KR20130043936A - Infrared ray transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are an infrared irradiation device for simultaneously irradiating visible light through a reflector and a condenser lens, and a vehicle head lamp including the infrared irradiation device. The infrared irradiation device may include a first light source for irradiating infrared rays downwardly, at least one second light source for irradiating visible light simultaneously with the first light source, and at least one of the irradiated infrared light and visible light positioned under the first light source And a reflector reflecting the light and an aspherical lens through which at least one of the reflected infrared light and visible light passes, wherein the reflector has a first focus and a second focus, and the first light source is positioned at the first focus.

Description

Infrared Ray Transmission Device

The present invention relates to an infrared irradiation device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an infrared irradiation device that prevents red from appearing when irradiating infrared rays for monitoring an object in front of the night driving.

In general, a vehicle is provided with various vehicle lamps having a lighting function for easily checking an object located around the vehicle at night and a signal function for notifying other vehicles or road users of the driving state of the vehicle. At this time, the headlights for night driving of the vehicle includes a high beam and a low beam, when using a high brightness that is relatively bright and can distantly cause a glare to the opposite vehicle driver. Accordingly, it is recommended to drive using only a low beam for safety when driving at night, but it is difficult to drive using only a low beam at night in a dark place such as a country road.

Recently, an optical module for night vision system that collects infrared rays reflected by an object in front of the vehicle and obtains information on the situation in front of the vehicle to irradiate infrared rays to the front of the vehicle to secure the vision when driving at night. It is also used. Here, the night vision system is a system for reinforcing the safety of night driving by applying thermal-imaging to a car to secure the driver's vision during night driving. Night vision systems generally irradiate the front of the vehicle with infrared rays, and a special infrared surveillance camera mounted on the rear of the front grille photographs the front object of the vehicle and displays it as an image image on the head-up display. It allows you to identify objects in front of the ship.

However, since the infrared ray may also contain a small amount of red visible light when it is emitted from the light source in its light emission characteristics, a phenomenon in which the lens appears red when the infrared ray is irradiated through the condenser lens may occur. In many countries, the use of red light as headlights is restricted by law because headlights can be mistaken for taillights or brake lights.

In addition, there is no device that can use the night vision system using the above infrared light as the high beam in the driving state that should use the high beam.

An object of the present invention is to provide an infrared irradiation device that can be irradiated with infrared light emitted from the IRED light source through the reflector and the condenser lens so as not to be red, and irradiating the infrared light with a path similar to the vehicle's uplight. will be.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention, irradiating infrared rays for the night vision system used in the night driving on the front of the vehicle, it does not have a red light is not mistaken as taillights or brake lights, and the night vision system to the uplight of the vehicle It is to provide a replaceable vehicle headlamp.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other matters not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The infrared irradiation device of the present invention for solving the above problems is a first light source for irradiating the infrared light in the downward direction, at least one second light source for irradiating visible light at the same time with the first light source, located below the first light source A reflector reflecting at least one of irradiated infrared rays and visible light, and an aspherical lens through which at least one of reflected infrared rays and visible light passes, wherein the reflector has a first focus and a second focus, and the first light source is Located at the first focal point.

In addition, the vehicle headlamp of the present invention for solving the above problems includes one or more infrared irradiation device including the first light source, the second light source, the reflector and the aspherical lens.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the infrared irradiation device of the present invention, by irradiating white visible light from the infrared rays generated from the IRED and the white LED adjacent to the infrared light source, it is possible to provide an infrared irradiation device that makes the red light contained in the infrared light inconspicuous to the human. . In addition, by providing an infrared irradiating device module including a light source, a reflector and a lens such as IRED and LED, it is possible to use the infrared irradiating device in various types of devices through an appropriate combination of the module, and to target the intensity of the irradiated infrared light. It can be configured to suit the purpose.

In addition, according to the vehicle headlamp of the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle headlamp that includes a night vision system through infrared rays and is not mistaken for taillights or brake lights.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view seen from the side of an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the infrared irradiation device having the structure as shown in FIG. 1.
3 is a plan cross-sectional view of an infrared irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a partial cross-sectional view seen from the side of the infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a partial perspective view of an infrared irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen from the side of the infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view showing an infrared irradiation module including an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a vehicle headlamp including an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. Also, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise.

1 and 2 show side cross-sectional and plan cross-sectional views, respectively, of an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1 and 2, the infrared irradiation device of the present invention has a first light source 100 for irradiating the infrared light, a second light source 200 for irradiating visible light, two focal points of the infrared and visible light It includes a reflector 300 for reflecting at least one and an aspherical lens 400 for passing at least one of the reflected infrared and visible light.

