JP7618981B2 - Vehicle lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting.

Vehicle lighting fixtures are designed to form a light pattern on the road surface around the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). These vehicle lighting fixtures form a light pattern by arranging multiple symbols, such as arrows, in the direction of the optical axis, so that viewers can be informed of some intention.

WO2019/016943 publication

However, this vehicle lamp only arranges multiple symbols, making it difficult to increase the variety of intentions that can be conveyed through the illumination pattern.

This disclosure was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a vehicle lamp that can increase the variety of intentions that can be communicated through illumination patterns.

The vehicle lamp of the present disclosure comprises a light source, a light blocking member provided with an illumination slit that partially transmits light from the light source, and a projection lens that projects the light that has passed through the light blocking member to form an illumination pattern, and the illumination slit has a far slit portion that corresponds to a far illumination location projected at a far position in the illumination pattern, and a near slit portion that corresponds to a near illumination location projected at a near position in the illumination pattern, the far slit portion being shaped to resemble a symbol, and the near slit portion being shaped to resemble a letter.

The vehicle lamp disclosed herein can increase the variety of intentions that can be communicated through illumination patterns.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which vehicle lamps according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure are mounted on the front and rear of a vehicle and form respective illumination patterns; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle lamp. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an irradiation pattern projected onto a road surface. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a filter. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing how edge rounding avoidance correction is applied to the corner of the near slit portion, in which (a) shows a partially enlarged view of the position of the circle shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, and (b) shows how masking for edge rounding avoidance correction is applied to form the corner shown in (a).

Below, a first embodiment of a vehicle lamp 10 as an example of a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 10 is shown emphasized relative to the vehicle 1 in order to make it easier to understand how the vehicle lamp 10 is provided, and does not necessarily correspond to the actual appearance.

A vehicle lamp 10 according to a first embodiment of the vehicle lamp of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 10 according to the first embodiment is used as a lamp for a vehicle 1 such as an automobile, and is provided in the front of the vehicle 1 to form an irradiation pattern Pi on the road surface 2 in the vicinity in front of the vehicle 1, separate from the headlights provided on the vehicle 1. The vicinity in front of the vehicle 1 necessarily includes a nearby area closer to the vehicle 1 than the headlight area illuminated by the headlights provided on the vehicle 1, and may also include the headlight area partially. The vehicle lamp 10 is provided in the rear of the vehicle 1 to form an irradiation pattern Pi on the road surface 2 in the vicinity behind the vehicle 1. In the first embodiment, each vehicle lamp 10 is disposed at a position higher than the road surface 2 at the front and rear ends of the vehicle 1, and is provided with the projection optical axis Lp inclined with respect to the road surface 2. The two vehicle lamps 10 are basically the same except for the difference in the mounting position and the position where the illumination pattern Pi is formed. In the following description, in each vehicle lamp 10, the direction in which the projection optical axis Lp, which is the direction in which light is emitted, extends is the optical axis direction (referred to as Z in the drawings), the vertical direction when the optical axis direction is along a horizontal plane is the up-down direction (referred to as Y in the drawings), and the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction and the up-down direction (horizontal direction) is the width direction (referred to as X in the drawings) (see FIG. 2, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle lamp 10 is a projector-type road projection unit in which the light source unit 11, the condenser lens 12, the filter 13, and the projection lens 14 are housed in a housing 15 to form a single projection optical system. The housing 15 is composed of a semi-cylindrical lower member 15a and an upper member 15b, and the lower member 15a and the upper member 15b are fitted together with the installation base 16 in between, with the above-mentioned members (12 to 14) installed on the lower member 15a. The housing 15 is provided with a condenser lens groove 15c into which the condenser lens 12 is fitted, a filter groove (not shown) into which the filter 13 is fitted, and a projection lens groove 15d into which the projection lens 14 is fitted (only the lower member 15a side is shown).

