JP2010067372A - Infrared light irradiation lamp for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a red color of red light emitted from a light-emitting device inconspicuous in an infrared light irradiation lamp for a vehicle which uses the light-emitting device for infrared light as a light source. <P>SOLUTION: The infrared light irradiation lamp for the vehicle includes a light-emitting diode 12 for infrared light which emits infrared light around the vehicle, a light-emitting diode 14 for white light which emits the white light around the vehicle, and a reflector 20 having a reflecting surface where surface vapor deposition is applied and formed by a transparent member. Either of the light-emitting diode 12 for infrared light and the light-emitting diode 14 for white light is arranged at a focal point of the reflecting surface, and is arranged by coming closer to the reflector so as to make the other diode emit the light into the transparent member. Furthermore, the reflecting surface is formed so as to make the light in the transparent member leakage from at least part of the reflecting surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an infrared light irradiation lamp for a vehicle, and more particularly to a structure of a light emitting element and a reflector of the irradiation lamp.

  In general, a vehicle headlamp apparatus can switch between a low beam and a high beam. The low beam illuminates the neighborhood with a predetermined illuminance, and the light distribution regulation is determined so as not to give glare to the oncoming vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and is mainly used when traveling in an urban area. On the other hand, the high beam illuminates a wide area in front and a distant area with a relatively high illuminance, and is mainly used when traveling at high speed on a road with few oncoming vehicles and preceding vehicles.

  The high beam is more visible to the driver than the low beam, but glare is given to the driver of the vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the “front vehicle”). In order to avoid this, a smart beam system is known that has a high / low switchable lamp that switches between high beam and low beam by driving a movable shade by a solenoid and automatically switches between high beam and low beam according to the surroundings of the vehicle. ing. In a vehicle having such a smart beam system, an infrared projector may be provided in the headlamp in order to know the situation ahead of the vehicle. Based on the reflected light from the infrared projector, the high beam is projected when the preceding vehicle is not present, and is automatically switched to the low beam when the preceding vehicle is present. Thereby, it is possible to select a high beam as much as possible and ensure a good field of view without giving glare to the preceding vehicle.

As an infrared projector as described above, Patent Document 1 includes an LED lamp that emits infrared light and a projector unit, and the LED lamp tilts the optical axis so that almost all of the projection angle reaches the reflecting surface of the projector unit. An infrared projector for an attached infrared night vision device is disclosed.
JP 2002-219994 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the light from the infrared LED lamp is reflected by the reflecting surface of the light projecting unit, the red light emitted from the LED lamp is visible from the front of the infrared projector.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make a red light from a light emitting element inconspicuous in a vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp using a light emitting element for infrared light as a light source. Is to provide.

  One embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp. This lamp is formed of a transparent member having a light emitting element for infrared light for projecting infrared light to the periphery of the vehicle, a light emitting element for visible light emitting visible light, and a reflective surface subjected to surface vapor deposition. And a reflector. Either the light emitting element for infrared light or the light emitting element for visible light is disposed at the focal point of the reflecting surface, and the other is in proximity to the reflector so as to project light into the transparent member. Be placed. And it is comprised so that the light inside the said transparent member may leak from at least one part of the said reflective surface.

  According to this aspect, in a vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp using a light emitting element for infrared light as a light source, either red light or visible light is reflected by the reflecting surface, and the other is leaked from the inside of the reflector. did. As a result, red light and visible light are projected forward adjacent to each other in the reflecting surface of the reflector, so that the red color of the red light from the infrared light emitting element can be made inconspicuous. The visible light is preferably white light, but may be other colors.

  You may provide the vapor deposition prohibition area | region where surface vapor deposition is not carried out in at least one part of the said reflective surface. Thereby, the light inside a transparent member can be leaked from a vapor deposition prohibition area | region.

  When the reflective surface is observed from the axial direction, the vapor deposition prohibited area may be arranged radially with the light emitting element arranged at the focal point as the center. In this way, light emitted from a single light emitting element can be leaked from a plurality of vapor deposition prohibition regions extending radially, so that redness on the reflecting surface can be made effective.

  The reflective surface is composed of a plurality of reflective surface elements for diffusing light from a light emitting element disposed at a focal point, and the vapor deposition prohibited region is provided in at least one of the reflective surface elements. Good. In this way, it is possible to effectively use the reflecting surface element, which usually causes light unevenness, for red light redness.

  The reflection surface is composed of a plurality of reflection surface elements for diffusing light from the light emitting elements arranged at the focal point, and a step surface extending between adjacent reflection surface elements in the substantially same direction as the axis of the reflection surface And the vapor deposition prohibited area may be provided on at least one of the step surfaces. In this case, by adjusting the vapor deposition direction and the direction of the step surface, it is possible to form the vapor deposition effective region and the vapor deposition prohibited region by one vapor deposition without providing a mask in the vapor deposition prohibited region.

