JP6499875B2 - LIGHTING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT GUIDE USED FOR THE SAME - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular illumination device that is arranged to illuminate a vehicle interior indirectly or directly, or to emit light for the purpose of decorating or illuminating a vehicle interior. The present invention relates to an illumination device for a vehicle using a light guide formed in a long rod shape.

  Conventionally, as this kind of vehicular lighting device, there exist some which were indicated in patent documents 1 or patent documents 2, for example. The light source device of Patent Literature 1 generally emits light when a light source body incorporating an LED and light emitted from an emission hole provided in a case of the light source body enters from an end surface and is guided to the inside. A light guide member called a light guide. Here, the positioning and fixing of the light guide member and the case of the light source device are performed by integrally forming protrusions (nail shapes) on a pair of opposing side walls in the vicinity of the end face of the light guide member that is injection-molded into a cylindrical shape. Is fitted into holes formed in a pair of plate-like portions provided in the case of the light source device.

  In Patent Document 2, one end of a flexible long (rod-shaped) light guide that is presumed to be an extruded product is fitted into a cylindrical receiving portion formed on a light guide holding member. Then, after positioning the light emitting surface of the LED housed in the LED housing member and the end surface of the light guide to face each other, the LED housing member engaged with the light guide body holding member is attached to the interior material (attachment) It is attached and fixed by fitting it into a member.

  In addition, the light guide described in Patent Document 2 has a two-layer structure in which the surface of a light guide material made of acrylic resin is treated with a fluororesin.

JP 2009-199872 A JP 2013-86534 A

  In the lighting device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a long light guide is an extruded molded body having flexibility, a claw shape cannot be formed. The fixed structure cannot be adopted. In addition, after the light guide is fitted and fixed to the case, it is necessary to fix the case to the housing that houses the light guide to prevent rattling and noise and to prevent the fitting from being released. However, in this case, a two-step assembly operation is required, and the reduction in workability and the number of mounting steps is a problem.

  The lighting device disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also a two-stage set of an operation of fitting the end portion of the light guide to the receiving portion of the light guide holding member and an operation of attaching to the interior material (attached member). Since attachment operation is required, workability and reduction of installation man-hours are problems. Further, in order to fit the end portion of the light guide to the cylindrical receiving portion formed integrally with the light guide holding member, an operation for largely bending the end portion of the flexible light guide is also required. . Furthermore, there is a concern that bubbles are generated between the core portion of the light guide body and the covering portion that covers and protects the periphery of the light guide body when the light guide body is largely bent. When such bubbles are generated and enter between a core portion (hereinafter also referred to as a core layer) and a covering portion (hereinafter also referred to as a protective layer) at one end in the light guide body, voids are formed in the longitudinal direction of the light guide body. The light that has been reflected and guided through the core layer is reflected without being able to pass through the gap, and light is not emitted from the core layer to the outside. As a result, the merchantability is remarkably lowered, for example, the light emitted from the light guide becomes dark.

  In addition, the core layer and the protective layer of the light guide are usually harder and have a higher coefficient of linear expansion than the protective layer. For this reason, at a low temperature such as in winter, the core layer has a larger shrinkage rate in the axial direction of the light guide than the protective layer, and the light guide can be obtained without bending the end of the light guide greatly. The core layer and the protective layer are peeled off by simply bending the end of the core. In addition, the core generated by the stress generated between the core layer and the protective layer only by receiving a light external force of a degree of contact when the light guide holding member coupled to the LED housing member and the light guide are fitted. The layer and the protective layer peel off. Due to such peeling, air bubbles enter between the core layer and the protective layer. If even a little air bubbles enter between the core layer and the protective layer, the air bubbles enter over a wide range in the longitudinal direction of the long light guide, and a void is formed in a wide range between the core layer and the protective layer.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating device that avoids the occurrence of bubbles in the light guide due to separation of the core layer and the protective layer and the light emission of the light guide becoming dark.

  In order to solve this problem, the inventors of the present invention have reached the present invention by repeating intensive studies, experiments, and trial manufacture. That is, in order to solve the above-described problems, a lighting device according to the present invention includes a light emitting member incorporating a light source, a light guide that guides light from the light source incident from an incident surface that is an end surface in a longitudinal direction, and An illumination device including the light-emitting member and a housing for housing the light guide, wherein the light guide includes a cylindrical core layer and a protective layer covering the periphery of the core layer. And the end of the light guide is inserted into the light emitting member, and the end of the core layer is exposed at the end of the light guide by forming a protective layer notch from which the protective layer has been removed. doing.

  According to the illuminating device, when attaching the light guide to the light emitting member, it is possible to attach only the terminal with the exposed core layer in contact with the attachment portion of the light emitting member. With such a contact structure, no stress is generated between the core layer and the protective layer. Therefore, the core layer and the protective layer are not peeled off, and generation of bubbles in the light guide can be avoided, so that the light emission of the light guide can be avoided from becoming dark.

