JP7577673B2 - Vehicle lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting fixtures.

Patent documents 1 and 2 propose vehicle lamps using microlens arrays (hereinafter also referred to as "MLA"). Patent document 1 proposes forming a light distribution pattern of a vehicle lamp by providing a light shielding body in the MLA to block part of the light emitted from the light source. Patent document 2 proposes forming a light distribution pattern by using multiple microlenses with different effective apertures.

In addition, Patent Document 1 proposes providing a light shield in the MLA to block part of the light emitted from the light source, thereby forming a projected image with a predetermined aspect ratio. In addition, Patent Document 2 proposes forming a projected image with a predetermined aspect ratio by controlling the effective aperture of the MLA so that it is different in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Japan Special Table Publication No. 2016-534503 US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0335191

The first objective of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle lamp capable of forming a desired light distribution pattern through a new configuration.

The second objective of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle lamp capable of forming a projected image having a desired aspect ratio through a new configuration.

In order to solve the first problem, a vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises:
A light source;
The primary lens,
A microlens array into which light emitted from the light source is incident via the primary lens,
The microlens array has a plurality of optical systems,
Each of the optical systems has a pair of an incident side lens portion and an exit side lens portion,
The multiple incident side lens portions of the multiple optical systems include at least two types of incident side lens portions having different focal lengths, and the at least two types of incident side lens portions each have the same effective aperture.

This configuration makes it possible to form the desired light distribution pattern.

In order to solve the first problem, a vehicle lamp according to an aspect of the present disclosure comprises:
A light source;
The primary lens,
a microlens array into which light emitted from the light source is incident via the primary lens;
The microlens array has a plurality of optical systems,
Each of the optical systems has a pair of an incident side lens portion and an exit side lens portion,
The entrance side lens portion has the same shape for each of the microlens arrays,
The multiple microlens arrays possessed by the multiple optical units include at least two or more types of microlens arrays having different focal lengths of the incident side lens portion, and the effective aperture of the incident side lens portion is the same between the at least two or more types of microlens arrays.

This configuration makes it possible to form the desired light distribution pattern.

In order to solve the second problem, a vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises:
A light source;
The primary lens,
A microlens array into which light emitted from the light source is incident via the primary lens,
The microlens array has a plurality of optical systems,
Each of the optical systems has a pair of an incident side lens portion and an exit side lens portion,
the plurality of optical systems are integrated in parallel along a first direction perpendicular to the emission direction of the incident-side lens portion and a second direction perpendicular to the emission direction and the first direction,
Each of the plurality of incident side lens portions in the plurality of optical systems is
an effective aperture in the first direction is smaller than an effective aperture in the second direction; and
A focal length in the first direction is shorter than a focal length in the second direction.

This configuration makes it possible to form a projected image with the desired aspect ratio.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a new configuration can be used to provide a vehicle lamp capable of forming a desired light distribution pattern.

Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a new configuration can be used to provide a vehicle lamp capable of forming a projected image having a desired aspect ratio.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp according to the first and third embodiments. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an optical system that constitutes the microlens array. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lamp according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a light distribution pattern formed by the vehicle lamp according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an example of a primary lens applicable to a vehicle lamp of the present disclosure. 2 is an example of a primary lens applicable to a vehicle lamp of the present disclosure. 2 is an example of a primary lens applicable to a vehicle lamp of the present disclosure. 2 is an example of a primary lens applicable to a vehicle lamp of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lamp according to a second embodiment. 4 is an example of a light distribution pattern that can be formed by the vehicle lamp of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lamp according to a third embodiment in a vertical plane. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lamp according to a third embodiment in a horizontal plane. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a projected image formed by a vehicle lamp according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a microlens array in a modified example of the third embodiment.

Below, examples of embodiments of vehicle lighting devices according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or equivalent elements will be given the same reference numerals even in different drawings, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the scale of each drawing used in the following description has been appropriately changed to make each component large enough to be recognized.

In this specification, the terms "left-right direction," "front-rear direction," and "up-down direction" are relative directions set for the convenience of explanation of the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure. The "front-rear direction" is a direction that includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction." The "left-right direction" is a direction that includes the "left direction" and the "right direction." The "up-down direction" is a direction that includes the "upward direction" and the "downward direction."

