JP4637771B2 - Lamp - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp using a light emitting element as a light source.

With recent improvements in LED light emission efficiency, various vehicle lamps using LEDs as light sources have been proposed.
A vehicular lamp using such an LED is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example.

Here, the vehicular lamp according to Patent Document 1 is configured as shown in FIG.
That is, in FIG. 8, the vehicular lamp 1 includes a light source 2 composed of a plurality of LEDs and a lens 3 disposed in front of the light source 2.

The light source 2 is composed of a plurality of LEDs 2a arranged in a line.
Each LED 2a is mounted close to each other on a common substrate 2b.
Each LED 2a is driven and controlled by a drive circuit (not shown) to emit light, and apparently acts as a line light source.

  The lens 3 is composed of a convex lens, and is arranged so that the focal position on the rear side is located near the center of the LED 2a located at the center of the light source 2, that is, the above-described line light source.

According to the vehicular lamp 1 having such a configuration, each LED 2a of the light source 2 emits light by being driven and controlled by a drive circuit. And the light radiate | emitted from each LED2a is irradiated toward the front through the said lens 3. FIG.
Thereby, the image of the line light source which consists of each LED2a is projected toward the front, and at least one part of a cut line is formed.

On the other hand, the vehicular lamp according to Patent Document 2 is configured as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 9, the vehicular lamp 4 includes a light source 5 made of LEDs and a lens 6 disposed in front of the light source 5.
The light source 5 includes an LED 5a mounted on a substrate (not shown).

  Here, only one LED 5a is shown in FIG. 9, but in actuality, the LEDs 5a are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and at a relatively narrow pitch, and are not shown. Is driven and controlled to emit light, and apparently acts as a line light source.

The lens 6 is composed of a flat plate made of a transparent material, and includes a large number of minute lens cuts 6a arranged on the surface thereof.
The lens cut 6a is formed as a multi-faceted prism in which a plurality of prisms having different refraction angles are combined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the line light source (left-right direction in FIG. 8).
The lens cut 6a as a whole is formed as a so-called linear polyhedral prism cut in which the shape is translated in the longitudinal direction of the line light source.

According to the vehicular lamp 4 having such a configuration, each LED 5a of the light source 5 emits light by being driven and controlled by the drive circuit. And the light radiate | emitted from each LED5a is irradiated toward the front through the said lens 6. FIG.
At that time, the light from each LED 5a is diffused by the lens cut 6a provided in the lens 6, and a uniform light distribution pattern is formed as a whole.
JP 2004-311101 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-187810

  By the way, in the vehicular lamp 1 according to Patent Document 1, an image of each LED 2 a constituting the light source 2 is projected forward by the lens 3. Therefore, the light distribution characteristic with relatively strong directivity of each LED 2a forms the light distribution pattern as it is. As a result, luminance unevenness occurs in the light distribution pattern.

  On the other hand, in the vehicular lamp 4 according to Patent Document 2, when the light from the LED 5 a passes through the lens 6, it is diffused by the multifaceted prism cut 6 a provided in the lens 6. Therefore, the light distribution pattern of the light irradiated toward the front is made uniform throughout.

Similarly, a configuration is also known in which a fisheye cut 6b is provided for the lens 6 as shown in FIG. 10 instead of the polyhedral prism cut 6a.
Similarly, according to the vehicular lamp using the lens 6 provided with such a fisheye cut 6b, when the light from the LED 5a passes through the lens 6, the fisheye cut 6b provided on the lens 6 Will be spread.
Therefore, similarly, the light distribution pattern of the light irradiated toward the front is uniformized as a whole.

  However, in the vehicular lamp 4 using the lens 6 provided with such a multi-faceted prism cut 6a or fisheye cut 6b, these cuts are very finely formed. For example, like ground glass, there is no sense of transparency.

For this reason, even if the shape of each prism cut part or fish-eye cut part constituting the polyhedral prism cut 6a or the fish-eye cut is changed, the appearance looks almost the same, and the design has no novelty or novelty. End up.
On the other hand, if a lens for forming a desired light distribution characteristic is arranged for each LED in order to obtain a novel appearance, the lens becomes thick in order to obtain a predetermined optical action. As a result, molding distortion such as sink marks increases.
Accordingly, the molding accuracy is lowered and the amount of material used is increased, resulting in an increase in material cost and weight.