In addition, in the housing 15, the lower member 15a is provided with fixing protrusions 15e in pairs in the width direction, and the upper member 15b is provided with fixing holes 15f in pairs in the width direction (both are only shown on the front side), so that each fixing protrusion 15e can be fitted into each fixing hole 15f. Furthermore, the housing 15 is provided with connecting protrusions 15g (only the upper side is shown) in pairs in the vertical direction. Note that the shape of the housing 15 may be set as appropriate and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

The installation base 16 is used to install the light source unit 11, and is made of thermally conductive aluminum die-cast or resin, and has an installation location 16a and a heat dissipation location 16b. The installation location 16a is where the light source unit 11 (its substrate 23) is installed, and is a flat plate perpendicular to the optical axis direction. The installation location 16a is provided with a connection wall 16c that surrounds the light source unit 11. The connection wall 16c is provided with connection holes 16d in pairs in the vertical direction, and each connection protrusion 15g of the housing 15, in which the lower member 15a and the upper member 15b are fitted together, is inserted into the corresponding connection hole 16d to connect to the housing 15. The heat dissipation location 16b functions as a heat sink that dissipates heat generated by the light source unit 11 to the outside. This heat dissipation location 16b has a plurality of heat dissipation fins 16e provided continuously to the installation location 16a. The heat dissipation point 16b dissipates heat generated by the light source unit 11 installed in the installation point 16a to the outside through each heat dissipation fin 16e.

The light source unit 11 has a first light source 21, a second light source 22, and a substrate 23 on which they are mounted. The first light source 21 and the second light source 22 are composed of light emitting elements such as LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). In the first embodiment, the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 emit white light (white light) with a Lambertian distribution centered on the emission optical axis. Note that the colors (wavelength bands), distribution patterns, number of colors, etc. of the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 may be set appropriately and are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The board 23 is attached to the installation location 16a of the installation base 16, and the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 are mounted on it. The board 23 is provided with a lighting control circuit, which supplies power appropriately to light the first light source 21 and the second light source 22. With the board 23 attached to the installation location 16a of the installation base 16, the housing 15 is connected to the connection wall 16c, so that the board 23 is positioned on the rear end side of the housing 15 (the end opposite the projection lens groove 15d in the optical axis direction) and faces the condenser lens 12 (its entrance surface) housed in the housing 15.

2, the condenser lens 12 condenses the light emitted from the first light source 21 and the second light source 22, and condenses the light around each slit portion 27 on the filter 13, which will be described later, i.e., the area on the filter 13 where each slit portion 27 is provided, including all the slit portions 27. In the first embodiment, the condenser lens 12 is basically a biconvex lens, and the entrance surface and the exit surface are free-form surfaces. The condenser lens 12 has flange portions 12a on both ends in the width direction. Each flange portion 12a can be fitted into the condenser lens groove 15c of the housing 15. When the flange portion 12a is fitted into the condenser lens groove 15c, the lens axis of the condenser lens 12 is aligned with the projection optical axis Lp.

The filter 13 is an example of a light-shielding member that partially transmits the light from the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 condensed by the condensing lens 12 to form the irradiation pattern Pi. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the irradiation pattern Pi has three irradiation points Li aligned at approximately equal intervals in a direction away from the vehicle 1. Here, when each irradiation point Li is individually shown, the one farthest from the vehicle 1 is the first irradiation point Li1, and the second irradiation point Li2 and the third irradiation point Li3 are arranged in order as they approach the vehicle 1. Therefore, in the irradiation pattern Pi, the first irradiation point Li1 is the farthest irradiation point, the third irradiation point Li3 is the near irradiation point, and the second irradiation point Li2 between them is the intermediate irradiation point. In the first embodiment, the first irradiation point Li1 and the second irradiation point Li2 are represented by symbols in a wide V-shape, with the first irradiation point Li1 being slightly larger. The third irradiation area Li3 is formed in the form of the letters "CAR" written using three alphabetical characters, and is formed in an area approximately the same size as the area in which the second irradiation area Li2 is formed.

This irradiation pattern Pi is formed on the road surface 2, which is the projection surface, by arranging the first irradiation point Li1, the second irradiation point Li2, and the third irradiation point Li3 in the arrow direction Da, while making them elongated in a direction perpendicular to the arrow direction Da described later. By arranging the first irradiation point Li1 and the second irradiation point Li2, the irradiation pattern Pi can be made to look like an arrow pointing from the vehicle 1 in the arrow direction Da, where the vertices of two V-shapes are lined up. In addition, since the irradiation pattern Pi uses the third irradiation point Li3 as a character, it can convey a different intention from the arrow. The direction in which the arrow of this irradiation pattern Pi points, that is, the direction in which the vertices of the V-shapes of both irradiation points (Li1, Li2) are lined up, is the arrow direction Da, and the side it points to (the first irradiation point Li1 side) is the front side of the arrow direction Da.