  Preferably, the end of the protective layer facing the notch of the light guide is formed in a tapered shape. According to this configuration, only the terminal with the core layer exposed can be brought into contact with the mounting portion of the light emitting member, and the protective layer can be prevented from coming into contact with the mounting portion of the light emitting member.

  Preferably, the light emitting member is formed with a receiving recess that is recessed in a direction different from a moving direction for engaging the light emitting member with the container, and the different direction is formed on the light emitting member. By the movement in the moving direction, the end of the light guide is set in a direction to be fitted into the receiving recess while being bent.

  According to this configuration, since the fitting between the receiving recess of the light emitting member and the end of the light guide body and the engagement and fixing of the light emitting member and the container can be performed at the same time, light emission requiring two actions is required. The member assembly operation can be completed in one action. That is, a guide function to the fitting and fixing position between the light guide and the light emitting member and a guide function to the engagement and fixing position between the light emitting member and the container can be achieved at the same time. Therefore, the assembly workability is improved and the number of man-hours required for the assembly work can be reduced. In addition, since it is not necessary to bend the end of the light guide significantly when fitting the light guide into the receiving recess of the light emitting member, bubbles are formed between the core layer and the protective layer of the light guide. Problems such as light unevenness do not occur.

  Preferably, in the illumination device, the housing includes a pair of guide rail portions that guide the light emitting member when the light emitting member is moved in the moving direction, and the light emitting member has the moving direction. A locking piece is formed which is locked to the container when moving in the opposite direction and prevents movement in the opposite direction. According to this configuration, the moving direction of the light emitting member on the container is defined by the guide rail portion formed on the container and the locking piece of the light emitting member, and the light emitting member is assembled to the container. It is guided to the position, and the light emitting member can be easily engaged and fixed to the housing. At this time, the end portion of the light guide inserted into the receiving recess gradually enters the receiving recess while being bent and is guided to the fixed position.

  The locking piece may be provided rearward with respect to the moving direction with respect to the receiving recess of the light emitting member. There may be some variation in the direction of the end of the light guide, such as when the light guide is made of a flexible material. However, even in this case, the direction of the light emitting member is finely adjusted to guide the light guide. Since the light emitting member is guided to the fixed position after the end of the light body is inserted into the receiving recess of the light emitting member, the engagement between the light emitting member and the container and the fitting between the light emitting member and the light guide are performed. Can be performed simultaneously.

  The locking piece may be integrally formed with an elastic claw that can be locked in a locking hole provided in the container. According to this configuration, the light emitting member can be more reliably fixed to the container.

  The guide rail portion has an upper wall portion, a lower wall portion, and a side wall portion, and is opened inward as viewed from the moving direction so as to be surrounded by the upper wall portion, the side wall portion, and the lower wall portion. It is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and the upper wall portion may be inclined upward near the entrance where the locking piece is inserted. According to this configuration, the locking piece of the light emitting member is easily inserted and guided into the guide rail.

  The method of manufacturing a light guide used in the lighting device according to the present invention is such that the end of the protective layer is directed from the radially outer side to the inner side in the longitudinal direction by relative rotation of the processing blade and the light guide. A first protective layer notch step in which the protective layer notch portion is formed by peeling and removing the end of the protective layer from the core layer by cutting obliquely, and the step after the first protective layer notch step A heat treatment step of performing heat treatment on the light guide to remove bubbles between the protective layer and the core layer.

  When the end of the protective layer is cut by rotating the light guide or the processing blade by the above-described manufacturing method, for example, by the processing blade having the above-mentioned enlarged diameter shape or arranged in the above-mentioned enlarged diameter shape, Is removed from the core layer by, for example, pressing it against the processing blade, so that the protective layer notch can be formed without hitting the processing blade against the core layer, that is, without damaging the core layer.

  The lighting device of the present invention can avoid the occurrence of bubbles in the light guide due to the peeling of the core layer and the protective layer, and the light emission of the light guide becoming dark.