  In addition, such a problem also occurs when other types of light emitting elements are used as the light emitting elements of the light source 2 instead of the LEDs 1a and 5a.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a lamp particularly suitable for a vehicular lamp made of a light-emitting element that enables a novel design with a simple configuration.

According to the present invention, the object is a lamp including a light source composed of at least one light emitting element and a lens disposed in front of the light source, wherein the lens emits each light of the light source. Corresponding to the element, each lens has a lens cut part arranged coaxially with the optical axis of the light emitting element, and the lens cut part of each lens aiming so that the light from the corresponding light emitting element is focused near the center. A horizontally long central region and upper and lower regions aiming so as to slightly diffuse light from the corresponding light emitting element, and the central region of the lens cut portion is formed on the rear surface of the lens on the light source side. together, said has upper and lower regions are formed on the front surface of the lens, each lens cut portions, when viewed in the optical axis direction, is formed as a circle having a predetermined radius around the optical axis, said The upper and lower regions of the lens cut part are formed in a fan shape inside the outer periphery of the lens cut part on the upper and lower sides of the lens cut part, and the outer periphery of the lens cut part and the inner periphery having a smaller radius than the outer periphery. This is achieved by a lamp characterized in that it is defined by a radially extending boundary line that forms a predetermined angle up and down with respect to the horizontal line from the optical axis .

  The lamp according to the present invention is preferably arranged such that the upper and lower regions of the lens cut portions do not overlap the central region and have no gap when viewed in the optical axis direction.

  In the lamp according to the present invention, the boundary line preferably extends in the directions of +45 degrees and −45 degrees from the horizontal line with respect to the optical axis.

According to the said structure, the light radiate | emitted from each light emitting element of a light source is irradiated toward the front via the lens cut part corresponding to each of a lens.
At that time, the light transmitted through the central area of the lens cut portion is aiming to converge toward the vicinity of the center by the optical action of the central area. Therefore, a horizontally long light distribution pattern around the optical axis. Will be formed.

  On the other hand, the light transmitted through the upper and lower regions of the lens cut part is aiming so as to be diffused slightly by the optical action of these regions, so that a light distribution pattern spreading over a wide angular range with respect to the optical axis is formed. Will be formed.

  In this way, the light transmitted through the central area of the relatively large area of the lens cut portion forms a light distribution pattern to be a horizontally long main light distribution near the center of the optical axis, and the lens cut portion The light transmitted through the upper and lower regions of a relatively small area forms an auxiliary light distribution pattern that diffuses over a wide angular range.

In this case, the central area, the upper area, and the lower area of the lens cut portion are not small cuts, but are relatively large and conspicuous. Therefore, based on the shapes of the central area, the upper area, and the lower area, the original area is created. A new design can be realized and a novel appearance can be realized.
In addition, since the central region of the lens cut portion is disposed on the rear surface of the lens and the upper and lower regions are disposed on the front surface of the lens, the entire lens is not thickened, and the molding accuracy is improved. Material costs and weight can be reduced.

  When the upper and lower regions of each lens cut portion are arranged so as not to overlap the central region and have no gap when viewed in the optical axis direction, the light from the light-emitting element is transmitted to the lens cut portion. Since the light passes through either the central region or the upper and lower regions of the part, all the light forms a light distribution pattern, and the light use efficiency is improved. .

  Each of the lens cut portions is formed as a circle having a predetermined radius around the optical axis when viewed in the optical axis direction, and the upper and lower regions of the lens cut portions are above and below the lens cut portion. In the case where the lens cut portion is formed in a fan shape inside the outer periphery of the lens cut portion, each lens cut portion is formed symmetrically with respect to the optical axis.

  The upper and lower regions of the lens cut portions are the outer periphery of the lens cut portion, the inner periphery having a smaller radius than the outer periphery, and a boundary line extending in the radial direction at a predetermined angle from the optical axis to the horizontal line. Preferably, when the boundary line extends in the directions of +45 degrees and −45 degrees from the horizontal line with respect to the optical axis, the boundary line is elongated by the light transmitted through the central region of each lens cut portion. Thus, a light distribution pattern having a shape approximating this rectangle is formed.