The first irradiation point Li1 has two side ends Lie located in a direction perpendicular to the arrow direction Da, which are straight lines that slope inward (toward the vehicle 1) toward the rear of the arrow direction Da. In other words, both side ends Lie of the first irradiation point Li1 are inclined inward with respect to the arrow direction Da. The irradiation pattern Pi consisting of these three irradiation points Li is formed by the filter 13.

As shown in FIG. 4, the filter 13 has a filter section 24 mounted on a filter frame section 25. The filter frame section 25 is a circular frame that surrounds the filter section 24 and can be fitted into the filter groove of the housing 15, and is attached to the housing 15 (see FIG. 1).

The filter section 24 is basically formed of a plate-like member that blocks the transmission of light, and the member is partially cut out to provide an irradiation slit 26 that penetrates the member. The irradiation slit 26 forms the irradiation pattern Pi into a predetermined shape by partially passing the light from the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 that is focused by the focusing lens 12. The irradiation slit 26 corresponds to the irradiation pattern Pi, and is composed of three slit sections 27 in Example 1.

These three slit portions 27 correspond one-to-one to the three irradiation points Li. Since the projection lens 14 inverts the filter 13 (irradiation slit 26) and projects it onto the road surface 2, each slit portion 27 is rotationally symmetrical about the projection optical axis Lp with respect to the positional relationship of each irradiation point Li of the irradiation pattern Pi (see Figures 3 and 4). Therefore, in each slit portion 27, the first slit portion 271 at the bottom in the vertical direction becomes a far slit portion corresponding to the first irradiation point Li1 (far irradiation point) of the irradiation pattern Pi. In addition, in each slit portion 27, the second slit portion 272 above it becomes an intermediate slit portion corresponding to the second irradiation point Li2 (intermediate irradiation point). And, in each slit portion 27, the third slit portion 273 at the top becomes a near slit portion corresponding to the third irradiation point Li3 (near irradiation point). The position of each slit portion 27 on the filter portion 24 is set so that each irradiation point Li has a targeted positional relationship on the road surface 2. In the filter 13 of Example 1, in the vertical direction, the third slit portion 273 is provided above the projection optical axis Lp, the second slit portion 272 is provided below that across the horizontal line including the projection optical axis Lp, and the first slit portion 271 is provided below that. The light transmitted through this filter 13 (each slit portion 27 of the irradiation slit 26) is projected onto the road surface 2 by the projection lens 14.

The first slit portion 271 and the second slit portion 272 are shaped to resemble a wide open V-shaped symbol, similar to the corresponding first irradiation point Li1 and second irradiation point Li2, and are inverted vertically and horizontally with respect to the first irradiation point Li1 and the second irradiation point Li2. The third slit portion 273 is shaped to resemble the three alphabetical characters "CAR" similar to the corresponding third irradiation point Li3, and is inverted vertically and horizontally. The three slit portions 27 are set in size and space according to the distance to the road surface 2 so that the irradiation points Li on the road surface 2 are approximately equally spaced with the size shown in FIG. 3 above. In detail, the vehicle lamp 10 is provided with a projection optical axis Lp inclined with respect to the road surface 2, so that the distances from the filter 13 and the projection lens 14 to the road surface 2 are different, and therefore when projected onto the road surface 2 by the projection lens 14, the slit portions 27 (the irradiation points Li, which are the light transmitted therethrough) are set in size and space according to the distance.

For this reason, the size and spacing of each slit portion 27 is set according to the distance to the road surface 2 so that each irradiation spot Li on the road surface 2 is approximately equally spaced and of the above-mentioned size. Specifically, in Example 1, the first slit portion 271 is shaped to resemble a thin V-shaped symbol, and the second slit portion 272 is shaped to resemble a V-shaped symbol that is thicker than the first slit portion 271, and each is made narrower in the width direction than the corresponding irradiation spot Li. Also, in Example 1, the third slit portion 273 is shaped to resemble the character string "CAR" curved and bulging away from the projection optical axis Lp.