  Surface vapor deposition may be performed so that the reflective surface is a half mirror. In this way, red light and visible light can be mixed and reddish on the entire reflecting surface.

  According to the present invention, since red light and visible light are projected forward adjacent to each other in the reflecting surface of the reflector, the red light of the red light from the infrared light emitting diode is made inconspicuous. Can do.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 10 includes a light emitting diode 12 for infrared light for projecting infrared light forward of the vehicle as a main light source. Around the infrared light emitting diode 12, there is provided a reflector 20 whose thick portion is formed of a transparent material such as resin. On the inner surface of the reflector 20, that is, on the side of the infrared light emitting diode 12, a reflecting surface that reflects the red light beam L <b> 12 emitted from the infrared light emitting diode 12 by surface vapor deposition or the like is provided. The reflector 20 is formed so that the reflection surface has a substantially parabolic cross section with the infrared light emitting diode 12 as a focal point.

  In the present embodiment, an evaporation prohibition region 26 where surface evaporation is not performed is provided on at least a part of the reflecting surface of the reflector 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the reflecting surface of the reflector 20 is divided into a vapor deposition effective area 24 and a vapor deposition prohibited area 26.

  On the central axis side of the reflector 20, that is, the lower side of FIG. 1, the white light emitting diode 14 is disposed so as to be embedded in the thick portion of the reflector. White light emitted from the light emitting diode 14 for white light is incident on the thick portion of the reflector 20, passes through the reflector while reflecting, and passes from the deposition prohibited region 26 disposed on at least a part of the reflecting surface. Leak. And it emits ahead as the light ray L14. Therefore, the reflector of the present embodiment functions as a normal light reflecting mirror and also as a white light guide.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 10, and the infrared light emitting diode 12 is omitted. The reflecting surface of the reflector 20 includes a vapor deposition effective region 24 and a circular vapor deposition prohibition region 26 arranged in a fan shape with the white light emitting diode 14 as a center at a substantially equal distance.

  With the above configuration, the red light emitted from the infrared light emitting diode 12 is reflected by the vapor deposition effective region 24 occupying most of the reflecting surface and is irradiated forward. Further, the white light emitted from the light emitting diode 14 for white light passes through the reflector 20 and is irradiated forward from the deposition prohibition region 26. Therefore, when the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 10 is observed from the front, the white light emitted from a part of the reflector 20 and the red light are mixed, so that the red light can be made inconspicuous. Therefore, even when the infrared light irradiation lamp 10 is mounted as an automotive headlamp for night vision or the like, it is possible to avoid a conflict with laws and regulations for red light emission.

  According to the above configuration, since the single reflector can have the two functions of the reflecting mirror and the light guide, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the space.

  Further, by arranging the infrared light emitting diode 12 at the focal point and arranging the white light emitting diode 14 on the central axis side of the reflector 20, both the light emitting diodes 12 and 14 can be provided close to each other. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the light emitting diode substrate 16 can be shared. As a matter of course, the substrates 16 of the light emitting diodes 12 and 14 may be configured separately.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 3 shows the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 30 in the case where the reflecting surface of the reflector 20 is composed of a plurality of reflecting surface elements for diffusing light from the light emitting diodes arranged at the focal point. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a vertical reflecting surface element is formed on the paraboloid of the reflector 20.

  In this case, a part of the step surface can be used as the vapor deposition prohibition region 26, and the vapor deposition effective region 24 and the vapor deposition prohibition region 26 can be alternately arranged on the reflector reflecting surface. Then, one white light emitting diode 14 is disposed on the central axis side of the reflector 20 with respect to each deposition prohibited area 26. If comprised in this way, while the red light radiate | emitted from the single light emitting diode 12 for infrared light will be reflected in the vapor deposition effective area | region 24, the white light radiate | emitted from the three light emitting diodes 14 for white light will each respond | correspond. It is possible to leak from the vapor deposition prohibition area 26 and to erase red light.

  Normally, the reflective surface element formed on the reflective surface of the reflector 20 causes light unevenness. However, by using a part of the reflective surface element as an evaporation-prohibited region as described above, the step shape of the reflective surface is effective. Can be used.

