WO2025173645A1 - Vehicle lighting fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a new technique for suppressing variations in the positions of cutoff lines of a plurality of light distribution patterns. A vehicle lighting fixture 10 comprises: a first light source 30a; a second light source 30b; a mounting part on which the first light source and the second light source are mounted; a shade 24 for blocking a part of first light emitted from the first light source; a shade 26 for blocking a part of second light emitted from the second light source; a first projection lens 12a for projecting the blocked first light to a first region below a horizontal line; a second projection lens 12b for projecting the blocked second light to a second region adjacent to and above the first region; and a control unit for controlling turning on and off of the first light source and the second light source. The control unit turns on the first light source and the second light source to form a first light distribution pattern including the first region and the second region.

Description

Vehicle lighting fixtures

The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting fixture.

Conventionally, a vehicle headlamp has been devised that forms a low-beam light distribution pattern by irradiating light from multiple lamp units (see Patent Document 1). This vehicle headlamp is configured to form a low-beam light distribution pattern as a composite light distribution pattern of three medium-diffusion light distribution patterns formed by irradiating light from three medium-diffusion lamp units, three concentrating light distribution patterns formed by irradiating light from three concentrating lamp units, and two wide-diffusion light distribution patterns formed by irradiating light from two wide-diffusion lamp units.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-166590

However, to precisely align the cutoff lines of the light distribution patterns formed by the separate lighting units, each lighting unit must be precisely fixed in a designated location within the lamp chamber, making installation and adjustment of each lighting unit a complex process.

The present invention was made in light of these circumstances, and one of its exemplary purposes is to provide a new vehicle lamp that reduces variation in the position of the cutoff lines of multiple light distribution patterns.

In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle lamp comprising: a first light source; a second light source; a mounting portion on which the first light source and the second light source are mounted; a first shade that blocks a portion of the first light emitted from the first light source; a second shade that blocks a portion of the second light emitted from the second light source; a first lens that projects the blocked first light onto a first region below the horizon; a second lens that projects the blocked second light onto a second region adjacent to and above the first region; and a control unit that controls the turning on and off of the first light source and the second light source. The control unit forms a first light distribution pattern that includes the first region and the second region by turning on the first light source and the second light source.

In this embodiment, the first light source and the second light source are mounted on the same mounting section, which reduces variation in the positions of the first and second regions.

The first cutoff line in the first region formed by the first shade and the second cutoff line in the second region formed by the second shade may have different shapes. This makes it possible to realize multiple light distribution patterns with different cutoff lines by controlling the on/off of the first light source and the second light source.

The device may further include a single holding member that holds both the first shade and the second shade. This reduces variation in the positions of the first cutoff line and the second cutoff line.

The first shade may be a plate-shaped member held by a holding member so that the plate surface is aligned horizontally relative to the vehicle, and the second shade may be a plate-shaped member held by a holding member so that the plate surface is aligned vertically relative to the vehicle.

The holding member may be a resin reflector that reflects a portion of the first light. This allows a portion of the first light to be used in the light distribution pattern.

The vehicle may further include a third light source having a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged in an array. The third light source is mounted on the mounting portion so as to be located lower than the first light source in a front view of the mounting portion seen from the front of the vehicle, the first shade blocks a portion of the third light emitted from the third light source, and the first lens projects the blocked third light onto a third region above the horizon, and the control unit may form a second light distribution pattern including the first region and the third region by turning on the first light source and the third light source. This makes it possible to form a second light distribution pattern that includes a region above the first light distribution pattern.

The control unit may form a third light distribution pattern that includes the first region and part of the third region by turning on only some of the multiple light-emitting elements of the third light source and turning off or dimming the second light source. This makes it possible to reduce the brightness near the second cutoff line when the third light distribution pattern is formed.