When the vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure is used as a vehicle headlamp, the "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" in the vehicle lamp correspond to the "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" in the vehicle, respectively. In the following description, the "left-right direction" is sometimes referred to as the "horizontal direction". Similarly, the "up-down direction" is sometimes referred to as the "vertical direction". In addition, this specification mainly describes the horizontal configuration of the vehicle lamp, but each configuration in the horizontal direction can also be applied in the vertical direction.

[First embodiment]
Fig. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle lamp 10 includes a light source 20, a primary lens 30, and a microlens array 40 in a lamp chamber formed by a lamp body 11 and a translucent cover 12.

The light source 20 is mounted on a substrate 21 supported by the lamp body 11 and is arranged facing forward. The light emitted from the light source 20 passes through the primary lens 30 and the microlens array 40 and is emitted in the forward direction of the vehicle lamp 10.

The light source 20 is, for example, a white light emitting diode or a semiconductor laser. The light source 20 has, for example, a rectangular (for example, square or rectangular) light emitting surface. When a rectangular shape is adopted as the light emitting surface, it becomes easy to form a horizontally elongated light distribution pattern suitable for a vehicle lamp.

The primary lens 30 has a first portion 31a having a first focal length f1 relative to the light source 20, and second portions 31b and 31c having a second focal length f2 longer than the first focal length f1 relative to the light source 20. Due to the difference in these focal lengths, the projected angle of view of the projected image projected through the microlens array 40 differs between the parallel light emitted from the first portion 31a toward the microlens array 40 and the parallel light emitted from the second portions 31b and 31c toward the microlens array 40. Therefore, by superimposing these projected images with different angles of view, a desired light distribution pattern can be formed. The smaller the focal length of the primary lens 30 relative to the light source 20, the larger the projected angle of view.

As described below, the vehicle lamp 10 can form a desired light distribution pattern by the action of the microlens array 40. The above-mentioned configuration of the primary lens 30 and the configuration described below are preferred configurations, but are not essential. For example, the primary lens 30 may be a collimated lens (e.g., an aplanatic lens) whose focal length f to the light source is constant and does not change within the lens.

The primary lens 30 is a collimating lens whose focal length (hereinafter also referred to as "focal length f") relative to the light source 20 changes within the lens. The primary lens 30 may be configured to have, for example, three or more types of focal length f. The primary lens 30 may also be configured so that the focal length f changes continuously or discontinuously depending on the distance from the optical axis Ax1, etc. It is preferable that the focal length f at each part of the primary lens 30 corresponds to, for example, the distance between that part and the light source 20. The primary lens 30 may be disposed close to the light source 20, or may be disposed at a certain distance from the light source 20.

The primary lens 30 has incident surfaces 32a to 32c through which light from the light source 20 is incident, and an exit surface 33 through which the light incident from the incident surfaces 32a to 32c is emitted toward the microlens array 40. The shape of the primary lens 30 is not particularly limited, but is, for example, circular when viewed from the rear. The primary lens 30 is supported by the lamp body 11 at a flange portion 34 formed on the outer periphery of the exit surface 33.

The incident surface 32a is configured as a curved surface of revolution centered on the optical axis Ax1 that extends in the front-rear direction so as to pass through the light emission center of the light source 20. The light incident on the incident surface 32a is refracted at the incident surface 32a, for example, to become light approximately parallel to the optical axis Ax1, and is emitted from the exit surface 33.

The light incident on the incident surface 32b travels, for example, in a direction away from the optical axis Ax1, and is then internally reflected by total reflection in the peripheral region of the second portion 31b, becoming light approximately parallel to the optical axis Ax1, and being emitted from the exit surface 33. The same applies to the light incident on the incident surface 32c.

The exit surface 33 is configured as a plane extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis Ax1. The exit surface 33, for example, outputs the light incident from the entrance surfaces 32a to 32c toward the microlens array 40 as light parallel to the optical axis Ax1.

The microlens array 40 is composed of a plurality of optical systems. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the optical system 44 that constitutes the microlens array 40. The optical system 44 shown in FIG. 2 includes an incident side lens section 41 having an optical axis Ax2, an exit side lens section 42 having an optical axis Ax2', and a light shielding plate 43. The optical axis Ax2 and the optical axis Ax2' may be coincident or misaligned. When the optical axis Ax2 and the optical axis Ax2' are coincident (when the optical axis is common), the design of the microlens array 40 becomes easier. The optical axis Ax2 and the optical axis Ax2' are approximately parallel to the optical axis Ax1 shown in FIG. 1.