It is a perspective view of the molding ceiling for motor vehicles by which the illuminating device of 1st Embodiment was arrange | positioned. It is the front view which looked at the shaping | molding ceiling of FIG. 1 from the side which faces a vehicle interior. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the state before attaching a light emitting member with respect to the edge part of the light guide fixed by engagement to the container. It is the perspective view which showed the state after attaching the light emitting member with respect to the edge part of the light guide fixed by engagement to the container. It is the perspective view which expanded the light emitting member of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the light emitting member of FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the terminal periphery of a light guide. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view around the terminal of the light guide. It is the front view which looked at the right half part of the bracket from the opposite side to the side which faces a shaping | molding ceiling. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view around the receiving recess 7b of FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the method of forming the protective layer notch part of a light guide. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other method of forming the protective layer notch part of a light guide. In the illuminating device of 2nd Embodiment, it is the perspective view which showed the state before attaching a light emitting member with respect to a container.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a molded ceiling 2 called a roof trim of a vehicle to which a pair of lighting devices 1 and 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention are attached, as viewed from the vehicle rear side. The roof trim 2 is attached to the inner surface of a roof panel that forms a roof exposed to the outside of the vehicle. The illumination device 1 emits light to decorate the ceiling of the vehicle interior as illumination, and also functions as direct illumination by irradiating light from the illumination device 1 into the vehicle interior. The lighting device 1 extends in the left-right direction at the front part along the shape, and extends in the front-rear direction in the vehicle interior at the rear part, and emits and illuminates linearly. In each illuminating device 1, light emitting members (not shown in FIG. 1) including light sources are arranged at both end portions EP indicated by circles in FIG.

  The roof trim 2 is formed with a plurality of openings OPN so that components such as an assist grip and a sun visor can be assembled. In addition, two left and right cutouts NCH with which the upper ends of the pillar trim are fitted are formed so as not to impair the appearance of the mating portion with the pillar trim attached to the pillar panel on the side of the vehicle. In FIG. 1, other components such as an assist grip and a sun visor that are modularized in the roof trim 2 other than the lighting device 1 are not shown.

  The roof trim 2 is shaped so that the left and right end portions and the front and rear end portions are curved and protrude upward. The pair of lighting devices 1 are arranged in the vicinity of the corner portion where the curve starts from the flat portion of the roof trim 2 so as to follow the vehicle front-rear direction. And the front part of these illuminating devices 1 is curving toward the vehicle width direction so that it may mutually adjoin.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the roof trim 2 disposed in the vehicle as viewed from the side facing the vehicle interior. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. In addition to the above two light sources, each lighting device 1 in FIG. 2 guides light emitted from the light source shown in FIG. 3, and uniformly emits light and radiates light into the vehicle interior. A long rod-shaped light guide 3, a housing 4 that houses the light guide 3, a design lens 5 that is disposed on the side facing the vehicle interior, and a bracket (housing) that holds and fixes the housing 4 Body) 6. The light guide 3, the housing 4, and the design lens 5 are fixed to the bracket 6 as described below.

  The light guide 3, the housing 4, and the design lens 5 are fixed by attaching a locking piece 4 a extending from the housing 4 to the side of the roof trim 2 facing the roof panel (the side opposite to the vehicle interior side). It is attached and fixed by engaging with an opening 6b formed in the bracket (container) 6 that is provided. The locking pieces 4a are provided intermittently in the longitudinal direction of the housing 4, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the lighting devices 1 and 1, and the bracket 6 also has a plurality of openings 6b according to the position of the locking pieces 4a. Is formed.

  The light guide 3 is a flexible rod-shaped molded body obtained by extruding a resin so as to have a substantially circular cross section. The light guide 3 is a two-color extrusion molded body including two layers of a core layer 3a and a protective layer 3b covering the periphery of the core layer 3a. The core layer 3a is cylindrical and is made of an acrylic resin to which a scatterer is added, and the protective layer 3b is made of a fluororesin to which a scatterer is added. By adopting such a configuration, flexibility is given and heat resistance when mounted can be obtained.

  An opening 2a is formed at a position where the lighting devices 1 and 1 of the roof trim 2 are provided, and at least a part of the housing 4 is accommodated in the opening 2a, and the locking claw 4a can be inserted. . The bracket 6 is formed with a recess 6a corresponding to the position where the lighting devices 1 and 1 are disposed. When the lighting devices 1 and 1 are attached by locking the locking claws 4a, the roof trim 2 is attached. The edge portion of the opening 2a is pressed by the end portion of the design lens 5, is wound into the recessed portion 6a and sinks, and is sandwiched and fixed between the design lens 5 and the bracket 6. Thereby, the edge part terminal of the opening 2a of the roof trim 2 is concealed, and is processed with good appearance. In addition, since a part of the housing 4 and the design lens 5 are accommodated in the bracket 6, the amount of protrusion to the vehicle interior side can be suppressed to the minimum necessary, so that the appearance is good and preferable.