Any combination of the above components, or any transformation of the present invention into a manufacturing method, lighting fixture, lighting device, light-emitting module, light source, etc., is also valid as an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce variation in the position of the cutoff lines of multiple light distribution patterns.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 3 taken along line AA. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the optical paths of light emitted from each light source. Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing a second area formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with second light emitted from a second light source, Figure 6(b) is a schematic diagram showing a first area formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with first light emitted from a first light source, and Figure 6(c) is a schematic diagram showing a third illumination area formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with third light emitted from a third light source. Figure 7(a) is a diagram showing a low beam light distribution pattern PL that mainly illuminates an area below the horizon on a screen in front of the vehicle, and Figure 7(b) is a diagram showing a high beam light distribution pattern PH that mainly illuminates an area above the horizon on a screen in front of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a front view of the reflector as seen from the front of the vehicle. 9A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 8 including components in the vicinity of the reflector, and FIG. 9B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of region C of FIG. 9A.

The present invention will now be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted where appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle lamp according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a front view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A. The vehicle lamps shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are vehicle headlamps, and are configured to be able to form both low beam and high beam light distribution patterns.

The vehicle lamp 10 comprises a projection lens 12, a lens holder 14, a reflector 16, a circuit board 18, and a heat sink 20. The projection lens 12 is composed of two components: a first projection lens 12a located below and a second projection lens 12b located above, and controls the optical path of the light emitted from each light source. Each lens is attached to a predetermined position on the lens holder 14. Each lens is manufactured by injection molding using a highly transparent and heat-resistant resin material such as acrylic or polycarbonate. The lens holder 14 is fastened to the heat sink 20 with screws 22.

The reflector 16 is made of metal or resin material. It has a horizontally elongated base surface portion 16a facing the front-to-rear direction, openings 16b and 16c formed in the center of the reflector 16, side reflection portions 16d that protrude forward from both the left and right sides of the opening 16b, and an upper reflector 16e, the inner surface of the beam-shaped portion above the opening 16b serving as a reflective surface.

A shade 24, which is a plate-shaped member, is attached to the underside of the side reflecting portion 16d and protrudes forward from the lower edge of the opening 16b. The shade 24 is held by the reflector 16 so that its plate surface is aligned horizontally with respect to the vehicle. A shade 26, which is a plate-shaped member, is attached to the base surface portion 16a. The shade 26 is also a plate-shaped member that is held by the reflector 16 so that its plate surface is aligned vertically with respect to the vehicle. The vehicle lamp 10 according to this embodiment further includes a shade 28. The shade 28 is a plate-shaped member that blocks light that passes through the opening 16b and travels diagonally upward, and blocks light that passes through the opening 16c and travels diagonally downward. In this embodiment, the shade 26 and the shade 28 are a single member arranged in an L-shape, but the shade 26 and the shade 28 may also be separate members.

The circuit board 18 has a first light source 30a consisting of a plurality of light-emitting elements 28a arranged in a horizontal row to form a first region of the low-beam light distribution pattern, a second light source 30b consisting of a plurality of light-emitting elements 28b arranged in a horizontal row to form a second region of the low-beam light distribution pattern, a third light source 30c consisting of a plurality of light-emitting elements 28c arranged in a horizontal row to form a high-beam light distribution pattern, and a drive circuit (not shown) that drives each light-emitting element.

The third light source 30c is located adjacent to the first light source 30a. The first light source 30a is located on the upper level, and the third light source 30c is located on the lower level. The drive circuit is a combination of passive elements such as capacitors and coils, active elements such as transistors and diodes, IC chips, memory, etc., and functions as a control unit that controls the on/off of the first light source 30a, second light source 30b, and third light source 30c. The circuit board 18 is a mounting part on which each light source is mounted, and is fixed in a predetermined position on the heat sink 20. In other words, the circuit board 18 and heat sink 20 are also an integrated mounting part.