The incident side lens section 41 is the portion into which the light emitted from the exit surface 33 of the primary lens 30 enters, and is formed, for example, so that the surface facing the exit surface 33 has a convex curved surface. On the other hand, the surface of the incident side lens section 41 facing the exit side lens section 42 is configured as a flat surface extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis Ax2.

The vertical length (effective aperture) av and the horizontal length (effective aperture) ah of the incident lens portion 41 may be equal to or different from each other. From the viewpoint of easily forming a horizontal light distribution pattern suitable for a vehicle lamp, it is preferable to make the length ah longer than the length av.

The light shielding plate 43 is provided between the entrance lens section 41 and the exit lens section 42. The light shielding plate 43 determines the shape of the projected image, for example, forming a cutoff line. The light shielding plate 43 has an opening 43a and a light shielding section 43b. A portion of the light incident on the entrance lens section 41 is blocked by the light shielding section 43b. The unblocked light passes through the opening 43a and is emitted forward from the exit lens section 42.

Some of the optical systems 44 constituting the microlens array 40 may not have a light shielding plate 43. In addition, in cases where a cutoff line is not required, the microlens array 40 may be configured not to have a light shielding plate 43. In addition, the microlens array 40 may be provided with a color filter between the entrance lens portion 41 and the exit lens portion 42 to change the color of the light emitted from the light source 20.

In addition, when each of the multiple optical systems 44 has a light shielding plate 43, the shape of each light shielding plate 43 may be different or the same. When the shape of each light shielding plate 43 is the same, it becomes easy to form a light distribution pattern for low beams, etc., without excessively increasing the manufacturing difficulty and manufacturing cost of the microlens array.

The exit side lens unit 42 is a part that emits light incident from the entrance side lens unit 41 in a forward direction. The front side surface of the exit side lens unit 42 is formed to have a convex curved surface. On the other hand, the rear side surface of the exit side lens unit 42 (the surface facing the entrance side lens unit 41) is configured as a flat surface extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis Ax2'.

The incident side lens section 41 and the exit side lens section 42 are configured so that the opposing surfaces have the same shape. The incident side lens section 41 and the exit side lens section 42 are integrated with a light shielding plate 43 sandwiched between them.

1 includes a plurality of the optical systems 44, each of which has an array-like structure in which the optical systems 44 are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the optical axis Ax1 (e.g., in the left-right direction and the up-down direction). The shape of the microlens array 40 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, rectangular or circular when viewed from the rear.

Although not shown in Figure 1, in this embodiment, the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens portion 41 in the optical system 44 varies depending on the position of the optical system 44. This point will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle lamp 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the microlens array 40 includes an optical system having an incident side lens portion 41a and an exit side lens portion 42a (the portion to the left of the imaginary line L1), an optical system having an incident side lens portion 41b and an exit side lens portion 42b (the portion between the imaginary lines L1 and L2), and an optical system having an incident side lens portion 41c and an exit side lens portion 42c (the portion to the right of the imaginary line L2). Although a light shielding plate is not shown in Figure 3, the microlens array 40 may include the light shielding plate 43 described above.

The radius of curvature of each entrance surface of the entrance side lens parts 41a to 41c is arranged in ascending order from smallest to largest. That is, the entrance side focal length f' of the entrance side lens part 41a is the smallest, the entrance side focal length f' of the entrance side lens part 41b is the next largest, and the entrance side focal length f' of the entrance side lens part 41c is the largest. The difference in these entrance side focal lengths f' causes the projection angle of the projected image projected forward of the vehicle lamp 10 to differ. Therefore, by superimposing these projection images with different angles of view, the desired light distribution pattern can be formed. Note that the larger the entrance side focal length f' of the entrance side lens part 41, the larger the projection angle of view.

On the other hand, the effective aperture ah1 of the incident side lens portion 41a, the effective aperture ah2 of the incident side lens portion 41b, and the effective aperture ah3 of the incident side lens portion 41c are approximately equal to each other. According to the vehicle lamp 10 of this embodiment, it is possible to form a desired light distribution pattern without changing the effective aperture of each incident side lens portion 41, so that the size of the microlens array 40 can be prevented from increasing, which contributes to space saving.