In this way, the three slit sections 27 are different from each irradiation point Li, and are different in size and spacing from each other. In each slit section 27, the first slit section 271 has the smallest reduction ratio with respect to the corresponding irradiation point Li, and when the light that has passed through is projected onto the road surface 2, it is enlarged at the largest magnification to form the first irradiation point Li1. In addition, in each slit section 27, the third slit section 273 has the largest reduction ratio with respect to the corresponding irradiation point Li, and when the light that has passed through is projected onto the road surface 2, it is enlarged at the smallest magnification to form the third irradiation point Li3.

2, the projection lens 14 includes a lens body 28 that is a circular convex lens when viewed in the optical axis direction, and a flange 29 that surrounds the lens body 28. In the first embodiment, the entrance and exit surfaces of the lens body 28 are free-form surfaces that are convex. The lens body 28 projects the irradiation slits 26 (each slit 27) of the filter 13, forming an irradiation pattern Pi on the road surface 2 that is inclined with respect to the projection optical axis Lp, as shown in FIG. 1, etc. Note that the entrance and exit surfaces may be convex or concave as long as the lens body 28 is a convex lens, and are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The flange portion 29 protrudes from the lens body portion 28 in a radial direction centered on the lens axis, and extends around the entire circumference in a circumferential direction centered on the lens axis. The flange portion 29 can be fitted into the projection lens groove 15d of the housing 15. When the flange portion 29 is fitted into the projection lens groove 15d, the lens axis of the projection lens 14 is aligned with the projection optical axis Lp.

Next, the formation of the third slit portion 273 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. As the third slit portion 273 is shaped to resemble the three letters of the alphabet "CAR" as described above, it has a more complex shape than the first slit portion 271 and the second slit portion 272. For this reason, the third slit portion 273 requires higher formation accuracy than the first slit portion 271 and the second slit portion 272. As a result, the third slit portion 273 is designed to more accurately resemble the letters "CAR."

In detail, in the third slit portion 273, as shown in FIG. 5(a), which is a partial enlargement of the dashed-dotted circle in FIG. 4, each corner of each character is sharpened. Here, in the filter portion 24 of the filter 13 in Example 1, each slit portion 27 is provided by an etching method. In this etching method, if the filter portion 24 is masked to directly imitate the shape of each slit portion 27, the corners of each slit portion 27 after the etching process of the filter portion 24 will be rounded as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 5(a). For this reason, in the filter portion 24, correction is applied to each corner of the third slit portion 273 to avoid rounding of the edges (hereinafter also referred to as edge rounding avoidance correction).

In this rounded edge correction, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a convex portion 31 is formed at all corners of each character of the third slit portion 273 in the masking. The convex portion 31 is centered on the bisector 32 of the corresponding corner (its interior angle) and protrudes in the direction in which the bisector 32 extends, with the protruding end 31a protruding (positioned outside) beyond the apex of the corresponding corner. By forming the convex portion 31 at each corner in the masking, the filter portion 24 can make the corners of each slit portion 27 after the etching process sharp as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5(a). In this way, forming the convex portion 31 at each corner in the masking and then performing the etching process constitutes rounded edge correction.

This rounded edge correction has a lower limit on the size of the convex portion 31 that can achieve the above-mentioned sharpening effect, and therefore there is also a lower limit on the width dimension of the target slit. The lower limit on the width dimension of this slit is 0.2 mm. Here, the area that the third slit portion 273 occupies on the filter portion 24 is the largest of all the slit portions 27 of the filter portion 24, and can be larger than the lower limit of the width dimension. In other words, in the filter portion 24, the third slit portion 273 corresponding to the third irradiation location Li3, which is a character, is made the largest, making it possible to apply rounded edge correction.

The vehicle lamp 10 is assembled as follows, with reference to FIG. 2. First, the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 are mounted on the substrate 23 to assemble the light source unit 11, and the light source unit 11 is fixed to the installation location 16a to form the installation base 16. Then, in the lower member 15a of the housing 15, the condenser lens 12 is fitted into the condenser lens groove 15c, the filter 13 is fitted into the filter groove, and the projection lens 14 is fitted into the projection lens groove 15d. Then, the lower member 15a is fitted with the upper member 15b to form the housing 15, and each connection protrusion 15g of the housing 15 is inserted into the corresponding connection hole 16d, so that the housing 15 is connected to the installation base 16 via the connection wall 16c. As a result, the condenser lens 12, the filter 13, and the projection lens 14 are housed in the housing 15, and the light source unit 11 is connected to the housing 15. This allows the condenser lens 12, filter 13, and projection lens 14 to be arranged in a predetermined positional relationship in order from the light source unit 11 side on the projection optical axis Lp, and the vehicle lamp 10 is assembled.

