light conversion panel 3A on the front side F and the light conversion panel 3B on the rear side B, and the overlapping portion 33B of the light conversion panel 3B on the front side F can be seen between the overlapping light conversion panel 3B on the front side F and the light conversion panel 3C on the rear side B. As a result, in the vehicle light emitting unit 1 of this embodiment, even when the viewpoint EP is moved from the inside of the vehicle width direction to the outside of the vehicle width direction, the light emitting surfaces 30 of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are obtained as elongated light emitting surfaces in the left-right direction LR without any interruptions, making it ideal as a signature light emitting surface for a vehicle lamp.

[0099] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 and a portion of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 downstream (rear side B) of the predetermined light path relative to the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 overlap in the direction of the predetermined light path (front-rear direction FB), and the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is provided with a transmitting surface segment 433 that transmits a portion of the excitation light L1 toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420. As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can reflect a portion of the excitation light L1 toward the overlapping portions 33A, 33B by the reflecting surface segment 432 of the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430, and can transmit the remaining portion of the excitation light L1 toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 by the transmitting surface segment 433 of the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430. As a result, even if the overlapping portion reflective surface 430 is provided midway along the light-guiding member 4, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment does not completely block the excitation light L1 traveling toward the light conversion panel reflective surface 420, and can allow a portion of the excitation light L1 to travel toward the light conversion panel reflective surface 420. In this way, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can reflect the excitation light L1 at the light conversion panel reflective surface 420 and efficiently irradiate all of the light conversion panels 3B and 3C on the downstream side (rear side B).

[0100] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C have light emitting surfaces 30 that emit secondary light L2 in response to excitation light L1, and three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 are divided into a plurality of reflective surface segments 422 that uniformly reflect the excitation light L1 onto the light emitting surfaces 30 of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can reflect the excitation light L1 by the reflective surface segments 422 and uniformly emit it from the light conversion panel emitting surfaces 421 onto the light emitting surfaces 30 of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. As a result, in the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 of this embodiment, even if the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the three light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are formed as design surfaces that change arbitrarily in three dimensions, the excitation light L1 can be efficiently irradiated from the exit surfaces 421 and 431 of the light-guiding member 4 to the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the three light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, and the excitation light L1 can be efficiently utilized.

[0101] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the two overlapping portion reflecting surfaces 430 are divided into a plurality of reflecting surface segments 432 that uniformly reflect the excitation light L1 onto the light emitting surfaces 30 of the overlapping portions 33A and 33B. As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can reflect the excitation light L1 by the reflecting surface segments 432 and uniformly emit the excitation light L1 from the overlapping portion emitting surfaces 431 onto the light emitting surfaces 30 of the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the two light conversion panels 3A and 3B. This allows the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment to efficiently irradiate the excitation light L1 onto the light emitting surfaces 30 of the overlapping portions 33A and 33B of the two light conversion panels 3A and 3B.

[0102] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the light-guiding member 4 has a first portion 41 that receives the excitation light L1 from the light source 2, and a second portion 42 that extends from the first portion 41 in the direction of a predetermined optical path (the front-rear direction FB) and guides the excitation light L1 from the first portion 41 along the predetermined optical path. The first portion 41 has an incident surface (first incident surface 411, second incident surface 412) that receives the excitation light L1 from the light source 2, and composite primary reflecting surfaces (first reflecting surface 413, rear second reflecting surface 414B, left second reflecting surface 414L, right second reflecting surface 414R, left third reflecting surface 415L, right third reflecting surface 415R) that reflect the excitation light L1 (first incident light L11, second incident light L12) from the incident surface to the second portion 42. Furthermore, the second portion 42 has three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 and two overlap portion reflective surfaces 430, a light conversion panel emission surface 421 that emits the excitation light L1 reflected by the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 toward the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, and an overlap portion emission surface 431 that emits the excitation light L1 reflected by the two overlap portion reflective surfaces 430 toward the two overlap portions 33A and 33B. As a result, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment can efficiently emit the excitation light L1 from the light source section 2 to the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C and the two overlap portions 33A and 33B via the light guiding member 4, and can efficiently utilize the excitation light L1.