  The housing 4 is formed with an accommodating portion 4b having a U-shaped cross section, and the above-described light guide 3 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 4b. The accommodating part 4b is formed so that the external shape of the elongate light guide 3 may be followed, and the light guide 3 is fixed and hold | maintained at the housing 4 by being fitted by the accommodating part 4b. The above-mentioned locking piece 4a is formed to extend from the arcuate top wall 42 in the accommodating portion 4b. Locking claws 40 are formed on the end portions of the side walls 44, 44 connected to the lower portion of the top wall 42 of the housing portion 4 b toward the concave outer side of the housing portion 4 b. A plurality of the locking claws 40 are provided intermittently along the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 4 b and are locked in locking holes 50 formed in each of the pair of ribs 5 a and 5 a of the design lens 5. Thus, the design lens 5 is attached and fixed to the housing 4. In addition, since each rib 5a of the design lens 5 fits in each side wall 44 of the accommodating part 4b of the housing 4, the design lens 5 and the housing 4 are positioned, and attachment workability | operativity improves. Thus, the light guide 3 is fitted into the housing portion 4b of the housing 4 and the design lens 5 and the housing 4 are engaged with each other, whereby the light guide 3 is sandwiched and fixed between the design lens 5 and the housing 4. The

  The housing 4 is molded by injection molding using a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or a material obtained by adding a filler such as talc to these thermoplastic resins. As a result, the housing 4 can be elastically deformed, and the two side walls 44 and 44 of the housing portion 4b of the housing 4 are bent to the inside of the housing portion 4b, so that the latching claw 40 can be easily inserted into the latching hole 50 of the design lens 5. Can be locked to.

  The design lens 5 is formed by injection molding a thermoplastic resin. In the present embodiment, the one made translucent by adding scattering particles to transparent polycarbonate (PC) is used. By adding the scattering particles, the light scattering property is enhanced, and by making it semi-transparent, the inside of the lighting devices 1 and 1 becomes difficult to visually recognize, and the design property is improved. The transmittance of the design lens 5 is preferably 50 to 90%. However, when priority is given to the purpose of reducing the visibility of the lighting device 1 and 1, the content is preferably 50 to 60%.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing a state before the light emitting member 7 incorporating the light source is assembled to the bracket 6 at the positions where the light sources surrounded by the circles in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state after the light emitting member 7 is assembled to the bracket 6. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the light emitting member 7 of FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the light emitting member 7 of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, a notch 6c is formed at the end of the bracket 6 corresponding to both ends EP of the lighting device 1 on the opposite side to the vehicle interior, and is guided so as to be exposed upward from the notch 6c. The end 31 of the light body 3 is exposed. At this time, the light guide 3 is formed to be longer than the housing 4 and the design lens 5, and only the end portion 31 of the light guide 3 is exposed from the housing portion 4 b of the housing 4. In FIG. 4, the end 31 of the light guide 3 is slightly curved in advance, and the end surface 31 a is protruded.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting member 7 is formed with a cylindrical receiving portion 7a, and the end portion of the light guide 3 is placed in the receiving recess 7b formed of the hollow portion of the receiving portion 7a shown in FIG. 31 is inserted and fixed. Also, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the light emitting member 7 has a substrate 9 on which an LED 8 as a light source is mounted from an opening opposite to the side where the receiving portion 7a of the light emitting member 7 is formed. It is locked, covered with a cap 10 and fixed to the light emitting member 7. A locking hole 10 a is formed in the cap 10, and the locking claw 7 c formed to protrude from the light emitting member 7 is locked in the locking hole 10 a, so that the cap 10 is fixed to the light emitting member 7. The LED 8 is mounted at a position facing the receiving recess 7 a on the substrate 9, and the LED 8 and the end surface 31 a of the light guide 3 are opposed to each other in the light emitting member 7. As shown in FIG. 7, a connecting portion 9 a for connecting to the harness 52 protrudes from the substrate 9, and the connecting portion 9 a is fitted to the connector portion 7 d of the light emitting member 7, whereby the substrate 9 and the light emitting member are connected. 7 is positioned and fixed. The harness is connected to the connection portion 9a in the connector portion 7d. An electrical component 54 such as a power supply device or a control device is disposed above the bracket 6 shown in FIG. 4, and the harness 52 is connected to the connection portion 9a. Therefore, since the light guide 3 is disposed below the electrical component 54, the end 31 of the light guide 3 is bent upward and connected to the light emitting member 7.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the terminal 31 b that is the tip portion of the end portion 31 (FIG. 4) of the light guide 3 is formed by extruding a part of the protective layer 3 b by post-processing. A protective layer notch 33 is formed. Thereby, the terminal 3aa of the core layer 3a in FIG. 9 protrudes from the protective layer 3b and is exposed without being covered with the protective layer 3b. Further, when the protective layer 3b is scraped by the post-processing described above to form the protective layer notch 33, the end of the protective layer 3b facing the protective layer notch 33 is tapered as shown in FIG. An inclined portion 3bb is formed so as to have a shape. The inclined portion 3bb is inclined at an inclination angle α with respect to the radial direction toward the rear in the radial direction R (that is, in a direction away from the terminal).

