JP6624990B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp including a light guide lens that emits light by laser light incident from a laser light source unit.

  For example, some vehicular lamps such as position lamps have a light guide lens that emits light by reflecting laser light incident from a laser light source unit in the process of guiding the laser light internally and emitting the laser light from an emission surface. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a vehicular lamp shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

  That is, FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a vehicle lamp proposed in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line AA of FIG. 13. The vehicle lamp 101 shown in FIG. A curved plate-like light guide lens 105 and one end in the left-right direction of the light guide lens 105 (FIG. 14) are provided in a lamp chamber 104 defined by a housing 102 attached to the camera and a transparent outer lens 103 covering the opening. (Right end of the laser light source 106), a light guide lens 105, and an extension 107 that covers the periphery of the laser light source 106. Here, the light guide lens 105 is configured by mixing light diffusion particles 108 in a transparent resin material with a uniform distribution.

  In the vehicle lamp 101 configured as described above, the laser light emitted from the laser light source 106 is scattered by the light diffusion particles 108 in the process of being incident on the light guide lens 105 and guided while repeating total reflection, Since the scattered light exits from the front (outgoing surface) of the light guide lens 105, a sharp-looking linear light emitting pattern P1 is formed on the front of the light guide lens 105 as shown in FIG.

JP-A-2015-041466

  By the way, in the vehicle lamp 101 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 proposed in Patent Document 1, when a strong impact is applied from the outside due to a vehicle collision accident or the like, the light guide lens 105 and the laser light source 106 are separated, Alternatively, it is assumed that the positional relationship between the two significantly changes. In such a case, there is a possibility that the laser light emitted from the laser light source 106 does not enter the light guide lens 105 and is irradiated outside the vehicle with all or part of the laser light not scattered. In such a situation, strong laser light that is not scattered is directly radiated to the eyes of pedestrians, drivers, and the like around the vehicle, causing a problem that the eyes of pedestrians, drivers, and the like are damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp having a high fail-safe property that can prevent direct irradiation of laser light to human eyes when an abnormality occurs. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle lamp including a laser light source unit and a light guide lens that emits laser light incident from the laser light source unit by emitting the laser light from an emission surface. The laser light source unit and the light guide lens are slidably and detachably connected, and a metal plate A provided on the light guide lens side and a metal plate B provided on the laser light source unit side are brought into contact with each other so that both are brought into contact with each other. The laser light source unit is configured to be in a conductive state and to supply power to the laser light source unit via a metal plate A and a metal plate B.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, one of a male socket and a female socket that are connected to each other is provided on the light guide lens side, and the other is provided on the laser light source unit side. And the female plate is fixed to one of the female sockets and the metal plate B is fixed to the other.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a female socket is provided on the side of the laser light source unit, wherein a convex portion of the light guide lens is connectable with a convex portion of the light guide lens. The metal plate A is fixed to the convex portion of the light guide lens, and the metal plate B is fixed to the female socket.

  According to the present invention, when the light guide lens and the laser light source unit are separated due to a strong external impact of the vehicle lamp due to a vehicle accident or the like, or when the positional relationship between the two is significantly changed, the power supply is disconnected. Since the electrodes A and B that electrically connect the laser light source unit to the laser light source unit are released and the power supply from the power supply to the laser light source unit is cut off, the laser light emission from the laser light source unit stops. For this reason, damage to the eyes due to direct irradiation of laser light to pedestrians, drivers, and the like around the vehicle is prevented, and fail-safe performance in the event of an abnormality such as a vehicle accident is improved.

1 is a perspective view of a main part of a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention in a normal state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a male socket and a female socket of the vehicular lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and a state before the metal plate fixed thereto is joined. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a male socket and a female socket of the vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and a connected state (normal state) of a metal plate fixed thereto. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the male socket and the female socket, and the metal plate fixed to these when the vehicle lamp which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention receives an impact from a side surface. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the male socket and the female socket, and the metal plate fixed to these when the vehicle lamp which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention receives an impact from a front surface or a rear surface. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state where the vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention receives an impact from the front. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state where the vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention receives an impact from the rear surface. FIG. 9 is a partial side sectional view showing a normal state of a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a partial side sectional view showing a state where a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention receives an impact. It is a partial side sectional view showing the state at the time of normal time of the vehicular lamp concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a partial side sectional view showing a state where a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention receives an impact. It is a perspective view of the vehicle lamp proposed in patent document 1. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 13.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the main part of the vehicle lamp at normal time, and FIG. 3 is a male socket and a female part of the vehicle lamp. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a socket and a metal plate fixed to them before coupling, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a male socket and a female socket of the vehicle lamp and a coupling state (normal state) of the metal plate fixed thereto. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the state of a male socket and a female socket and a metal plate fixed to these sockets when the vehicle lamp is impacted from the side, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of a male socket and a female socket and a metal plate fixed thereto when subjected to an impact. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a state where the vehicle lamp is subjected to an impact from the front. 8 is when the vehicular lamp receives an impact from the rear It is a side sectional view showing the state.