The shapes of the exit side lens portions 42a to 42c are the same. That is, the effective apertures of the exit side lens portions 42a to 42c are approximately equal to each other. Similarly, the radius of curvature of the exit surface of the exit side lens portions 42a to 42c are also approximately equal to each other. This configuration makes it easier to manufacture the microlens array 140 and makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a light distribution pattern formed by the vehicle lamp 10 according to the first embodiment. Area Z1 shown in Figure 4 is an area illuminated by light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41c. Area Z2 is an area illuminated by light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41c and light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41b. Area Z3 is an area illuminated by light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41c, light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41b, and light that has passed through the incident side lens portion 41a. Note that the light distribution pattern shown in Figure 4 is one in which the effect of the light shielding plate 43 is not taken into consideration.

In the vehicle lamp 10, for example, it is possible to form even more diverse light distribution patterns by configuring the microlens array 40 to have multiple types of incident side focal lengths f' or by changing the arrangement of each optical system in the microlens array 40.

Figures 5A to 5D show an example of a primary lens applicable to the vehicle lamp 10 of the present disclosure. The primary lens 50 shown in Figure 5A is a so-called Fresnel lens. The primary lens 50 is a lens in which the focal length f of portion 51a (the portion between imaginary lines L3 and L4) is shorter than the focal length f of portion 51b (the portion between imaginary lines L4 and L5) and portion 51c (the portion between imaginary lines L2 and L3).

The primary lens 60 shown in FIG. 5B is a lens in which the focal length f of portion 61a (the portion between imaginary lines L3 and L4) is longer than the focal length f of portion 61b (the portion between imaginary lines L4 and L5) and portion 61c (the portion between imaginary lines L2 and L3).

In the primary lens 70 shown in FIG. 5C, the focal lengths f are, in order of shortest, as follows: portion 71a (the portion between imaginary lines L3 and L4), portion 71b (the portion between imaginary lines L4 and L5), portion 71c (the portion between imaginary lines L2 and L3), portion 71d (the portion below imaginary line L5), and portion 71e (the portion above imaginary line L2).

The primary lens 80 shown in Figure 5D is a so-called aplanatic lens, which is a collimating lens whose focal length f to the light source is constant and does not change within the lens.

[Second embodiment]
The vehicular lamp according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a plurality of optical units. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a portion of a vehicular lamp 110 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the vehicular lamp 110 includes optical units 90a to 90c. The optical unit 90a includes a light source 20a, a primary lens 50a, and a microlens array 140a on an optical axis Ax3. The optical unit 90b includes a light source 20b, a primary lens 50b, and a microlens array 140b on an optical axis Ax4. The optical unit 90c includes a light source 20c, a primary lens 50c, and a microlens array 140c on an optical axis Ax5.

The light sources 20a to 20c can have the same configuration as the light source 20 in the first embodiment. The light sources 20a to 20c may be the same or different. The primary lenses 50a to 50c are Fresnel lenses as shown in FIG. 5A. The primary lenses 50a to 50c may be the same or different.

The optical systems that make up the microlens array 140a are all the same. That is, the entrance surface of the microlens array 140a is made up of one type of entrance side lens portion 141a, and the entrance side focal length f' and effective aperture ah4 of each entrance side lens portion 141a are equal. Similarly, the microlens arrays 140b and 140c are each made up of one type of optical system.

On the other hand, when comparing the microlens arrays 140a to 140c, the optical systems that constitute them have different incident side focal lengths f' of the incident side lens parts 141a to 141c. The radius of curvature of each incident surface in the incident side lens parts 141a to 141c is arranged in ascending order from smallest to largest. That is, the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens part 141a is the smallest, the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens part 141b is the next largest, and the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens part 141c is the largest. Due to the difference in these incident side focal lengths f', the projection angle of the projected image projected forward of the vehicle lamp 110 is made different for each of the optical units 90a to 90c. Therefore, by superimposing these projected images with different angles of view, a desired light distribution pattern can be formed. Note that the larger the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens part 141, the larger the projection angle of view.

The shapes of the exit side lens portions 142a to 142c are the same. That is, the effective apertures of the exit side lens portions 142a to 142c are approximately equal to each other. Similarly, the radius of curvature of the exit surface of the exit side lens portions 142a to 142c are also approximately equal to each other. This configuration makes it easier to manufacture the microlens array 140 and makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs.

Although a light shielding plate is not shown in FIG. 6, each microlens array 140a to 140c may be provided with a light shielding plate. Furthermore, for configurations not described above, the contents described in the first embodiment may be appropriately adopted to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

Figure 7 is an example of a light distribution pattern that can be formed by the vehicle lamp 10 or 110 of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 7 shows a low beam light distribution pattern Pt formed by light emitted from the headlight when the vehicle lamp 10 or 110 is applied to a vehicle headlight.