  As the light source incorporated in the light emitting member 7, either a single color LED such as blue, red, or white or a full color LED is preferably used, but in this embodiment, a full color LED is used. According to this, the full color LED is preferable because the light emission color of the light guide can be arbitrarily set and switched, so that the user can select a favorite color. Further, in the present embodiment, the light source illuminates the entire interior of the light guide 3 uniformly to directly illuminate the interior of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the luminance is gradually lowered or brightened. Gradation lighting such as changing the state from a dark state to a bright state again may be used. Furthermore, you may set the brightness | luminance and color of LED which are accommodated for every light emitting member arrange | positioned at the both ends of the light guide 3 so that a specific color may be light-guided in order. As a result, various illumination effects can be produced.

  In this embodiment, since a full-color LED is used as the light source, the light emitted from the three color (RGB) LEDs is not completely mixed in the vicinity of the light incident part (end surface 31a of the light guide 3). For example, it emits pinkish light and does not emit light in a desired white color. Therefore, in order to eliminate such problems, a light shielding tape (not shown) having a width of 11 mm and a length of 25 mm is bonded to the end portions 31 at both ends of the light guide 3. Here, in this embodiment, the terminal 31b where the core layer 3a of the light guide 3 is exposed is not covered with the light shielding tape. The shading tape has a black inner surface and can absorb light, and the outer surface is white so as not to impair the appearance. The light shielding tape is an adhesive tape whose inner surface has adhesiveness, and is partially overlapped and stuck on the outer periphery of the end portion 31 of the light guide 3. At this time, the light shielding tape is stuck on the outer periphery of the end 31 of the light guide 3 at a position about 1 mm inside from the edge of the light guide. With this sticking position, when the end portion 31 of the light guide 3 is fitted into the receiving recess 7b of the light emitting member 7, the light shielding tape can be prevented from being caught by the side wall of the receiving portion 7a and being peeled off.

  Referring again to FIG. 4, a thin plate-like locking piece 7 e is integrally formed at the lower portion of the light emitting member 7, and the locking piece 7 e is formed on the pair of guide rail portions 6 d formed on the bracket 6. The light emitting member 7 is fixed to the bracket 6 by moving (sliding) in the moving direction P and being locked. Further, the locking piece 7e is formed with a flexible elastic claw 7f. The elastic claw 7f is locked in a locking hole 6e formed in the housing 6, whereby the locking piece 7e. Is made to function as a stopper in the direction opposite to the moving direction P sliding inside the guide rail portion 6d, and at the same time, the function of positioning and fixing the light emitting member 7 to the bracket 6 is exhibited.

  10 is a front view of the bracket 6 to which the light emitting member 7 is attached as viewed from the side opposite to the vehicle interior side, that is, as viewed from the top of the vehicle body. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, in the housing 6, the insertion portion bottom surface 6 g into which the light emitting member 7 is inserted is formed so that the guide rail portions 6 d and 6 d are positioned one step higher, and a pair of steps 6 f and 6 f are formed. It is formed between the insertion portion bottom surface 6g and the guide rail portions 6d and 6d. The locking piece 7e is formed in a stepped shape with the center portion of the upper surface protruding downward by one step so as to correspond to the bottom surface 6g of the insertion portion, and the convex portion 7g, 7 g is formed so as to protrude downward. Since the protrusions 7g and 7g position the locking piece 7e, that is, the light emitting member 7 in the width direction with respect to the insertion direction to the bracket 6, the mounting operability of the light emitting member 7 is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the receiving recess 7b is designed to have a predetermined angle θ with respect to the thin locking piece 7e. The range of θ is desirably about 20 ° to 45 °. Accordingly, the end portion 31 of the light guide 3 that is curved and protrudes from the housing 4 as described above in accordance with the movement (sliding) parallel to the locking piece 7e of the light emitting member 7 enters the receiving recess 7b. Let me insert.

  Each guide rail portion 6d is opened inward as viewed in the moving direction P shown in FIG. 4, and is formed in a U-shaped cross section including an upper wall portion 6d1, a side wall portion 6d2, and a lower wall portion 6d3. In the vicinity of the insertion opening 62 of the portion 6d, the upper wall portion 6d1 is inclined so that the opening expands in the direction opposite to the moving direction P. Thereby, since the locking piece 7e is smoothly guided into the guide rail portions 6d and 6d, the mounting workability of the light emitting member 7 is improved. Moreover, since the light emitting member 7 can be lifted and moved up and down even when the locking piece 7e is partially inserted into the guide rails 6d and 6d by expanding the opening, the light guide 3 Even when the position is displaced, for example, the light emitting member 7 can be finely adjusted up and down as described above to guide the end portion 31 of the light guide 3 into the receiving portion 7a.