A lens plate 32 is arranged in front of the first light source 30a and the third light source 30c to collect and partially block the light emitted from the first light source 30a and the third light source 30c. Furthermore, a lens plate 34 is arranged in front of the second light source 30b to collect the light emitted from the second light source 30b. The lens plate 32 and the lens plate 34 are sandwiched between the reflector 16 and the circuit board 18. In this state, the positional relationship of each component is determined by fastening the reflector 16 to the heat sink 20 with screws 36.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the optical paths of light emitted from each light source. Note that some components of the vehicle lamp 10 have been omitted or modified to the extent that it does not affect the explanation. The first light L1 emitted from the first light source 30a is partially blocked by the shade 24. The first projection lens 12a projects the blocked first light L1 onto a first region below the horizon. The second light L2 emitted from the second light source 30b is partially blocked by the shade 26. The second projection lens 12b projects the blocked second light L2 onto a second region below the horizon.

FIG. 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing a second region formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with second light emitted from a second light source, FIG. 6(b) is a schematic diagram showing a first region formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with first light emitted from a first light source, and FIG. 6(c) is a schematic diagram showing a third illumination region formed by illuminating the area in front of the vehicle with third light emitted from a third light source. FIG. 7(a) is a diagram showing a low-beam light distribution pattern PL that mainly illuminates an area below the horizon on a screen in front of the vehicle, and FIG. 7(b) is a diagram showing a high-beam light distribution pattern PH that mainly illuminates an area above the horizon on a screen in front of the vehicle.

The first region R1 shown in FIG. 6(b) has a first cutoff line C1. The second region R2 shown in FIG. 6(a) is adjacent to and above the first region R1 and has a second cutoff line C2. The control unit according to this embodiment turns on the first light source 30a and the second light source 30b, thereby forming a low-beam light distribution pattern including the first region R1 and the second region R2, as shown in FIG. 7(a).

In the vehicle lamp 10 according to this embodiment, the first light source 30a and the second light source 30b are mounted on the same circuit board 18 (heat sink 20), so variations in the positions of the first region R1 and the second region R2 can be reduced, as in the low beam light distribution pattern PL shown in Figure 7(a).

Furthermore, in the vehicle lamp 10, the first cutoff line C1 in the first region R1 formed by the shade 24 and the second cutoff line C2 in the second region R2 formed by the shade 26 have different shapes. This makes it possible to realize multiple light distribution patterns with different cutoff lines by controlling the on/off of the first light source 30a and the second light source 30b.

Furthermore, the reflector 16 in this embodiment holds both the shade 24 and the shade 26. This makes it possible to reduce variation in the positions of the first cutoff line C1 and the second cutoff line C2. Furthermore, the reflector 16 may be a resin reflector that reflects part of the first light L1. The reflective surface of the reflector 16 is formed with, for example, a metal film. This makes it possible to use part of the first light L1 in the light distribution pattern.

As described above, the vehicle lamp 10 according to this embodiment further includes a third light source 30c in which a plurality of light-emitting elements 28c are arranged in an array. The third light source 30c is mounted on the circuit board 18 so as to be positioned below the first light source 30a in a front view of the circuit board 18 seen from the front of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5, the shade 24 blocks a portion of the third light L3 emitted from the third light source 30c. The first projection lens 12a projects the blocked third light L3 onto a third region (FIG. 6(c)) above the horizon.

The control unit according to this embodiment forms a high beam light distribution pattern PH that includes the first region R1 and the third region R3 by turning on the first light source 30a and the third light source 30c. This allows the formation of a high beam light distribution pattern PH that includes an area above the low beam light distribution pattern PL.

Furthermore, the control unit can form a variable light distribution pattern PH' that includes the first region R1 and a portion of the third region R3 by turning on the first light source 30a, turning on only a portion of the multiple light-emitting elements 28c of the third light source 30c, and turning off or dimming the second light source 30b. As a result, when the variable light distribution pattern PH' is formed, the brightness near the second cutoff line C2 can be reduced.

In this way, in the vehicle lamp 10 according to this embodiment, the light sources that illuminate the first region R1, second region R2, and third region R3 are mounted on the same circuit board 18, and in addition, the shades are also held by the same reflector 16, thereby reducing variation in the position of the cutoff lines of multiple light distribution patterns.

Figure 8 is a front view of the reflector as seen from the front of the vehicle. Figure 9(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B including components near the reflector shown in Figure 8, and Figure 9(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of area C in Figure 9(a).