Next, the operation of the vehicle lamp 10 will be described. The vehicle lamp 10 is provided with the projection optical axis Lp facing the front side of the vehicle 1 and tilted with respect to the road surface 2 around the vehicle 1, and the projection optical axis Lp facing the rear side of the vehicle 1 and tilted with respect to the road surface 2 around the vehicle 1. Each vehicle lamp 10 can be appropriately turned on and off by supplying power from the lighting control circuit to both light sources (21, 22) from the board 23. The light from both light sources (21, 22) is focused by the focusing lens 12 and irradiates the filter 13. On the filter 13, the second slit portion 272 is darker than the first slit portion 271, and the third slit portion 273 is darker than the second slit portion 272, and the brightness of each slit portion 27 in the width direction is approximately uniform. The light from both light sources (21, 22) passes through each slit 27 and is then projected by the projection lens 14 to form an irradiation pattern Pi on the road surface 2. The irradiation pattern Pi is formed by arranging three irradiation points Li in a substantially straight line, and each irradiation point Li has substantially the same brightness. In particular, in the vehicle lamp 10 of the first embodiment, since both light sources (21, 22) emit monochromatic light, the effect of chromatic aberration in the projection lens 14 can be significantly suppressed, and the irradiation pattern Pi, i.e., each irradiation point Li (each shape) can be made clear.

When the vehicle 1 is driven, for example, the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 of the two vehicle lamps 10 are turned on accordingly, forming an illumination pattern Pi on the road surface 2. This allows the vehicle lamps 10 to inform those in front of and behind the vehicle 1 that the vehicle 1 is in a driven state and may start moving. In addition, for example, the front vehicle lamp 10 forms an illumination pattern Pi on the road surface 2 when the vehicle 1 is in a forward gear, and the rear vehicle lamp 10 forms an illumination pattern Pi on the road surface 2 when the vehicle 1 is in a reverse gear. This allows each vehicle lamp 10 to inform those in front of or behind the vehicle 1 that the vehicle 1 is moving forward or backward or about to move.

Each vehicle lamp 10 has the third irradiation point Li3 of the irradiation pattern Pi formed as a character, so that the variety of intentions that can be conveyed to the occupant and those around can be greatly increased. The third irradiation point Li3 in the first embodiment is "CAR", so that the presence of the vehicle 1 can be conveyed to those around who are in a position where the vehicle 1 cannot be seen directly. Although the third irradiation point Li3 in the first embodiment is "CAR", for example, by making it the model name of the vehicle 1, it is possible to convey the intention of hospitality to the occupant and to appeal the model name to those around. In addition, by making the third irradiation point Li3 a greeting such as "HELLO", it is possible to put the occupant and those around at ease. The characters of the third irradiation point Li3 may be set as appropriate, and are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment or the above example.

In addition, each vehicle lamp 10 can instantly convey the intention to the viewer by making the first irradiation point Li1 and the second irradiation point Li2 symbols, and can also convey other intentions by making the third irradiation point Li3 a character. In other words, the vehicle lamp 10 can intuitively convey the intention by the symbol, and can also convey various intentions different from the symbol by the character. In addition, since the vehicle lamp 10 uses the first irradiation point Li1, which is located farthest from the vehicle 1, as a symbol, it can smoothly convey some intention to those around the vehicle 1. Furthermore, since the vehicle lamp 10 uses the third irradiation point Li3, which is located closest to the vehicle 1, as a character, even if the intention is aimed at the occupant, it can smoothly convey the intention to the occupant and suppress the sense of incongruity of those around the vehicle 1.