[0103] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the direction in which the excitation light L1 is reflected by the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 and the two overlap portion reflective surfaces 430 coincides with the direction (up-down direction UD) intersecting with the direction (front-rear direction FB) of the predetermined light path of the second portion 42, and the dimension T1 in the direction (up-down direction UD) intersecting with the direction (front-rear direction FB) of the predetermined light path of the second portion 42 is smaller than the dimension T2 in the arrangement direction of the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41. As a result, in the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, when the second portion 42 of the light guide member 4 is obscured in the up-down direction UD, the range over which the second portion 42 of the light guide member 4 is obscured can be made narrower (smaller) than the range over which the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41 of the light guide member 4 are obscured, thereby improving the degree of freedom in design of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, 3C.

[0104] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the second portion 42 has two planes including a straight line in the direction in which the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged (left-right direction LR) and a straight line in the direction of the predetermined optical path (front-rear direction FB), and has a plate shape with a plate thickness in a direction intersecting the direction of the predetermined optical path (front-rear direction FB) and intersecting the two planes (up-down direction UD). As a result, in the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the plate thickness dimension T1 of the second portion 42, which is the dimension of the second portion 42 in the up-down direction UD, is smaller than the dimension T2 in the up-down arrangement direction of the light source unit 2 and the first portion 41. As a result, when the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 of this embodiment covers the plate-shaped second part 42 in the direction of the plate thickness, the area covering the plate-shaped second part 42 can be made narrower (smaller) than the area covering the light source part 2 and the first part 41 of the light-guiding member 4, thereby improving the design freedom of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0105] In the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, the plurality of reflective surface segments 422 of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 are divided vertically and horizontally, and therefore, while maintaining the same (constant) plate thickness dimension T1 of the plate-shaped second portion 42, it is possible to adjust the inclination angles of the plurality of reflective surface segments 422 and the distance between adjacent reflective surface segments 422. As a result, in the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, even if the front view shapes of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 are elongated rectangular shapes in the left-right direction LR and differ from the front view shapes of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C (see FIG. 4), the plan view shapes of the three light conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 can be made the same or nearly the same as the plan view shapes of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C. As a result, the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 of this embodiment can match the range of the excitation light L1 reflected by the three light-conversion panel reflective surfaces 420 and emitted from the light-conversion panel emission surface 421 with the range of the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the three light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, thereby making efficient use of the excitation light L1 and improving the design freedom of the three light-conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0106] In particular, in this embodiment, the vehicle light emitting unit 1, thanks to the plate-shaped second part 42 and the three reflective surfaces 420 for the light conversion panels, can efficiently utilize the excitation light L1 even when the front view shape of the lamp lens (inner lens 102U, outer lens 102) has a small (narrow) width in the up-down direction UD and a large (wide) width in the left-right direction LR, thereby improving the design freedom of the three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0107] The vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment includes the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment, and therefore can achieve the same effects as the vehicle light emitting unit 1 according to this embodiment.

[0108] The vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment has a shielding component 5 disposed between the second portion 42 of the light-guiding member 4 of the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 and the lamp lens (inner lens 102U, outer lens 102), and therefore the shielding component 5 can cover and conceal the second portion 42 of the light-guiding member 4 so that it cannot be seen when the interior of the lamp unit space 103U is viewed from the lamp lens (inner lens 102U, outer lens 102). This allows the vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment to highlight the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C, and improves the degree of freedom in the design of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0109] The vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment has an inner housing 101U as a shielding member disposed between the light source section 2 and the first portion 41 of the light-guiding member 4 of the vehicle light-emitting unit 1 and the lamp lens (inner lens 102U, outer lens 102), and therefore the inner housing 101U can conceal the light source section 2 and the first portion 41 of the light-guiding member 4 so that they are not visible when the interior of the lamp unit space 103U is viewed from the lamp lens (inner lens 102U, outer lens 102). As a result, the vehicle lamp 100 according to this embodiment can highlight the light-emitting surfaces 30 of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, 3C, and can improve the degree of freedom in design of the light conversion panels 3A, 3B, 3C.

[0110] (Description of Modified Examples of the Second Portion 42) Modified examples of the second portion 42 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12, 13, and 14. FIG.