In this way, a desired light distribution pattern can be obtained by forming the central region on the rear surface and the upper and lower regions on the front surface of the lens cut portion of the lens corresponding to each light emitting element of the light source. In addition to being able to be formed, the shapes of the central region, the upper region, and the lower region of each lens cut portion are large enough to be visually recognized, so that various designs are possible based on these shapes.
Accordingly, the degree of freedom of design of the lamp, particularly the vehicular lamp, is increased, so that an original or novel design can be realized, and a novel appearance can be realized.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. As long as there is no description of the effect, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  1-3 has shown the structure of one Embodiment of the vehicle lamp to which this invention is applied. The vehicular lamp 10 is configured as a tail lamp of an automobile, and includes a light source 11 including a plurality of LEDs and a lens 12 disposed in front of the light source 11. 1 is a front view of the vehicular lamp 10, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

The light source 11 is composed of a plurality of (in the illustrated case, nine) LEDs 11a.
Here, each LED 11a has a central axis substantially the same as the surface of these substrates on a common substrate (not shown) or on individual substrates (also not shown). It is mounted so as to be vertical and parallel to the central axis of another LED 11a.
Each LED 11a is driven on and controlled by a drive circuit configured on the substrate or connected to the outside so as to emit light.

The lens 12 is made of a translucent material, for example, a resin material, is formed in a flat plate shape as a whole, and is arranged perpendicular to the central axis (optical axis) of each LED 11 a of the light source 11. Yes.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the lens 12 includes a plurality (nine in the illustrated example) of lens cut portions 13 concentric with the central axis (optical axis) of each LED 11a.

  These lens cut portions 13 are each integrally formed with the lens 12, and as shown in FIG. 1, one piece 13a is at the center of the lens 12, and the other eight pieces 13b to 13i are predetermined with respect to the center. They are arranged at equiangular intervals on the circumference of the radius.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each lens cut portion 13 has a circular outer shape as viewed in the optical axis O direction of the LED 11 a, and has a horizontally long central region 14, an upper region 15 and a lower region located above and below the central region 14. 16.

Here, the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 are formed on the front surface (light emitting surface) of the lens cut portion 13 as shown in FIG. 4, and as shown in FIG. It is formed in the fan shape inside the outer periphery of.
Specifically, the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 are arranged with respect to the outer peripheral edges 15a and 16a of the lens cut portion 13, the inner peripheral edges 15b and 16b having a radius smaller than the outer peripheral edge, and the horizontal direction of the optical axis O. Are defined by side edges 15c, 15d, 16c, and 16d that are inclined up and down by a predetermined angle θ.
Here, the predetermined angle θ is preferably selected to be 45 degrees.
Further, the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 are formed as convex lenses that aim at aiming so that the light from the corresponding LED 11a is slightly diffused.

As shown in FIG. 4, the central region 14 is on the rear surface (light incident surface) of the lens cut portion 13 b, and on the inner side of the circular outer periphery of the lens cut portion 13, as shown in FIG. 1. It is formed excluding the regions corresponding to the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 described above.
That is, the central region 14 is formed in a shape obtained by cutting out regions corresponding to the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 from the circular outer shape of the lens cut portion 13. As a result, the central region 14 is formed in a shape approximate to this rectangle so as to form a horizontally long rectangular light distribution pattern, as shown in FIG. Further, the central region 14 is formed as a convex lens for aiming so that the light from the corresponding LED 11a is focused near the center.

The vehicular lamp 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and each LED 11a of the light source 11 is driven and controlled by a drive circuit (not shown) to emit light.
And the light radiate | emitted from each LED11a of the light source 11 permeate | transmits the lens cut part 13 to which the lens 12 respond | corresponds, and is irradiated toward the front.

At that time, the light L1 transmitted through the central region 14 of the lens cut portion 13 is aimed to converge toward the center based on the optical action of the central region 14 as shown in FIG.
As a result, the light L1 is irradiated forward (in the light irradiation direction) with a predetermined horizontally long light distribution characteristic. Therefore, the main light distribution is formed by the light L1, so that a predetermined light distribution standard is satisfied.