  In the second embodiment, only one light emitting diode 12 for infrared light is used, whereas three light emitting diodes 14 for white light are used. Therefore, the redness effect is greater than that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the size of the vapor deposition prohibited area can be made smaller than that in the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the entire reflective surface element is used as a vapor deposition prohibited area, but only a part of the reflective surface element may be used as a vapor deposition prohibited area.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp 40 according to the third embodiment. The arrangement of the infrared light emitting diode 12 at the focal point of the reflector 20 and the arrangement of the white light emitting diode 14 on the central axis side of the reflector 20 close to the thick portion are the same as in FIG. .

  In FIG. 4, the vapor deposition prohibition region 26 is provided on the reflecting surface of the reflector 20 so as to extend radially around the white light emitting diode 14. If comprised in this way, the red light radiate | emitted from the single light emitting diode 12 for infrared light will be reflected in the vapor deposition effective area | region 24, and the white light radiate | emitted from the light emitting diode 14 for white light will not carry out vapor deposition extended in three directions. Each region 26 leaks and red light can be erased.

  In the second embodiment, one light emitting diode for white light is required for each reflective surface element that is set as an evaporation-prohibited region, which is a problem in terms of cost and space saving. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, white light can be leaked from the evaporation prohibition region having a larger area by using one white light emitting diode. Therefore, red light can be erased more effectively.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 5 shows an infrared light irradiation lamp 50 for a vehicle in which the reflecting surface of the reflector is composed of a plurality of reflecting surface elements for diffusing light from the infrared light emitting diodes arranged at the focal point. The front view which shows schematic structure, and sectional drawing along the AA line of the front view are shown. The arrangement of the infrared light emitting diode 12 at the focal point of the reflector 20 and the arrangement of the white light emitting diode 14 on the central axis side of the reflector 20 close to the thick portion are the same as in FIG. . As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, adjacent reflecting surface elements are connected by a step surface 28 extending in the same direction as the axis of the reflecting surface.

  Thus, when the reflective surface includes a stepped surface, it is possible to control the stepped surface from being deposited without applying a mask to the stepped surface by adjusting the vapor deposition direction and the angle of the stepped surface. Accordingly, the stepped surface of the reflective surface is set as the vapor deposition prohibited region 26, and the other reflective surface elements are set as the vapor deposition effective region 24, so that the vapor deposition effective region 24 and the vapor deposition prohibited region can be formed by a single vapor deposition without using a mask. 26 can be formed. Therefore, the steps required for mask formation and peeling can be omitted.

  In this case, since the vapor deposition prohibited area 26 extends in substantially the same direction as the axis of the reflector, one white light emitting diode 14 is arranged for each vapor deposition prohibited area 26. Then, the red light emitted from the single infrared light emitting diode 12 is reflected by the vapor deposition effective region 24, and the white light emitted from the white light emitting diode 14 leaks from the corresponding vapor deposition prohibited region 26, respectively. In addition, red light can be erased.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp using the infrared light emitting diode as a light source, the white light from the white light emitting diode is guided inside the reflector. The deposition prohibition region is provided on at least a part of the reflecting surface of the reflector, and the white light inside the reflector is leaked therefrom. As a result, red light and white light are projected forward adjacent to each other in the reflecting surface of the reflector, so that the red light from the infrared light emitting diode can be made inconspicuous. The infrared light emitting diode itself can be prevented from being directly observed from the front of the vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp by a shielding plate or the like disposed inside the reflector. Therefore, even when the infrared light irradiation lamp is mounted as an automotive headlamp for night vision or the like, it is possible to avoid conflicts with laws and regulations for red light emission.

  In addition, while arranging the light emitting diode for infrared light at the focal point of the reflector, the light emitting diode for white light is arranged close to the thick portion on the central axis side of the reflector, so that the light emitting diode for red light on the same substrate And a white light emitting diode can be arranged close to each other to share a substrate.

  In addition, since the reflector surface can be used as a reflecting mirror and the reflector thick-walled portion can function as a light guide, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the space.

  In the embodiment, it has been described that the light emitting diode for white light is disposed in the same direction as the light emitting diode for infrared light by bringing the light emitting diode for white light in proximity to the thick wall portion on the central axis side of the reflector. However, as shown in FIG. 6, an extension 62 may be provided in which the central axis side end of the reflector 20 extends to the rear side of the lamp, and the white light emitting diode 14 may be disposed at the end. If it carries out like this, the arrangement | positioning freedom degree of the board | substrate of the light emitting diode 14 for white light can be raised.

  Further, the white light emitting diode 14 may be embedded in the thick portion of the reflector instead of being arranged close to the end of the reflector 20. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the white light emitting diode 14 is disposed adjacent to the vapor deposition prohibition region 26 on the reflector reflecting surface. Thus, since the reflector 20 functions as a light guide, there is no limitation on the installation location of the white light emitting diode as long as the white light can be guided into the reflector.