  Further, the locking piece 7e is behind the receiving recess 7b with respect to the moving direction P (sliding direction: right side of FIG. 4) of the light emitting member 7 when the light emitting member 7 is attached to the bracket 6. Is formed. For this reason, after engaging the end 31 of the light guide 3 with the receiving recess 7b, the locking piece 7e can be brought into contact with the guide rail 6d. Thereafter, the end 31 of the light guide 3 is inserted into the receiving portion 7a by sliding of the light emitting member 7, and at the same time, the locking piece 7e is guided to the locking position on the guide rail 6d. The elastic claw 7f formed on the locking piece 7e is locked in the locking hole 6e of the bracket 6, and the light emitting member 7 is fixed to the bracket 6. At this time, the end 31 of the light guide 3 is also inserted to an appropriate position while being slightly bent in the receiving recess 7b. Thus, the light emitting member 7 and the bracket 6 are positioned, and the light emitting member 7 and the light guide 3 are positioned.

  As described above, the elastic claw 7f of the light emitting member 7 shown in FIG. 11 is engaged with the engagement hole 6e of the bracket 6, and the step shape of the engagement piece 7e and the step shape of the guide rail portions 6d and 6d, that is, the step 6f. , 6f are fitted to each other, whereby the light emitting member 7 is positioned and fixed. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the receiving recess 7b, which is the internal space of the cylindrical receiving portion 7a formed in the light emitting member 7, becomes narrower as it goes inward (leftward in FIG. 12) from the opening. It is formed in a tapered shape. Thereby, since the position regulation and positioning of the light guide 3 are performed, the distance between the LED 8 and the end face (incident surface) of the light guide 3 can be appropriately maintained.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 12, the light emitting member 7 has a locking piece 7e that extends from the insertion opening 62 of the guide rail portion 6d to between the upper wall portion 6d1, the side wall portion 6d2, and the lower wall portion 6d3. In addition, the locking piece 7e is inserted in a state inclined with respect to the moving direction P. Thereafter, after the end 31 of the light guide 3 is fitted in the receiving recess 7b, the locking piece 7e is made parallel to the moving direction P, and the light emitting member 7 slides on the guide rail 6d.

  With the above configuration, conventionally, an operation of engaging the light emitting member with the housing after fitting the light guide to a member (hereinafter simply referred to as a receiving recess) corresponding to the receiving portion 7a of the present embodiment. Although two actions of performing were necessary, in this embodiment, since the mounting operation of the light emitting member to the light guide body and the housing body is one action, the mounting workability is improved as compared with the conventional one. Further, conventionally, since it has been necessary to fit the end portion 31 of the light guide to the receiving portion once at a position away from the assembly position of the light emitting member, the end portion 31 of the light guide is temporarily enlarged. There is a problem in that it is necessary to bend and bubbles are generated between the protective layer 3b and the core layer 3a of the light guide, causing light unevenness and the like so that the light guide cannot emit light uniformly. By adopting the mounting structure, the bending (curving) of the end portion 31 of the light guide can be suppressed to such an extent that the bubbles are not generated, and such a problem can be solved.

  Further, as described above, in order to fit the terminal 31b of the light guide 3 (terminal 3aa of the core layer 3a) into the receiving recess 7b in the cylindrical receiving recess 7a formed in the light emitting member 7, When the light body 3 is raised and guided so as to have a fitting posture curved upward as described above, only the terminal 3aa of the core layer 3a exposed by the protective layer notch 33 is the inner surface (acceptance) of the receiving recess 7a. Since it contacts the recess 7b), no stress is applied to the laminated portion between the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b. As a result, the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b are not separated from each other and bubbles do not enter, so that no gap is formed over a wide area of the lighting device 1, and the light guide 3 is darkened in this wide area. Can be prevented from occurring.

  In addition, since the linear expansion coefficient of the core layer 3a of the light guide 3 is larger than that of the protective layer 3b, the shrinkage rate in the axial direction of the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b differs particularly at low temperatures such as in winter. Therefore, the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b are separated from each other only by applying a slight stress to the light guide 3, and bubbles are generated, and light emission defects are generated over a wide range in the longitudinal direction of the light guide 3. It was. Also in this respect, it has been confirmed that the structure of the present invention brings about an effect that the problem that the wide range of the lighting device 1 becomes dark without emitting light is solved.

  Further, since the inclined portion 3bb is formed, the light guide 3 is fitted into the receiving recess 7a (receiving recess 7b) of the light emitting member 7, and the light guide 3 is raised and guided to the fitting posture. In this case, the possibility that the protective layer 3b contacts the inside of the receiving recess 7a (receiving recess 7b) can be further reduced. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, only the terminal 3aa of the core layer 3a contacts the receiving recess 7b in the receiving recess 7a, and the protective layer 3b is formed with the inclined portion 3bb. The light guide 3 can be attached to the light emitting member 7 without contacting the receiving recess 7b. In addition, as for angle (alpha) (FIG. 9) of the inclined surface of inclined part 3bb with respect to the radial direction of the light guide 3, about 10-70 degree | times is preferable.