The low beam light distribution pattern Pt is a low beam light distribution pattern for left light distribution, and has cutoff lines CL1 and CL2 at its upper edge. Specifically, the portion on the oncoming lane to the right of the V-V line that passes vertically through H-V, which is the vanishing point in the front direction of the headlight, is formed as a horizontal cutoff line CL1, and the portion on the own lane to the left of the V-V line is formed as a diagonal cutoff line CL2. The elbow point E, which is the intersection of the two, is located approximately 0.5 to 0.6° below H-V.

Area Z1 in the low beam light distribution pattern Pt is, for example, a portion irradiated by light with the largest projected angle of view, and has a lower luminous intensity than areas Z2 and Z3.Area Z2 is, for example, a portion irradiated by light with the largest projected angle of view and light with the second largest projected angle of view, and has a lower luminous intensity than Z3.Area Z3 is, for example, a portion irradiated by light with the largest projected angle of view, light with the second largest projected angle of view, and light with the smallest projected angle of view, and has the highest luminous intensity of each area.

[Third embodiment]
A horizontal cross-sectional view of the vehicular lamp 10 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure may be similar to that shown in Fig. 1. In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, an exploded perspective view of the optical system 44 constituting the microlens array 40 may be similar to that shown in Fig. 2. Hereinafter, the vehicular lamp 10 according to the third embodiment will be described, but the matters described in the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

The effective aperture (length) av in the up-down direction (vertical direction) of the incident side lens unit 41 is shorter than the effective aperture (length) ah in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). Also, the incident side focal length f' in the up-down direction of the incident side lens unit 41 is shorter than the incident side focal length f' in the left-right direction. These configurations will be described in detail in a later paragraph using Figures 8A and 8B.

The multiple optical systems 44 constituting the microlens array 40 may be the same or different. For example, the multiple incident side lens sections 41 in the multiple optical systems 44 may all be the same shape (the effective aperture and the radius of curvature in each of the vertical and horizontal directions are the same) or may be different shapes (one or more elements of the effective aperture and the radius of curvature in each of the vertical and horizontal directions are different).

In addition, when the multiple entrance side lens parts 41 include parts with different shapes, it is preferable that the multiple entrance side lens parts 41 all have the same effective aperture in either the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and it is more preferable that the effective aperture in the vertical direction is all the same. With such a configuration, it becomes easier to manufacture the microlens array 40.

8A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle lamp 10 of the third embodiment in a vertical plane. FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle lamp 10 of the third embodiment in a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, each entrance side lens portion 41 constituting the microlens array 40 has different effective apertures and curvature radii of the entrance surface in the up-down direction (vertical direction) and the left-right direction (horizontal direction). Specifically, in each of the multiple entrance side lens portions 41 constituting the microlens array 44, the effective aperture ah11 in the left-right direction is larger than the effective aperture av11 in the up-down direction. In addition, in each of the entrance side lens portions 41, the curvature radius in the left-right direction is larger than the curvature radius in the up-down direction. That is, the entrance side focal length f' of the entrance side lens portion 41 is larger in the left-right direction than in the up-down direction.

In this embodiment, these configurations allow the projection angle of the image projected forward from the vehicle lamp 10 to be different in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Specifically, the larger the effective aperture, the larger the projection angle of view, so the projection angle in the horizontal direction is larger than in the vertical direction. Similarly, the larger the incident side focal length f', the larger the projection angle of view, so the projection angle in the horizontal direction is larger than in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is easier to form a projection image with a desired aspect ratio than controlling the projection angle with only either the effective aperture or the incident side focal length f', and it is possible to increase the freedom of optical design.

The effective apertures of the exit lens section 42 in the vertical and horizontal directions are approximately equal to the effective apertures of the entrance lens section 41 that forms the optical system 44 together with the exit lens section 42. The exit side focal length of the exit lens section 42 is not particularly limited and can be appropriately determined depending on other configurations of the vehicle lamp 10. Although the light shielding plate 43 is not shown in Figures 8A and 8B, the microlens array 40 may be provided with the light shielding plate 43 described above.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a projected image formed by the vehicle lamp 10 of the third embodiment. Area Z11 is the area onto which the projected image formed by the vehicle lamp 10 is projected. As shown in Figure 9, the vehicle lamp 10 of this embodiment can easily form a projected image that spreads out in the direction of the horizontal line H-H rather than in the direction of the vertical line V-V. The aspect ratio of the resulting projected image can be changed in the vertical and horizontal directions by adjusting the effective aperture and/or the incident side focal length f' of the incident side lens portion 41.