The thermal crimping portion 38 shown in Figure 8 is formed by melting and fixing a pin 16g provided on the base surface portion 16a of the reflector 16 while the pin 16g is inserted into a positioning hole in the shade 26. The thermal crimping portion 40 is formed by melting and fixing a pin (not shown) provided on the underside of the side reflecting portion 16d of the reflector 16 while the pin is inserted into a positioning hole in the shade 24. This allows the shade 24 and shade 26 to be fixed to the reflector 16 without using screws, making it possible to reduce the size of each shade.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lens plate 32 and lens plate 34 are fixed in a state where they are pressed against the circuit board 18 on the back surface of the reflector 16. In this case, it is preferable that the pressed portion 34a of the lens plate 34 is positioned away from the direct back of the pin 16g when viewed from the front of the reflector 16. If the reflector 16 is a resin molded product, a depression due to sink may occur on the back surface of the pin 16g, and if this depression overlaps the position of the pressed portion 34a, the pressing force with which the reflector 16 presses the lens plate 34 against the circuit board 18 will be weakened.

(Modification)
In the above-described vehicle lamp 10, both the shade 24 and the shade 26 are attached to the reflector 16, but the shade 26 may be disposed in front of the second light source 30b via another component.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and appropriate combinations or substitutions of the configurations of the embodiments are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, it is possible to appropriately rearrange the combinations and processing orders in the embodiments, and to make various design changes and other modifications to the embodiments, and embodiments with such modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention.

This international application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-022385, filed on February 16, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The above descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for illustrative purposes. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms described. Numerous modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

10 Vehicle lighting fixture, 12 Projection lens, 12a First projection lens, 12b Second projection lens, 14 Lens holder, 16 Reflector, 16a Base surface portion, 16b Opening, 16c Opening, 16d Side reflection portion, 16e Upper reflector, 16g Pin, 18 Circuit board, 20 Heat sink, 24 Shade, 26 Shade, 28a Light-emitting element, 28b Light-emitting element , 28c: light-emitting element, 30a: first light source, 30b: second light source, 30c: third light source, 32: lens plate, 34: lens plate, 34a: pressed portion, 38: thermally caulked portion, 40: thermally caulked portion, C1: first cutoff line, C2: second cutoff line, L1: first light, L2: second light, L3: third light, R1: first region, R2: second region, R3: third region.

Claims (7)

a first light source;
a second light source; and
a mounting portion on which the first light source and the second light source are mounted;
a first shade that blocks a portion of the first light emitted from the first light source;
a second shade that blocks a portion of the second light emitted from the second light source;
a first lens that projects the blocked first light onto a first region below the horizon;
a second lens that projects the blocked second light onto a second area adjacent to and above the first area;
a control unit that controls turning on and off the first light source and the second light source,
The control unit forms a first light distribution pattern including the first region and the second region by turning on the first light source and the second light source. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that the first cutoff line in the first region formed by the first shade and the second cutoff line in the second region formed by the second shade have different shapes. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a single holding member that holds both the first shade and the second shade. the first shade is a plate-shaped member and is held by the holding member so that a plate surface thereof is aligned along a horizontal direction of the vehicle;
4. The vehicle lamp according to claim 3, wherein the second shade is a plate-like member, and is held by the holding member so that a plate surface thereof is aligned in a vertical direction of the vehicle. The vehicle lamp according to claim 3, wherein the holding member is a resin reflector that reflects a portion of the first light. Further provided is a third light source in which a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in an array,
the third light source is mounted on the mounting portion so as to be located lower than the first light source in a front view of the mounting portion seen from the front of the vehicle,
the first shade blocks a portion of the third light emitted from the third light source;
the first lens projects the blocked third light onto a third region above the horizon;
3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the control unit forms a second light distribution pattern including the first region and the third region by turning on the first light source and the third light source. The vehicle lamp described in claim 6, characterized in that the control unit forms a third light distribution pattern including the first region and a portion of the third region by turning on only a portion of the plurality of light-emitting elements of the third light source and turning off or dimming the second light source.