Infrared irradiation apparatus according to the present invention may be composed of a projector-type optical system, the projector-type optical system, the light irradiated by the light source is reflected by a reflector to collect at different points after passing through the lens and the reflected light It refers to an optical system that refracts or condenses. The reflector generally has an oval having two focal points. When the light is irradiated by placing a light source at one of the two focal points, the irradiated light is reflected by the inner surface of the reflector, and then the elliptical reflector Are collected at different focal positions and irradiated out through the lens.

In the infrared irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in the process of irradiating infrared rays using the projector-type optical system, by irradiating the visible light of white together with the red light that can be seen when the infrared light passes through the lens through the white light Offset. In the infrared irradiation device of the present invention, unlike the reflector-type optical system irradiated with the reflected light is not gathered in one place, the infrared irradiation device of the present invention uses an optical system of the projector type to reflect the light collected at one place to the outside through the lens In addition, efficient infrared irradiation to a long distance is possible through a light source that outputs infrared rays with the same intensity. That is, the same light source can be used to reach the farther distance, and since the emitted infrared light is focused twice through the elliptical reflector and the lens, the infrared light with higher intensity can be output than when using the reflector type optical system. have.

When the infrared irradiation device using the projector type optical system as described above is used as part of the night vision system, the infrared light source having the same output can be used to irradiate higher intensity infrared rays farther, so that the shape of the object farther away Can be identified more accurately. In addition, it is possible to use an infrared light source having a smaller output than conventional infrared light emitters having the same vision performance, thereby reducing power consumption.

As shown in FIG. 1, the infrared irradiation apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first light source 100 for irradiating infrared rays downward and at least one second light source for irradiating visible light simultaneously with the first light source 100 ( 200). In this case, the first light source 100 may be an infrared red emitting diode (IRED) emitting light in the infrared region, and the second light source 200 may be a white LED emitting white visible light. In general, LEDs are known to have the advantage of having a high degree of design freedom because they can reduce fatigue and minimize size.

The first light source 100 preferably has an elliptical shape and is positioned at one of two focal points of the reflector 300 having the first focal point and the second focal point, and irradiates infrared rays downwardly. The infrared rays irradiated from the first light source 100 are reflected by the reflector 300 and collected at the second focal point, and are then refracted to pass through the aspherical lens 400 toward the outside of the infrared irradiation device of the present invention.

In the infrared irradiating apparatus of the present invention, the infrared light source 100 and the reflector 300 are disposed downwardly, and the infrared light source 100 and the reflecting mirror 300 are disposed downwards, and the infrared light of high intensity can be irradiated far away through a path similar to a high beam that is used as a high beam for the headlamp of the vehicle. Can be. If the infrared light source 100 and the reflector 300 are disposed upward, the infrared rays refracted by the aspherical lens 400 after the infrared rays are reflected by the reflector 300 are directed downward of the plane where the light source is located. Even if the infrared irradiation device is located above the vehicle headlamp, the infrared irradiation device irradiates infrared rays in a path similar to a downlight.

The second light source 200 is turned on when the first light source 100 emits infrared light to emit visible light. As the visible light irradiated by the second light source 200 is transmitted through the aspherical lens 400 together with the infrared light, the red light which may be included in the infrared light is not visible due to the mixing action of the light. The second light source 200 may preferably emit white visible light, but may also emit visible light of a different color. In detail, the second light source 200 may be a light source for green and blue visible light instead of red if the light may optically cancel red light, or a light source for visible light having red complementary colors (cyan). It may be.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the second light source 200 may be disposed adjacent to the first light source 100 on the same plane as the first light source 100 positioned at the first focal point of the reflector 300. . In this case, the second light source 200 also irradiates visible light downward, and the visible light irradiated from the second light source 200 is reflected by the reflector 300 and then is irradiated from the first light source 100 similarly. It may be refracted through the aspherical lens 400.

The second light source 200 is preferably positioned in contact with the first light source 100 so that there is no empty space between the first light source 100, or the empty between the first light source 100 or the first light source 100. If the space exists to exist, it may be located inside a circle of 1 cm in diameter with respect to the first light source 100. However, the distance between the first light source 100 and the second light source 200 is not limited to the above numerical value, and it can be recognized that the second light source 200 is located adjacent to the first light source 100. It can include all of the distance to have.

If the positions of the first light source 100 and the second light source 200 do not coincide with each other, the focus of visible light emitted through the aspherical lens 400 may be different from that of infrared light. However, since the purpose of irradiating visible light in the infrared irradiation device of the present invention is to cancel the red light which may be included in the infrared, the focus of the visible light does not need to coincide with the focus of the infrared ray in order to achieve the object of the present invention. However, if the two types of irradiated light are adjacent to each other, the red light included in the infrared light may be more efficiently canceled, and therefore, the second light source 200 may be as close to the first light source 100 as possible.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the second light source 200 may be positioned in a line with the first light source 100 positioned at the focal point of the reflector 300, that is, the first light source (ie, the first light source). 100), and preferably on a straight line passing through the second focal point. The reflector 300 is usually formed symmetrically with respect to a straight line passing through two foci of the reflector 300. Accordingly, when the visible light emitted from the second light source 200 not located at the first focal point is reflected by the reflector 300, the second light source 200 is located on the straight line, compared to the case otherwise. Large amounts of visible light can be reflected towards the near second focal point. As a result, visible light reflected by the reflector 300 may be incident on the aspherical lens at a higher rate.