On the other hand, the light L2 transmitted through the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 of the lens cut portion 13 is slightly up and down based on the optical action of these upper region 15 and lower region 16, as shown in FIG. Aimed to spread.
Thereby, the light L2 is irradiated with a light distribution characteristic that diffuses up and down toward the front (light irradiation direction). Therefore, the visibility around the main light distribution is improved by forming the auxiliary light distribution by the light L2.

In this case, as described above, with respect to each lens cut portion 13 of the lens 12, the central region 14 is formed on the rear surface (light incident surface) of the lens 12, that is, protrudes rearward (light source side), Further, the upper region 15 and the lower region 16 are formed on the front surface of the lens 12, that is, so as to protrude forward.
Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lens 12 is thinner than the case where the regions 14, 15, and 16 of the lens cut portion 13 are integrally formed on the front surface or the rear surface of the lens 12. Can be formed.
Therefore, distortion due to sink marks or the like at the time of molding the lens 12 is reduced, molding accuracy is improved, and the amount of molding material used can be reduced, so that the material cost can be reduced and the weight of the lens 12 can be reduced. become.

Thus, according to the vehicular lamp 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the lens cut portion 13 is provided in the lens 12 corresponding to each LED 11 a of the light source 11, whereby each region 14 of the lens cut portion 13, Since 15 and 16 are formed to be relatively large so that they can be visually recognized from the outside, a novel and original design is possible based on the shape of these regions 14, 15 and 16.
Therefore, the degree of freedom in design is increased, and a novel appearance can be exhibited.

  In the embodiment described above, an LED is used as a light emitting element that constitutes the light source 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the light source 11 using another type of light emitting element such as a laser element may be provided. .

  Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the vehicular lamp 10 is configured as a tail lamp for an automobile, but is not limited to this, and vehicular lamps such as a blinker lamp, a stop lamp, and other general illumination lamps. It is apparent that the present invention can be applied to a lamp for the purpose.

  In this way, according to the present invention, there is provided a lamp particularly suitable for a vehicular lamp having a light emitting element that enables a novel design with a simple configuration.

It is a schematic front view which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the vehicle lamp by this invention. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the BB line of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the relationship between one lens cut part in the lens of FIG. 1, and corresponding LED. It is an enlarged front view which shows the lens cut part of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the lens of FIG. 1 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the lens of FIG. 1 from the rear side. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of an example of the vehicle lamp using the conventional LED. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the other example of the vehicle lamp using the conventional LED. It is (A) schematic sectional drawing and (B) schematic front view which show the structure of the further another example of the vehicle lamp using the conventional LED.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle lamp 11 Light source 11a LED (light emitting element)
12 Lens 13, 13a-13i Lens cut part 14 Central area | region 15 Upper area | region 16 Lower area | region

Claims (3)

A lamp comprising: a light source comprising at least one light emitting element; and a lens disposed in front of the light source,
The lens includes a lens cut portion disposed coaxially with the optical axis of each light emitting element corresponding to each light emitting element of the light source,
A horizontally long central region in which the lens cut portion of each lens aims to focus the light from the corresponding light emitting element near the center, and an upper and lower region in which aiming to slightly diffuse the light from the corresponding light emitting element And consists of
The center area of the lens cut portion is formed on the rear surface of the lens on the light source side, and the upper and lower areas are formed on the front surface of the lens .
Each of the lens cut portions is formed as a circle having a predetermined radius around the optical axis when viewed in the optical axis direction,
The upper and lower regions of each lens cut part are formed in a fan shape inside the outer periphery of the lens cut part on the upper and lower sides of the lens cut part, and within the outer periphery of the lens cut part and a radius smaller than this outer periphery. A lamp characterized by comprising a circumference and a boundary line extending in a radial direction at a predetermined angle from the optical axis to the horizontal line in the vertical direction .   2. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower regions of the lens cut portions are arranged so as not to overlap the central region and have no gap when viewed in the optical axis direction. The lamp according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the boundary line extends in a direction of +45 degrees and -45 degrees from a horizontal line with respect to the optical axis.

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