  Therefore, the light guide 3 includes the cylindrical core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b covering the periphery of the core layer 3a, and the terminal 31b of the light guide 3 is the light emitting member 7 (inside the receiving recess 7a). Alternatively, the protective layer notch 33 is formed by removing the protective layer 3b from the terminal 31b of the light guide 3 and the terminal 3aa of the core layer 3a is exposed. When the light guide 3 is attached to the receiving recess 7a (receiving recess 7b) of the light emitting member 7, only the terminal 3aa where the core layer 3a is exposed is attached to the receiving recess 7a (receiving recess 7b). it can. With such a contact structure, no stress is generated between the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b. Therefore, the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b are not peeled off, and generation of bubbles in the light guide 3 can be avoided, so that the light emission of the light guide 3 can be avoided from becoming dark.

  Next, a method of forming the protective layer notch 33 of the light guide 3 using a processing device that performs cutting before attaching the light guide 3 to the lighting device 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, the processing apparatus has a processing blade in which the blade surface is arranged in a conical shape so that the diameter gradually increases in the direction from the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the protective layer 3 b (left side in FIG. 14) toward the terminal. That is, it has the processing blade B1 arranged in, for example, a pencil sharpener that expands in a conical shape with the left side in FIG. 14 as the apex toward the core layer 3a of the light guide 3. The processing blade B1 is inclined by a predetermined inclination angle β, for example, about 80 ° with respect to the radial direction R of the light guide 3, that is, the direction orthogonal to the axis C1 of the processing blade B1. The axial center C1 coincides with the longitudinal direction (axial center) of the terminal 31b of the light guide 3. The protective blade notch 33 is processed by rotating the processing blade B1 around the axis C1. Note that, instead of the processing blade B1 rotating, the light guide 3 itself may rotate. The maximum diameter of the processing blade B1 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the light guide 3. By inserting the light guide 3 inside the processing blade B1, the rotating processing blade B1 hits the protective layer 3b, and the terminal 31b of the light guide 3 is moved from the radially outer side to the inner side in the longitudinal direction (FIG. 14). And cutting the protective layer 3b obliquely toward the right). Thereby, the end surface 31a vicinity of the light guide 3 of the protective layer 3b is shaved thinly. By inserting the light guide 3 into the processing blade B1 up to a predetermined insertion amount, the portion indicated by the cross-hatching H1 is scraped off.

  At this time, a part of the protective layer 3b, specifically, the end of the protective layer 3b is rolled as shown by the broken line 300 by the above-described pressing force on the machining blade B1 and the cutting force generated by the rotation of the machining blade B1. Lift up and cut while peeling. Due to this turning, the portion H2 located on the inner side in the longitudinal direction from the processing blade B1 in the protective layer 3b is cut and removed. If the cutting edge of the processing blade B1 remains in the core layer 3a, the possibility of abnormal light emission due to light scattering by the cutting edge increases, which is not preferable. This is a processing method for scraping off the protective layer 3b without leaving the blade traces on the layer 3a. Since the protective layer 3b is lifted and lifted from the core layer 3a and processed, the protective layer notch 33 is formed without the processing blade B1 coming into contact with the core layer 3a, that is, without leaving a blade mark on the core layer 3a. Can do. By this processing method, the end of the protective layer 3b is tapered as described above, and the inclined portion 3bb is formed. The inclined surface angle α of the tapered surface is about 10 to 70 ° as described above, which is larger than the inclined angle β of the machining blade B1.

  In this processing method, the protective layer 3b is lifted and lifted from the core layer 3a and cut, so that the end of the protective layer 3b that remains without being cut, for example, the vicinity of the inclined portion 3bb is also slightly broken. There is a possibility that bubbles may enter the gap SP between the core layer 3a and the protective layer 3b. Therefore, the processed light guide 3 is subjected to heat treatment to remove bubbles that have entered. As a heat treatment method, in addition to a method of blowing hot air directly onto the light guide 3 using a hot air generator or a dryer, the heat treatment is performed in a clean room kept at a constant temperature (preferably 25 ° C. or more) for a certain time (preferably 2 hours or more, more preferably 6 hours or more), a method of storing the light guide 3 may be used. In addition, the said heat processing process is performed before attaching the light guide 3 to the illuminating device 1. FIG.