Figure 3 shows a plan cross-sectional view of the infrared irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, two or more second light sources 200, 210, 220, and 230 may be positioned on a circumference around the first light source 100. The diameter of the circle including the circumference is preferably within 1 cm, but is not limited thereto. In FIG. 3, four second light sources 200, 210, 220, and 230 are illustrated around the first light source 100. However, the second light sources may be more or less than this, and are densely arranged along the circumference. It can also be achieved.

Since the plurality of second light sources 200, 210, 220, 230 are arranged around the first light source 100, the second light sources 200, 210, 220, 230 are not positioned at the focal point of the reflector 300. The loss of reflected light generated can be compensated for. In addition, by including a plurality of visible light sources, there is an effect that it is possible to more easily reach the intensity of light that the visible light output in order to cancel the red light included in the infrared light.

As shown in FIG. 1, the infrared irradiation apparatus according to the present invention includes a reflector 300 and an aspherical lens 400. As described above, the reflector 300 reflects the infrared and visible light irradiated from the first light source 100 and the second light source 200 toward the aspherical lens 400, respectively. The reflector 300 has two foci of the first focal point and the second focal point, and for this purpose, the reflector 300 is preferably elliptical. At this time, the first light source 100 is positioned at one of the two foci of the reflector 300 (the first focus), and the infrared rays irradiated from the first light source 100 are reflected by the reflector 300 and reflected. Points to another focal point (second focal point) located in front of the reflector 300.

However, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since the second light source 200 is not positioned at the same position as the first light source, the reflecting surface curvature of the reflector 300 may include an infrared radiation path and an angle of the first light source 100. In addition to the emission characteristics of the visible light emission characteristics of the second light source 200 may be optimized in consideration of all.

The aspherical lens 400 refracts the infrared and visible light reflected from the reflector 300 and collected at the second focal point so that the infrared and visible light can be secondly focused. For this purpose, the focal point of the aspherical lens 400 is preferably coincident with the second focal point of the reflector 300. The aspherical lens 400 included in the infrared irradiation apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may have a plane in which infrared rays and visible light are incident and a convex aspherical surface in the other surface, and the incident surface may be circular.

Meanwhile, an infrared irradiation apparatus according to other embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

4 and 5 show an infrared irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, at least two of the one or more second light sources 200 and 210 included in the infrared irradiation apparatus of the present invention are incident on the aspherical lens 400 along the circumference of the incident surface of the aspherical lens 400. It can be positioned in a ring position around the perimeter of (ring position). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of second light sources 200, 210, and 220 may be densely arranged around the aspherical lens 400 having a circular incident surface to form an annular shape.

The role of the aspherical lens 400 in the projector type optical system is to collect light secondary and to concentrate the distant place. The reason for irradiating the visible light by including the second light source to the infrared irradiation device according to the present embodiment is not to irradiate visible light to the same place and area as the infrared light, but to prevent the infrared light passing through the aspherical lens 400 from appearing in red. It is to offset the red light.

Therefore, if the red light included in the infrared light can be canceled by mixing with the visible light when observed from the outside of the infrared irradiation device, the second light sources 200 and 210 may be positioned so that the visible light passes through the aspherical lens 400 after reflection. It is not necessary, rather, since visible light does not pass through the aspherical lens 400, visible light emitted from the second light sources 200 and 210 may be spread more widely, thereby effectively masking the red light included in the infrared light.

Referring to FIG. 6, the infrared irradiation apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment may further include a fixing part 500 that fixes the first light source 100 to the bottom surface. The fixing part 500 is positioned above the reflector 300, and the first light source 100 radiates infrared rays toward the reflecting surface inside the reflector 300 by the first light source 100 irradiating infrared rays downward. ). In this case, the second light source 200 may be fixed to the reflector 300 instead of the fixing part 500 to irradiate visible light upward toward the fixing part 500, and the fixing part 500 may be fixed. It may be made of a material that reflects visible light so that at least a portion of the visible light irradiated toward the government 500 may be reflected back to the reflector 300. As shown in FIG. 6, the visible light reflected by the fixing part 500 is reflected back by the reflector 300 and directed to the aspherical lens 400.