  The ratio of the vapor deposition effective area and the vapor deposition prohibition area on the reflector reflecting surface can be determined through experiments or the like so that red light can be sufficiently erased. As an example, it is preferable that the ratio of the vapor deposition prohibited area is about 20% of the entire reflecting surface. In addition, the effect of red-extinguishing red light is greater when the deposition-prohibited region is arranged as dispersed as possible in the reflecting surface of the reflector.

  In the embodiment, it has been described that the infrared light emitting diode is disposed at the focal point of the reflector and the white light emitting diode is disposed at a position where light can be projected into the reflector. However, if this relationship is reversed, the same effect can be achieved even if the light emitting diode for infrared light is arranged at a position where light can be projected into the reflector and the light emitting diode for white light is arranged at the focal point of the reflector. Can do. In this case, white light is reflected from the deposition effective area of the reflector reflecting surface, and red light leaks from the deposition prohibited area. The ratio between the vapor deposition effective area and the vapor deposition prohibited area is preferably changed as appropriate according to the intensity of red light and white light projected in front of the vehicle.

  In the embodiment, it has been described that the reflecting surface of the reflector is divided into the vapor deposition effective region and the vapor deposition prohibited region in order to leak the white light guided into the reflector to the outside. Alternatively, the reflective surface of the reflector may be deposited thinner than usual so that the entire reflective surface becomes a half mirror. In this case, the light from the infrared light emitting diode is reflected by the half mirror, and the white light guided into the reflector is slightly leaked from the entire half mirror and projected. Therefore, the entire reflecting surface can be reddish.

  In the embodiment, white light is used for the red light extinction of the infrared light emitting diode, but other colors may be used as long as they are visible light.

  The present invention can also be applied to a projector-type irradiation lamp that uses a reflector having a substantially elliptical reflecting surface. Moreover, the infrared light irradiation lamp according to the present invention can be mounted on the front side of the vehicle and used as a light source for the infrared night vision apparatus, or on the rear side of the vehicle as a lamp for detecting white lines.

It is a longitudinal section showing a schematic structure of an infrared irradiation lamp for vehicles by one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic front view of the infrared light irradiation lamp for vehicles of FIG. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the infrared irradiation lamp for vehicles concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the infrared irradiation lamp for vehicles concerning Embodiment 3. FIG. Infrared light irradiation lamp for a vehicle according to the fourth embodiment, which includes a plurality of reflecting surface elements for diffusing light from an infrared light emitting diode whose reflecting surface is disposed at a focal point. It is a figure which shows sectional drawing along the AA of the front view which shows schematic structure of A, and a front view. It is a figure which shows the example which provided the extension part which extended the center-axis side edge part of the reflector to the lamp rear side, and has arrange | positioned the light emitting diode for white light in the edge part. It is a figure which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the light emitting diode for white light adjacent to the vapor deposition prohibition area | region of a reflector reflective surface.

Explanation of symbols

  10, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 Infrared light irradiation lamp for vehicles, 12 Light emitting diode for infrared light, 14 Light emitting diode for white light, 16 Substrate, 20, 22 Reflector, 24 Evaporation effective area, 26 Evaporation prohibited Area, 28 step surface, 62 extension.

Claims (6)

A light emitting element for infrared light for projecting infrared light around the vehicle;
A light emitting element for visible light that emits visible light;
A reflector formed of a transparent member having a reflective surface subjected to surface vapor deposition;
Either the light emitting element for infrared light or the light emitting element for visible light is disposed at the focal point of the reflecting surface, and the other is in proximity to the reflector so as to project light into the transparent member. Arranged,
An infrared light irradiation lamp for a vehicle, wherein the light inside the transparent member is leaked from at least a part of the reflecting surface.   2. The vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp according to claim 1, wherein an evaporation-prohibited region that is not surface-deposited is provided on at least a part of the reflecting surface.   3. The vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp according to claim 2, wherein when the reflection surface is observed from an axial direction, the vapor deposition prohibited area is arranged radially with a light emitting element arranged at a focal point as a center. The reflective surface is composed of a plurality of reflective surface elements for diffusing light from a light emitting element disposed at a focal point,
The infrared irradiation lamp for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the deposition prohibition region is provided in at least one of the reflective surface elements. The reflection surface is composed of a plurality of reflection surface elements for diffusing light from the light emitting elements arranged at the focal point, and a step surface extending between adjacent reflection surface elements in the substantially same direction as the axis of the reflection surface Connected with
The vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp according to claim 2, wherein the deposition prohibition region is provided on at least one of the stepped surfaces.   2. The vehicle infrared light irradiation lamp according to claim 1, wherein surface vapor deposition is performed so that the reflection surface is a half mirror.

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