[0111] 12 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a first modified example of the second portion 42. In the above-described embodiment, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 of the second portion 42 is provided on the surface of the recessed space portion S on the upstream side (front side F) of the predetermined optical path. In contrast, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 of the second portion 42 in this first modified example is provided on the surface of the hollow space portion S1 on the upstream side (front side F) of the predetermined optical path. The hollow space portion S1 can be molded using a nested mold.

[0112] 13 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a second modification of the second portion 42. The overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 of the second portion 42 in this modification is provided on the surface of the recessed space S2 on the upstream side (front side F) of the predetermined optical path. The surface of the recessed space S2 on the downstream side (rear side B) of the predetermined optical path in this modification is wider and more gently inclined than the surface of the recessed space S on the downstream side (rear side B) of the predetermined optical path in the above embodiment.

[0113] 14 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a third modification of the second portion 42. In the second portion 42 of the third modification, a light-guiding component 44 separate from the light-guiding member 4 is provided integrally in the other side and upper portion. The light-guiding component 44 is made of a material that has a light-guiding function and a refractive index smaller than that of the light-guiding member 4.

[0114] The first, second and third modifications of the second portion 42 can achieve the same effects as the second portion 42 in the above embodiment.

[0115] (Explanation of Examples Other Than the Embodiments) In the above-described embodiments, an example is described in which the vehicle light emitting unit 1 and the vehicle lamp 100 are tail lamps that constitute a rear combination lamp. However, in the present invention, the vehicle light emitting unit 1 and the vehicle lamp 100 may be stop lamps, tail stop lamps, or turn signal lamps other than tail lamps. In the case of stop lamps and tail stop lamps, the secondary light L2 is red light, and in the case of turn signal lamps, the secondary light L2 is yellow-orange light. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0116] In the above embodiment, an example is described in which three light conversion panels 3A, 3B, and 3C are used. The present invention does not particularly limit the number of light conversion panels used. Two or four or more light conversion panels may be used. In this case, the light source 20, and the light conversion panel reflective surface 420 and overlap portion reflective surface 430 of the light guide member 4 must be provided corresponding to the two or four or more light conversion panels.

[0117] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example is described in which the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 is provided with a transmission surface segment 433. However, in this invention, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 does not necessarily need to be provided with a transmission surface segment 433. In this case, the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 and a portion of the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 downstream (rear side B) of the predetermined light path relative to the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 overlap in the direction of the predetermined light path (front-to-back direction FB). Therefore, the excitation light L1 traveling through the light-guiding member 4 along a path other than the predetermined light path can pass through the overlapping portion reflecting surface 430 and proceed toward the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420. As a result, the excitation light L1 traveling along a path other than the predetermined light path is reflected by the light conversion panel reflecting surface 420 and efficiently irradiated onto all of the downstream (rear side B) light conversion panels 3B and 3C.

[0118] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle lamp 101 Outer housing (lamp housing) 102 Outer lens (lamp lens) 103 Lamp space 104 Mounting member 100U Tail lamp unit (vehicle lamp unit) 101U Inner housing (lamp housing) 102U Inner lens (lamp lens) 103U Lamp unit space 104U Through hole 1 Vehicle light emitting unit 2 Light source section 20 Light source 21 Substrate 22 Emission surface 3A, 3B, 3C Light conversion panel 30 Emission surface 31 Holding member 32 Light conversion layer 33A, 33B Overlapped portion 4 Light guide member 41 First portion 411 First incident surface 412 Second incident surface 413 First reflecting surface 414B Rear second reflecting surface 414L Left second reflecting surface 414R Right second reflecting surface 415L Left-side third reflecting surface 415R Right-side third reflecting surface 42 Second portion 420 Reflecting surface for light conversion panel (secondary reflecting surface) 421 Exit surface for light conversion panel (exit surface) 422 Reflecting surface segment 423 Step surface segment 430 Reflecting surface for overlapping portion (secondary reflecting surface) 431 Exit surface for overlapping portion (exit surface) 432 Reflecting surface segment 433 Transmitting surface segment 44 Light-guiding component 5 Shielding component B Rear side (downstream side) BL Boundary line BP Rearmost end D Lower side EP Viewpoint F Front side (upstream side) FB Forward / backward direction (direction of predetermined optical path) L Left side L1 Excitation light L2 Secondary light L11 First incident light L12 Second incident light L13 First reflected light L14 Second reflected light L14L Left second reflected light L14R Right second reflected light L15L Left third reflected light L15R Right third reflected light LR Left-right direction (direction intersecting with predetermined light path) R Right side S Recessed space S1 Hollow space S2 Recessed space T1 Vertical dimension of second portion 42 (plate thickness dimension of second portion 42) T2 Dimension in arrangement direction of light source unit 2 and first portion 41 U Upper side UD Vertical direction Z Light source axis