  The vehicle lamp 1 according to the present embodiment is used as position lamps disposed on the front left and right of the vehicle, and includes two laser light source units 2 disposed on the left and right as shown in FIG. And a light guide lens 3 that emits light by light incident from each laser light source unit 2. Although not shown, in the vehicle lamp 1, the laser light source unit 2 and the light guide lens 3 are accommodated in a lamp room defined by a transparent outer lens that covers a housing and a front opening thereof. Further, since the basic structures of the left and right vehicle lamps 1 are the same, only one of the vehicle lamps 1 will be shown and described below.

  The light guide lens 3 is formed by bending a plate-shaped transparent resin such as acrylic having a high light guide property into an L-shape, and includes a vertical portion 3A and a horizontal portion 3B extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical portion 3A. It has. The horizontal lower surface of the vertical portion 3A of the light guide lens 3 forms an incident surface 3a facing the laser light source unit 2, and the vertical end surface (front end surface) of the tip of the horizontal portion 3B forms an emission surface 3b. I have. At the boundary between the vertical portion 3A and the horizontal portion 3B of the light guide lens 3, a reflection surface 3c cut obliquely at 45 ° is formed along the entire width.

  In addition, rectangular block-shaped protruding horizontally toward the rear (to the right in FIG. 2) is provided at two places on the left and right of the vertical portion of the light guide lens 3 (two places on the left and right where the laser light source unit 2 is disposed in the left and right directions). The male sockets 4 are fitted into and fixed to the outer periphery of each of the convex portions 3d. A metal plate 5 made of highly conductive copper or aluminum is fixed inside each male socket 4. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, each metal plate 5 is formed by bending a copper plate or an aluminum plate and overlapping them vertically to form a U-shape in plan view, and rectangular electrode portions 5A, 5B on the left and right sides. Is formed. The left and right electrode portions 5A and 5B are formed in a U-shape in a side view by two upper and lower plates and open rearward. Incidentally, rectangular guides 5a and 5b which are bent in opposite directions are provided on the left and right of each of the electrode portions 5A and 5B, respectively.

  On the other hand, the two left and right laser light source units 2 are housed in a rectangular box-shaped case 6, and a laser light source 7 for emitting laser light, and two upper and lower lenses arranged above the laser light source 7. 8 and 9 are provided.

  A hard board 10 is vertically inserted and fixed to each of the left and right cases 6, and a U-shaped female socket 11 is fixed to the front surface of each hard board 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the male socket 4 is fitted into and fixed to 11. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, two vertical metal plates 12, 13 along the back surface of the hard substrate 10 are fixed to the left and right of each hard substrate 10, respectively. The upper end is bent at right angles toward the front and extends horizontally, and the bent horizontal portion passes through the female socket 11 and faces the inside of the female socket 11 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The rectangular electrode portions 12A and 13A are configured. Each of the metal plates 12 and 13 is made of highly conductive copper or aluminum similarly to the metal plate 5. The hard substrate 10 is made of flame-retardant glass cloth base epoxy resin, specifically, FR4 (Flame Retardant Type 4) which is a copper-clad laminate having high heat resistance.

  The one (left side in FIG. 3) metal plate 12 is electrically connected to a power source (not shown) such as a battery, and the other (right side in FIG. 3) metal plate 13 is connected to the lower end thereof and the laser light source unit. 2 is electrically connected to the laser light source unit 2 via a flexible board 16 provided between connectors 14 and 15 fixed to the laser light source unit 2, respectively.

  In a normal state (when a vehicle accident or the like does not occur normally), as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the male socket 4 on the light guide lens 3 side is connected to the female socket on the laser light source unit 2 side. At this time, the left and right electrode portions 5A, 5B of the metal plate 5 on the male socket 4 are fixed to the left and right metal plates 12, 13 on the female socket 11, respectively. The portions 12A and 13A are inserted and come into contact with each other, and the metal plate 5 and the metal plates 12 and 13 are brought into conduction with each other.

