Projection Lens Structure for Narrow Vehicle Lamp Brightness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle lamp designs with projection lenses that have a vertically-long outer shape in the lamp front view struggle to ensure sufficient brightness of the light distribution pattern due to the narrow horizontal width of the incident surface, making it difficult to efficiently take light into the projection lens.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle lamp design includes a projection lens with an emission surface having a vertically-long outer shape, an incident surface wider than the emission surface, and a pair of left and right standing wall surfaces that expand to both sides, allowing light to converge in the lamp left-right direction and be efficiently guided to the emission surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the projection lens is designed with a vertically-long outer shape in the lamp front view to achieve a narrow appearance, then the aesthetic design is improved, but the horizontal width of the incident surface is narrowed making it difficult to sufficiently take light into the projection lens
Solution Approach 1:
The incident surface is designed to be wider than the emission surface in the horizontal direction, compensating for the narrow appearance by extending in the depth dimension. This allows the lens to capture more light from the light source while maintaining the vertically-long, narrow profile in the front view, thus resolving the contradiction between aesthetic shape and light gathering capability.
2Illumination intensity
If the incident surface is made wider than the emission surface to improve light intake, then the brightness is improved, but the projection lens no longer maintains a narrow appearance in the lamp front view
Solution Approach 1:
The projection lens employs an asymmetric design where the incident surface width differs from the emission surface width. The incident surface is made wider to capture sufficient light, while the emission surface maintains the narrow, vertically-long profile for aesthetic purposes. This asymmetric configuration allows the lens to satisfy both functional and aesthetic requirements simultaneously.
3Productivity
If the standing wall surfaces are made to expand to both left and right sides while extending from the emission surface toward the lamp rear, then light guidance efficiency is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The standing wall surfaces are designed with curved profiles that expand to both left and right sides while extending from the emission surface toward the lamp rear. These curved surfaces efficiently guide light from the incident surface to the emission surface by reflecting and refracting light rays. The curvature is optimized to maintain high light guidance efficiency while avoiding excessive structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures sufficient brightness of the light distribution pattern while maintaining a narrow appearance of the projection lens in the lamp front view, with the standing wall surfaces efficiently guiding light from the incident surface to the emission surface, enhancing the lamp's design and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
an optical member configured to cause light emitted from the light source to enter the projection lens as light converging in a lamp left-right direction
Implementation Method 2
form a required light distribution pattern by emitting light from a light source unit toward a lamp front through a projection lens
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle lamp including a projection lens, which is configured so that the brightness of a light distribution pattern can be sufficiently ensured while achieving a lamp design in which the projection lens looks narrow in a lamp front view. The projection lens includes an emission surface having a vertically-long outer shape in the lamp front view. The light source unit is configured to cause light emitted from a light emitting element to be reflected by a reflector and enter the projection lens as light converging in a lamp left-right direction. The projection lens includes an incident surface formed wider than the emission surface and a pair of left and right standing wall surfaces formed so as to expand to both left and right sides while extending from both side edges of the emission surface toward a lamp rear.