Claims

1. A light-emitting unit for a vehicle comprising: a light source unit that emits excitation light; a plurality of light conversion panels that convert the excitation light into secondary light; and a light-guiding member that receives the excitation light from the light source unit and guides it along a predetermined light path, wherein the light-guiding member has: a plurality of reflective surfaces for light conversion panels that reflect the excitation light toward the plurality of light conversion panels; and an overlapping portion reflective surface that is provided upstream of the predetermined light path relative to the plurality of reflective surfaces for light conversion panels and reflects the excitation light toward an overlapping portion of the light conversion panels upstream of the predetermined light path that overlaps with the light conversion panel downstream of the predetermined light path in the direction of the predetermined light path.

2. The vehicle lighting unit as described in claim 1, characterized in that the multiple light conversion panels are arranged in a direction intersecting the direction of the specified light path and are spaced apart in the direction of the specified light path.

3. The vehicle light-emitting unit as described in claim 1, characterized in that the reflective surface for the overlapping portion and a portion of the reflective surface for the light conversion panel downstream of the specified optical path relative to the reflective surface for the overlapping portion overlap in the direction of the specified optical path.

4. The vehicle light-emitting unit according to claim 3, characterized in that a part of the reflective surface for the overlapping portion is provided with a transmissive surface that transmits a part of the excitation light to the reflective surface for the light conversion panel.

5. The vehicle light-emitting unit described in claim 1, characterized in that the multiple light-conversion panels have light-emitting surfaces that emit the secondary light in response to the excitation light, and the multiple reflective surfaces for the multiple light-conversion panels are divided into multiple reflective surface segments that uniformly reflect the excitation light onto the light-emitting surfaces of the multiple light-conversion panels, respectively.

6. The vehicle light-emitting unit described in claim 1, characterized in that the multiple light-conversion panels have light-emitting surfaces that emit the secondary light in response to the excitation light, and the reflection surface for the overlapped portion is divided into multiple reflection surface segments that uniformly reflect the excitation light onto the light-emitting surface of the overlapped portion.

7. The light-guiding member has: a first portion that receives the excitation light from the light source unit; and a second portion that is extended from the first portion in the direction of the specified optical path and guides the excitation light from the first portion along the specified optical path; the first portion has an incident surface that receives the excitation light from the light source unit; and a composite reflective surface that reflects the excitation light from the incident surface to the second portion; and the second portion has a plurality of reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel and a reflective surface for the overlapping portion, an exit surface for the light conversion panel that emits the excitation light reflected by the plurality of reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel to the plurality of light conversion panels, and an exit surface for the overlapping portion that emits the excitation light reflected by the reflective surface for the overlapping portion to the overlapping portion.

8. The vehicle light-emitting unit described in claim 7, characterized in that the direction in which the excitation light is reflected by the multiple reflective surfaces for the light conversion panel and the reflective surface for the overlapping portion coincides with a direction intersecting with the direction of the specified optical path of the second portion, and the dimension of the second portion in the direction intersecting with the direction of the specified optical path is smaller than the dimension in the arrangement direction of the light source unit and the first portion.

9. The vehicle light-emitting unit described in claim 8, characterized in that the second part has two planes that include a straight line in the direction in which the multiple light conversion panels are arranged and a straight line in the direction of the specified optical path, and has a plate shape with a plate thickness in a direction that intersects with the direction of the specified optical path and intersects with the two planes.

10. A vehicle lamp comprising: a lamp housing and a lamp lens forming a space; and a vehicle light emitting unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 that is disposed within the space, wherein a shielding part is disposed between the lamp lens and the multiple light conversion panel reflective surfaces of the light guide member of the vehicle light emitting unit.

11. The vehicle lamp according to claim 10, characterized in that a shielding member is arranged between the lamp lens and the light source portion of the vehicle light-emitting unit and a portion of the light-guiding member where the excitation light from the light source portion is incident.

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