When the second light source 200 irradiates visible light toward the fixing part 500, the visible light is preferably irradiated toward the first light source 100. When the visible light is irradiated toward the fixing part 500 including the first light source 100, scattering of the visible light is generated by the surface of the first light source 100, and the visible light is applied to the fixing part 500 and the reflector 300. By reflecting twice by, the mixing action of light with infrared rays can be more actively generated. As a result, the red light contained in infrared rays can be canceled more efficiently.

7 shows an infrared irradiation module 10 including an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. To this end, the infrared irradiation device according to the present invention may further include a fixed frame 600 as shown in FIG. The fixed frame 600 includes the first light source 100 and the second light source such that the first light source 100, the second light source 200, the reflector 300, and the aspherical lens 400 form one unit module 10. The light source 200, the reflector 300, and the aspherical lens 400 are fixed. FIG. 7 shows an infrared irradiation module 10 comprising components of the invention according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The fixing frame 600 fixes each element such that the first light source 100, the second light source 200, the reflector 300, and the aspherical lens 400 form a projector type optical system, and at the same time, a case for the optical system. Can play the role of at the same time. The infrared irradiation apparatus of the present invention functions as one module 10 by the fixed frame 600, so that the intensity of infrared rays irradiated by adjusting the number of the modules 10 is required for the apparatus to be included in the infrared irradiation apparatus. It can be easily adjusted according to the infrared intensity, and also the module 10 can be appropriately arranged and its shape can be appropriately adjusted according to various shapes of the device in which the module 10 is included.

8 shows a vehicle headlamp including an infrared irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle headlamp according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention simultaneously radiates infrared rays downward and simultaneously with the first light source 100 and the first light source 100 positioned at the first focal point of the reflector 300 having two focal points. At least one second light source 200 for irradiating visible light, a reflector 300 positioned below the first light source 100 to reflect at least one of infrared light and visible light, and at least one of the reflected infrared light and visible light is passed through. At least one infrared irradiation device including the aspherical lens 400 is included.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the components are modularized by the fixed frame 600, so that the plurality of modules 10 are operated so that each module 10 operates as one infrared irradiation device. It may be included in a vehicle headlamp.

As the headlamp for a vehicle according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an infrared irradiation device that simultaneously irradiates visible light, the aspherical lens 400 may not be visible in red even when infrared rays pass through the aspherical lens 400. As a result, the headlamp for a vehicle may be used as a headlamp of a vehicle including an infrared irradiation device, and when driving at night, the driver may support a night vision function to the driver through the infrared irradiation device to ensure safer driving.

In addition, the infrared rays passing through the aspherical lens 400 after being reflected through the infrared light source 100 and the reflector 300 disposed downward are directed upwards than the plane where the light source 100 is located, and the infrared light is emitted using the above characteristics. The night vision system used can replace the high beam. The headlamp for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses an infrared night vision system as an uplight, thereby ensuring sufficient visibility for the driver without causing glare to the driver of the opposite vehicle even in a driving environment requiring uplight.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. I can understand that. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof are included in the scope of the present invention Should be interpreted.

10: infrared irradiation module 100: first light source
200: second light source 300: reflector
400: aspherical lens

Claims (10)

A first light source for irradiating infrared rays downward;
At least one second light source that emits visible light together with the first light source;
A reflector positioned below the first light source and reflecting at least one of the irradiated infrared rays and visible light; And
Including an aspherical lens through which at least one of the reflected infrared and visible light passes,
The reflector has a first focus and a second focus,
And the first light source is located at the first focal point. The method according to claim 1,
The first light source and the second light source is an infrared light emitting device (LED). The method according to claim 1,
And the second light source is adjacent to the first light source, irradiates the visible light downward, and the reflector is located below the second light source to reflect the visible light. The method of claim 3,
One of the one or more second light sources is positioned on a straight line passing through the first focal point and the second focal point. The method of claim 3,
At least two of the one or more second light sources are located on a circumference around the first light source. The method according to claim 1,
At least two of the one or more second light sources are positioned along the circumference of the aspherical lens incident surface. The method of claim 6,
And the at least two second light sources form an annular shape along the circumference of the aspherical lens incidence surface. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first light source is located on the lower surface further comprises a fixing portion provided on the upper of the reflector,
The second light source is positioned on an upper surface of the reflector to irradiate the visible light to the fixed part;
And the fixing part reflects at least a portion of the visible light. The method according to claim 1,
The first light source, the second light source, the first light source, the second light source, the reflector, and the aspherical lens to form one unit module,
Infrared irradiation apparatus further comprising a fixing frame for fixing the reflector and the aspherical lens. A first light source for irradiating infrared rays downward;
At least one second light source that emits visible light together with the first light source;
A reflector positioned below the first light source and reflecting at least one of the irradiated infrared rays and visible light; And
Including an aspherical lens through which at least one of the reflected infrared and visible light passes,
The reflector has a first focus and a second focus,
And the first light source comprises one or more infrared irradiation devices positioned at a first focal point of the reflector.

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