In addition, the vehicle lamp 10 has a first irradiation point Li1 that is larger than the second irradiation point Li2. Therefore, the vehicle lamp 10 can give the impression that the first irradiation point Li1 corresponds to the arrowhead in the arrow symbol and the second irradiation point Li2 corresponds to the shaft in the arrow symbol, and the impression of pointing to the arrow direction Da can be given with just two symbols. In particular, the vehicle lamp 10 has both side ends Lie of the first irradiation point Li1 inclined inward with respect to the arrow direction Da. Therefore, the vehicle lamp 10 can give a stronger impression that the first irradiation point Li1 corresponds to the arrowhead in the arrow symbol and can give a stronger impression of pointing to the arrow direction Da. This allows the vehicle lamp 10 to instantly recognize that the irradiation pattern Pi is pointing to the arrow direction Da to those around the vehicle 1.

The vehicle lamp 10 of the first embodiment can achieve the following effects:

In the vehicle lamp 10, the illumination slit 26 has a far slit portion (first slit portion 271) corresponding to the far illumination location (first illumination location Li1) and a near slit portion (third slit portion 273) corresponding to the near illumination location (third illumination location Li3). In the vehicle lamp 10, the far slit portion is shaped to resemble a symbol, and the near slit portion is shaped to resemble a letter. For this reason, the vehicle lamp 10 can intuitively convey an intention using a symbol, and can also convey a variety of intentions different from symbols using letters, thereby increasing the variety of intentions that can be communicated using the illumination pattern Pi.

The near slit portion (third slit portion 273) of the vehicle lamp 10 is shaped like a string of letters. This allows the vehicle lamp 10 to significantly increase the types of intentions that can be communicated by the near illumination area (third illumination area Li3) formed by the near slit portion.

The vehicle lamp 10 forms the illumination slit 26 by an etching method, and performs edge rounding avoidance correction on each corner of the near slit portion (third slit portion 273). Therefore, even if the near slit portion of the vehicle lamp 10 has a complex shape imitating characters, each corner can be sharpened and light can pass through to near the apex of each corner. As a result, the vehicle lamp 10 can improve the reproducibility of the shape of the near slit portion projected onto the road surface 2, and can make the characters in the near illumination area (third illumination area Li3) clear.

The vehicle lamp 10 is equipped with a focusing lens 12 that focuses the light emitted from the light source (21, 22) around the irradiation slit 26 in the light blocking member (filter 13). Therefore, the vehicle lamp 10 can focus the light emitted from the light source (21, 22) in the area where the irradiation slit 26 is provided in the light blocking member. This allows the vehicle lamp 10 to clearly form a distant irradiation area (first irradiation area Li1) and a near irradiation area (third irradiation area Li3) while efficiently using the light from the light source (21, 22).

The vehicle lamp 10 has an intermediate slit portion (second slit portion 272) in which the illumination slit 26 corresponds to the intermediate illumination location (second illumination location Li2). Therefore, by making the intermediate illumination location a symbol as in Example 1, the vehicle lamp 10 can communicate the intention more appropriately in cooperation with the symbol of the distant illumination location. In addition, by making the intermediate illumination location a letter, the vehicle lamp 10 can communicate more intentions in cooperation with the letter of the near illumination location.

In the vehicle lamp 10, the near slit portion (third slit portion 273) in the illumination slit 26 is the largest (occupied area). Therefore, the vehicle lamp 10 can appropriately form the near slit portion, which is made to have a complex shape by imitating characters, and the characters in the near illumination area (third illumination area Li3) by the light that passes through it can be made clear. In addition, by making the near slit portion (third slit portion 273) the largest, the vehicle lamp 10 can easily apply edge rounding avoidance correction to each corner, which has the effect of improving the reproducibility of the shape on the road surface 2.

Therefore, the vehicle lamp 10 of Example 1 as a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure can increase the variety of intentions that can be communicated by the illumination pattern Pi.

The vehicle lamp of the present disclosure has been described above based on Example 1, but the specific configuration is not limited to Example 1, and design changes and additions are permitted as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention according to each claim in the scope of the claims.