  In the above state, from the power supply (not shown), the metal plate 5 (electrode portions 5A and 5B) on the male socket 4 side to the other metal plate 13 on the female socket 11 side from the electrode portion 12A of one metal plate 12 on the female socket 11 side. When power supply to each of the left and right laser light source units 2 is started via the electrode unit 13A and the flexible substrate 16, laser light is emitted upward from the laser light source 7 of each laser light source unit 2, and this laser light is The light passes through the two lenses 8 and 9 and enters the light guide lens 3 from the incident surface 3 a of the light guide lens 3. Then, the laser light that has entered the light guide lens 3 travels upward through the vertical portion 3A of the light guide lens 3 while repeating total reflection and diffusion, and is reflected by the reflection surface 3c of the light guide lens 3 to be reflected therefrom. The traveling direction changes at a right angle, and the light guide lens 3 travels forward while repeating total reflection and diffusion in the horizontal portion 3B, and emits forward from the exit surface 3b at the tip of the light guide lens 3. For this reason, the emission surface 3b of the light guide lens 3 emits light, and the vehicle lamp 1 including the light guide lens 3 functions normally as a position lamp. Note that light diffusion particles may be mixed into the light guide lens 3 to promote the diffusion of laser light.

  By the way, when the vehicle lamp 1 receives a large impact from the side due to a vehicle accident or the like, as shown in FIG. 5, the male socket 4 on the light guide lens 3 side is connected to the female socket 11 on the laser light source unit 2 side. On the other hand, by sliding in the horizontal direction, the positional relationship between the two changes greatly, and the respective electrode portions 5a and 5B of the left and right metal plates 5 on the male socket 4 side and the respective left and right metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side. Since the contact with the parts 12A and 13A is released and the power supply from the power supply to the laser light source unit 2 is interrupted, the emission of the laser light from the laser light source 7 stops. For this reason, damage to the eyes of pedestrians, drivers, and the like due to direct irradiation of the laser beam to pedestrians, drivers, and the like around the vehicle is prevented, and fail-safe performance in the event of an abnormality such as a vehicle accident is enhanced.

  When the vehicle lamp 1 receives a large impact from the front or rear surface due to a vehicle accident or the like, as shown in FIG. Leave 11 Specifically, when the vehicular lamp 1 receives an impact from the front, the light guide lens 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) as shown in FIG. When the vehicle lamp 1 is separated and receives an impact from the rear surface, the light guide lens 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) as shown in FIG. I do. As described above, when the male socket 4 is detached from the female socket 11, the respective electrode portions 5A and 5B of the left and right metal plates 5 on the male socket 4 side and the respective electrode portions 12A of the left and right metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side. , 13A is released and the power supply from the power supply to the laser light source unit 2 is cut off. For this reason, the emission of laser light from the laser light source 7 is stopped, and in this case also, damage to the eyes of pedestrians and drivers due to direct irradiation of the laser light to pedestrians and drivers around the vehicle is prevented, The effect that the fail-safe property at the time of occurrence of an abnormality such as an accident is improved is obtained.

  In the present embodiment, two laser light source units 2 are arranged on the left and right. However, the number of laser light source units 2 is arbitrary, and three or more laser light source units 2 may be arranged.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  9 is a partial side sectional view showing a normal state of the vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a partial side sectional view showing a state where the vehicle lamp is subjected to an impact. In these drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the male socket 4 in the first embodiment is omitted, and the metal plate 5 is directly attached to the convex portion 3d of the light guide lens 3, which is characterized in that The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  Thus, also in the present embodiment, in a normal state, the convex portion 3d of the light guide lens 3 is fitted and fixed in the female socket 11 as shown in FIG. Since the plate 5 and the metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side are in contact with each other and are in a conductive state, power is supplied to the laser light source unit 2 via these metal plates 5, 12 and 13. For this reason, light emitted upward from the laser light source 7 enters the light guide lens 3 and causes the light guide lens 3 to emit light.

  By the way, when the vehicular lamp receives a great shock from the outside due to a vehicle accident or the like, the convex portion 3d of the light guide lens 3 separates from the female socket 11 as shown in FIG. 5 and the metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side are released, and the power supply from the power supply to the laser light source unit 2 is cut off. For this reason, the emission of the laser light from the laser light source 7 is stopped, and in this case as well as in the first embodiment, the eyes of the pedestrian, the driver, or the like by directly irradiating the laser light to the pedestrian, the driver, or the like around the vehicle. Is prevented, and the fail-safe property in the event of an abnormality such as a vehicle accident is improved.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a partial side sectional view showing a normal state of a vehicle lamp according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a partial side sectional view showing a state in which the vehicle lamp is subjected to an impact. In the drawings, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  Also in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the male socket 4 in the first embodiment is omitted, and a rectangular flange-shaped convex portion 3d is integrally formed around the entire lower end of the light guide lens 3. A feature is that a spring-like metal plate 5 is directly attached to the outer periphery of the convex portion 3d, a female socket 11 is attached to the case 6, and the ends of the metal plates 12, 13 are arranged on the inner periphery of the female socket 11. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  Thus, also in this embodiment, in a normal state, the convex portion 3d of the light guide lens 3 is fitted and fixed in the female socket 11 as shown in FIG. Since the plate 5 and the metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side are in contact with each other and are in a conductive state, power is supplied to the laser light source unit 2 via these metal plates 5, 12 and 13. Therefore, light emitted upward from the laser light source 7 of the laser light source unit 2 enters the light guide lens 3 and causes the light guide lens 3 to emit light.