Each lens shown in Figures 5A to 5D can also be applied as a primary lens of the vehicle lamp 10 of the third embodiment.

[Modification of the third embodiment]
A modified example of the vehicle lamp 10 of the third embodiment will be described below. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a microlens array 240 in this modified example. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the microlens array 240 as viewed from the light source 20 side. In this modified example, the microlens array 240 shown in Fig. 10 is used instead of the microlens array 40. As the other configurations can be the same as those of the third embodiment, only the microlens array 240 will be described below.

The microlens array 240 is composed of optical systems 244 (optical systems 244a-d) of multiple shapes. In the center of the microlens array 240 (near the optical axis Ax1), optical system 244a is arranged, which has an incident side lens portion with the largest effective aperture ah in the left-right direction. Optical systems 244b and 244c are arranged around optical system 244a, which has an incident side lens portion with the second largest effective aperture ah in the left-right direction. In addition, optical system 244d is arranged above optical system 244c, which has an incident side lens portion with the smallest effective aperture ah in the left-right direction. Optical systems 244b and 244c have the same shape.

In general, when a primary lens with a short focal length near the optical axis Ax1 is used, crosstalk is likely to occur near the optical axis Ax1, and crosstalk is less likely to occur as the distance from the optical axis Ax1 increases. In this modified example, the optical system 244a having the incident side lens part with the largest effective aperture ah in the left-right direction is disposed near the optical axis Ax1 where crosstalk is likely to occur, making it easier to suppress crosstalk in the left-right direction. In addition, the effective aperture ah of the incident side lens part of the optical system 244 disposed there is configured to become smaller as the distance from the optical axis Ax increases, so that it is possible to miniaturize the microlens array 240 while suppressing crosstalk in the left-right direction. Furthermore, it is also possible to form a light distribution pattern due to the difference in effective aperture ah as described above.

In addition, the effective aperture av in the vertical direction of each of the incident side lens portions constituting each of the optical systems 244a to 244d is all approximately the same. This configuration makes it easier to manufacture the microlens array 240.

Other than the above, the configuration of the microlens array 240 may be the same as that of the third embodiment. For example, in each of the optical systems 244a to 244d, the effective aperture av in the vertical direction of the incident side lens portion is shorter than the effective aperture ah in the horizontal direction, and the incident side focal length f' in the vertical direction of the incident side lens portion is shorter than the incident side focal length f' in the horizontal direction.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the components described above are not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed to the number, position, shape, etc. that are suitable for implementing the present disclosure.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-173250, filed on September 24, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-173251, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims (5)

A light source;
The primary lens,
A microlens array into which light emitted from the light source is incident via the primary lens,
The microlens array has a plurality of optical systems,
Each of the optical systems has a pair of an incident side lens portion and an exit side lens portion,
The plurality of incident side lens portions of the plurality of optical systems include at least two or more types of incident side lens portions having different focal lengths, and the effective apertures of the incident side lens portions are the same among the at least two or more types of incident side lens portions;
At least two or more optical systems among the plurality of optical systems each have a light shield between the entrance side lens portion and the exit side lens portion,
The focal lengths of the incident-side lens portions are different between the at least two optical systems, and the light blocking bodies have the same shape .
Vehicle lighting fixtures. The shapes of the plurality of output side lens portions are the same among the plurality of optical systems.
2. A vehicle lamp according to claim 1. A light source;
The primary lens,
a microlens array into which light emitted from the light source is incident via the primary lens;
The microlens array has a plurality of optical systems,
Each of the optical systems has a pair of an incident side lens portion and an exit side lens portion,
The entrance side lens portion has the same shape for each of the microlens arrays,
The microlens arrays of the optical units include at least two or more types of microlens arrays having different focal lengths of the incident side lens portions, and the effective apertures of the incident side lens portions are the same between the at least two or more types of microlens arrays;
At least a part of the optical systems in each of the at least two or more types of microlens arrays has a light shield between the incident side lens portion and the exit side lens portion,
The optical system has the light blocking body having the same shape between the at least two types of microlens arrays .
Vehicle lighting fixtures. The shape of the exit-side lens portion is the same between the at least two types of microlens arrays.
4. A vehicle lamp according to claim 3. The pair of incident side lens portions and the pair of exit side lens portions are provided on a common optical axis.
The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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