In the first embodiment, the three irradiation points Li are aligned at approximately equal intervals in the direction away from the vehicle 1 to form the irradiation pattern Pi. However, if the far-side irradiation point (first irradiation point Li1) by the far-side slit portion (first slit portion 271) is a symbol and the near-side irradiation point (third irradiation point Li3) by the near-side slit portion (third slit portion 273) is a character, the symbol design, the type of character, the position to be formed, the number of irradiation points Li, etc. can be appropriately set and are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment. In addition, the vehicle lamp 10 is provided at the front and rear of the vehicle 1 in the first embodiment, but may be housed in a door mirror, placed in a headlight lamp chamber or a taillight lamp chamber (lamp chambers on both the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle), or provided on the vehicle body as long as it is provided on the vehicle 1 according to the position to form the irradiation pattern with respect to the vehicle 1, and is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

In addition, in Example 1, the first light source 21 and the second light source 22 emit white light. However, the color of the light emitted from the light source can be set appropriately according to the location where it is installed and the content to be conveyed, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

Furthermore, in Example 1, a filter 13 that passes the light focused by the focusing lens 12 through the illumination slit 26 is used as the light blocking member. However, the light blocking member may have other configurations as long as it is provided with an illumination slit 26 that partially passes the light focused by the focusing lens 12, and is not limited to the configurations of the examples. As another configuration, for example, a plate-shaped film member that blocks the transmission of light can be provided with an illumination slit that partially transmits light, and used as a light blocking plate that transmits the light that has passed through the focusing lens 12 through the illumination slit.

In the first embodiment, the vehicle lamp 10 is provided in a vehicle 1 driven by a driver. However, the vehicle lamp may be provided in a vehicle having an automatic driving function, and is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment. In this case, the vehicle lamp only needs to form an illumination pattern at a timing according to the application for which it is provided, that is, at a timing according to some intention regarding the operation of the vehicle 1, and is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the light source unit 11 is provided on a mounting base 16 that functions as a heat sink (heat dissipation point 16b), and this mounting base 16 is configured to be connected to the housing 15. However, as long as the vehicle lamp forms an irradiation pattern by focusing light from the light source on a light-shielding member using a focusing lens and projecting it using a projection lens, the light source unit may be provided on the end of the housing or may have another configuration, and is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

In Example 1, an intermediate slit portion (second slit portion 272) is provided in the irradiation slit 26 of the light blocking member (filter 13) to form an intermediate irradiation point (second irradiation point Li2) as a symbol. However, as long as the vehicle lamp forms the far irradiation point (first irradiation point Li1) of the symbol with the far slit portion (first slit portion 271) and the near irradiation point (third irradiation point Li3) of the character with the near slit portion (third slit portion 273), the intermediate irradiation point (intermediate slit portion) may not be provided, and multiple intermediate irradiation points (intermediate slit portions) may be provided, and the configuration is not limited to Example 1. In addition, the intermediate irradiation point (intermediate slit portion) may be a character, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

In Example 1, the near irradiation point (third irradiation point Li3) formed by the near slit portion (third slit portion 273) is the three letters "CAR." However, as long as the near irradiation point (near slit portion) is a letter, the number of characters (including one character) and content can be set appropriately, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

10 Vehicle lamp 12 Condenser lens 13 Filter (as an example of a light blocking member) 14 Projection lens 21 First light source (as an example of a light source) 21 Second light source (as an example of a light source) 26 Irradiation slit 271 First slit portion (as an example of a far slit portion) 272 Second slit portion (as an example of an intermediate slit portion) 273 Third slit portion (as an example of a near slit portion) Li1 First irradiation location (as an example of a far irradiation location) Li2 Second irradiation location (as an example of an intermediate irradiation location) Li3 Third irradiation location (as an example of a near irradiation location) Pi Irradiation pattern

Claims (5)

A light source;
a light blocking member having an irradiation slit that partially passes light from the light source;
a projection lens that projects light that has passed through the light blocking member to form an irradiation pattern;
a single condenser lens that condenses the light emitted from the light source around the irradiation slit in the light blocking member,
The irradiation slit has a far slit portion corresponding to a far irradiation spot projected at a far position in the irradiation pattern, and a near slit portion corresponding to a near irradiation spot projected at a near position in the irradiation pattern,
The distal slit portion is shaped to resemble a symbol,
The near slit portion is shaped to resemble a letter ,
The condenser lens adjusts the brightness distribution on the light-shielding member so as to make the near slit portion darker than the far slit portion while making the brightness in the width direction at each portion approximately uniform . The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that the near slit portion is shaped like a string of letters. The irradiation slit is formed by an etching method,
3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the near slit portion has corners that are subjected to edge rounding correction to avoid rounding. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the illumination slit has an intermediate slit portion corresponding to an intermediate illumination location between the far illumination location and the near illumination location in the illumination pattern. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the irradiation slit is largest at the near slit portion.