  By the way, when the vehicular lamp receives a large shock from the outside due to a vehicle accident or the like, as shown in FIG. 12, the light guide lens 3 moves upward, and the convex portion 3d separates from the female socket 11 to cause light guide. The contact between the metal plate 5 on the lens 3 side and the metal plates 12 and 13 on the female socket 11 side is released, and the power supply from the power supply to the laser light source unit 2 is cut off. For this reason, the emission of the laser light from the laser light source 7 is stopped, and in this case, as in the first and second embodiments, the pedestrian, the driver, and the like are directly irradiated with the laser light to the pedestrian and the driver around the vehicle. This prevents the eye from being damaged, thereby improving the fail-safe property in the event of an abnormality such as a vehicle accident.

  In the first to third embodiments, an L-shaped light guide lens is used, but a linear light guide lens extending in the vehicle front-rear direction may be used. When a linear light guide lens is used, the male and female sockets project from the upper or lower surface of the light guide lens near the incident side of the light source when the light guide lens receives an impact from the front or rear or left and right directions. A configuration is conceivable in which the metal plate 5 and the metal plates 12 and 13 according to the first to third embodiments and a circuit for monitoring the conduction state are provided on the protrusions. However, since various types of linear light guide lenses, such as a lens that is long in the vehicle front-rear direction and a lens that is long in the vehicle horizontal direction, can be considered, a certain degree or more of impact applied from the front, rear, left, and right directions of the vehicle is considered. It is necessary to set the convex portion at an appropriate position where the male socket comes off.

  In the first to third embodiments, the laser light source is arranged near the end in the direction opposite to the exit surface of the light guide lens, but may be arranged on the lower surface or upper surface near the end. Even in the case of an L-shaped light guide lens, when the length of the vertically extending portion is short, the male socket provided with the vertically extending portion against the impact applied from the front, rear, left and right directions of the vehicle is difficult to be detached. May be provided with a convex portion at an appropriate position on the upper surface or the lower surface of a portion of the light guide lens extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

  Further, the number of metal plates varies depending on the arrangement location and shape of the light guide lens, but in addition to providing two metal plates as in Embodiments 1 to 3, metal plates are provided at one or three locations, An appropriate number of metal plates can be provided so that the male socket is detached against a certain or more impact applied from the front, rear, left and right directions of the vehicle.

  By the way, although the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle lamp used as a position lamp has been described, the present invention relates to a stop lamp, a turn lamp, and a turn lamp including a light guide lens that emits light by laser light from a laser light source unit. It is needless to say that the present invention can be similarly applied to any other vehicle lamp such as a signal lamp and a DRL (Day Running Lamp).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 2 Laser light source unit 3 Light guide lens 3a Incident surface of light guide lens 3b Exit surface of light guide lens 3c Reflective surface of light guide lens 3d Projection of light guide lens 4 Male socket 5 Metal plate (metal plate A) )
6 Case 7 Laser light source 8, 9 Lens 10 Hard board 11 Female socket 12, 13 Metal plate (Metal plate B)
14, 15 Connector 16 Flexible board

Claims (3)

A laser light source unit, and a vehicle lamp including a light guide lens that emits light by emitting laser light incident from the laser light source unit from an emission surface;
The laser light source unit and the light guide lens are slidably and detachably connected, and a metal plate A provided on the light guide lens side and a metal plate B provided on the laser light source unit side are brought into contact with each other to allow the two. The vehicle lamp is configured to be in a conductive state and to supply power to the laser light source unit from a power supply via the metal plates A and B.   One of a male socket and a female socket that are coupled to each other is provided on the light guide lens side, the other is provided on the laser light source unit side, and one of the male socket and the female socket is the metal plate A and the other is the metal plate. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein B is fixed. The light guide lens is provided with a convex portion integrally provided thereon, a female socket to which the convex portion of the light guide lens can be coupled is provided on the laser light source unit side, and the metal plate A is provided on the convex portion of the light guide lens. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the metal plates (B) are respectively fixed to female sockets.

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