  A method for forming the protective layer cutout 33 of the other light guide 3 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 15, the processing blade B2 is inserted to a depth halfway of the protective layer 3b perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light guide 3 (angle α≈0 °), and then the processing blade B2 or the light guide 3 Is formed to form a slit SL that is continuous over the entire circumferential direction of the protective layer 3b of the light guide 3. The intermediate depth of the protective layer 3b may be, for example, about 60 to 80% of the thickness of the protective layer 3b. Thereafter, the end portion of the end of the protective layer 3b beyond the slit is held and pulled by the jig J, and only the portion corresponding to the protective layer notch 33 of the end of the protective layer 3b is peeled off and removed. The insertion of the processing blade B2 into the protective layer 3b may be inclined at an angle β = 0 to about 60 ° in the longitudinal direction of the light guide 3 as indicated by a broken line. Thereby, the inclined part 3bb can be formed by inclining the end surface of the protective layer 3b. As described above, the protective layer notch 33 can be formed without the processing blade B1 hitting the core layer 3a, that is, without leaving a blade mark on the core layer 3a.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various additions, changes, or deletions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the elastic claw 70 f formed on the locking piece 70 e of the light emitting member 70 is locked not by the locking hole formed in the housing 60 but by a triangular cross section. The shape projection 60g may be used. Further, the pair of guide rail portions 60d, 60d are formed so as to have different vertical heights, and the locking piece 70f and the light emitting member 7 are attached to the housing 60 in an inclined state. The receiving portion 70a formed integrally with the light emitting member 70 is unevenly distributed in the light emitting member 70 so as to be arranged closer to the higher one in the vertical height of the guide rail portion 60d, that is, closer to the x direction shown in the drawing. Formed. Thus, what changed the position and the shape arbitrarily according to convenience, such as the layout of a vehicle interior, is also contained in this invention.

1: Lighting device 2: Roof trim 2a: Opening hole 3: Light guide 3a: Core layer 3aa: Terminal 3b of core layer: Protective layer 3bb: Inclined portion 31: End 31a: End surface 31b: Terminal 4 of light guide 60: Housing 4a: Locking piece 4b: Housing part 5: Design lens 5b: Rib 6: Bracket (container)
6a: Recess 6b: Opening 6c: Notch 6d: Guide rail 6d1: Upper wall 6d2: Side wall 6d3: Lower wall 6e: Locking hole 6f: Step 7, 70: Light emitting member 7a, 70a: Receiving Part 7b: Receiving recess 7c: Locking claw 7d: Connector part 7e, 70e: Locking piece 7f, 70f: Elastic claw 7g: Convex part 8: LED
9: Board 9a: Connection part P: Movement direction

Claims (4)

A light-emitting member incorporating a light source; a light guide that guides light from the light source that is incident from an incident surface that is an end surface in a longitudinal direction; and a housing that houses the light-emitting member and the light guide. A lighting device,
The light guide includes a cylindrical core layer and a protective layer covering the periphery of the core layer, and a terminal of the light guide is inserted into the light emitting member,
The terminal of the light guide is formed with a protective layer notch from which the protective layer is removed, and the terminal of the core layer is exposed ,
The light emitting member is formed with a receiving recess recessed in a direction different from the moving direction for engaging the light emitting member with the container.
The different direction is set to a direction in which an end of the light guide body is bent and fitted into the receiving recess while the light emitting member moves in the moving direction . A light-emitting member incorporating a light source; a light guide that guides light from the light source that is incident from an incident surface that is an end surface in a longitudinal direction; and a housing that houses the light-emitting member and the light guide. A lighting device,
The light guide includes a cylindrical core layer and a protective layer covering the periphery of the core layer, and a terminal of the light guide is inserted into the light emitting member,
The terminal of the light guide is formed with a protective layer notch from which the protective layer is removed, and the terminal of the core layer is exposed,
The terminal of the said protective layer which faces the notch part of the said light guide is a lighting device currently formed in the taper shape. The lighting device according to claim 2 ,
The light emitting member is formed with a receiving recess recessed in a direction different from the moving direction for engaging the light emitting member with the container.
The different direction is set to a direction in which an end of the light guide body is bent and fitted into the receiving recess while the light emitting member moves in the moving direction. A light-emitting member incorporating a light source; a light guide that guides light from the light source that is incident from an incident surface that is an end surface in a longitudinal direction; and a housing that houses the light-emitting member and the light guide. A lighting device,
The light guide includes a cylindrical core layer and a protective layer covering the periphery of the core layer, and a terminal of the light guide is inserted into the light emitting member,
A method of manufacturing a light guide used in a lighting device in which a protective layer notch from which the protective layer is removed is formed at the terminal of the light guide, and the terminal of the core layer is exposed. ,
The terminal of the protective layer is peeled off from the core layer by cutting the terminal of the protective layer diagonally from the outside in the radial direction toward the inside in the longitudinal direction by relative rotation of the processing blade and the light guide. A first protective layer notch step for forming the protective layer notch by removing the
A method of manufacturing a light guide, comprising: a heat treatment step of performing heat treatment on the light guide body after the first protective layer notch step to remove bubbles between the protective layer and the core layer.

Images