JP6931963B2 - Vehicle lights - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting device.

Vehicles such as automobiles are provided with a lamp that irradiates the outside of the vehicle with light. Examples of vehicle lights include turn signals that are installed on the left and right sides of the front and rear of the vehicle and are turned on when the vehicle turns left or right or when the vehicle changes lanes to indicate the direction of course change. In the case of a turn signal, light is emitted to the outside (front or rear) of the vehicle along the width direction of the vehicle.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are increasingly being used as light sources for vehicle lighting. Recently, a plurality of LEDs are arranged in the vehicle width direction, and each LED is sequentially emitted from the inside (center side) in the vehicle width direction to the outside, and is lit so as to flow in the direction of changing the course of the vehicle. A method of turn signal (also called a "sequential turn signal") has been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a lamp including a plurality of LEDs and a plurality of light guide members that guide and irradiate (exit) the light emitted by each LED. The lamps are arranged so that the emitting portions of the light guide members are lined up in a row from the center side to the outside of the vehicle, that is, in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction). Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle lighting device including a light source and a light guide body formed so as to extend from the center side of the vehicle toward the outside. This lighting device includes one light source and one light guide body, and an inner lens is arranged so as to face the exit surface of the light guide body.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-229510 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-13531

Sequential lighting type turn signals have the advantage of making it easier for other traffic to recognize the direction of change of course of the vehicle, and the adoption of them is expected to increase.

In vehicle lighting equipment, from the viewpoint of saving installation space and simplifying the wiring of light sources (eg, LEDs), multiple light sources are integrated into one place to collect the light from each light source. It is being studied that the guide portion of each light guide body guides the light to the exit portion. For example, in Patent Document 1 (in particular, see FIGS. 11 and 12), a plurality of LEDs are arranged together, and the light of each LED is guided to each emission portion by a light guide portion of each light guide member, and each LED is guided to each emission portion. An example is a configuration in which light is emitted from an emitting portion.

However, in the lamp shown in FIG. 11 of Patent Document 1, a plurality of LEDs are arranged in the vertical direction (vehicle vertical direction), and there is a light guide member composed of a three-dimensional curve. Specifically, in the light guide member, the light guide portion is bent in the horizontal direction while being bent in the vertical direction from the incident portion on one end side facing the LED to the exit portion on the opposite side. That is, the optical paths from each light source to the guide portion and the exit portion of each light guide body are not located on the same plane including the optical axis of each light source. When the guide portion is bent three-dimensionally in this way, the light in the light guide tends to leak to the outside, and it is difficult to efficiently guide the light from the light source to the exit portion. Therefore, the light from the light source may be significantly attenuated before reaching the emitting portion, and the irradiation amount (illuminance) of the light emitted from the emitting portion may not be sufficiently secured. Therefore, it is desired that each light guide body that guides the light from the plurality of light sources to the exit portion efficiently guides the light. Furthermore, when a vehicle lighting device is configured by using a plurality of light sources and a light guide body corresponding to each light source, the appearance when light is emitted from each emission portion in order to improve the appearance at the time of lighting. It is desirable to reduce the variation of.

One of the objects of the present invention is to save the installation space, and to efficiently guide the light in each light guide body that guides the light from each of the plurality of light sources, and to turn on the light. The purpose is to provide vehicle lights that can improve the appearance of time.

(1) The vehicle lighting device according to one aspect of the present invention is
It is a vehicle lighting device that irradiates light toward the outside of the vehicle.
Multiple light sources located on either the inside or the outside in the vehicle width direction,
A guide portion that extends along the vehicle width direction and guides the light from each of the light sources toward the inside and the outside in the vehicle width direction, and the light guided by the guide portion toward the outside of the vehicle. A plurality of light guides having an emitting part to irradiate,
A lens arranged so as to face the exit portion of each light guide body is provided.
The plurality of light sources are arranged in the vehicle width direction, and the plurality of light sources are arranged in the vehicle width direction.
The optical paths from each light source to the guide portion and the emission portion of each light guide body are located on the same plane including the optical axis of each light source.
Each of the exit portions in each of the light guide bodies is
They are arranged so that they do not overlap in the front-rear direction of the vehicle but are offset from each other in the width direction of the vehicle.
A parallel region having substantially the same distance from the lens and a bending region interposed between the guide portion and the parallel region are included.
Of the pair of light guides in which the light sources are adjacent to each other
One of the emitting parts is located outward with respect to the other of the guide parts.
The other bent region has a single inflection point.

(2) As one aspect of the above-mentioned vehicle lighting device,
The plurality of light sources are arranged outside in the vehicle width direction.
It can be mentioned that each of the light guide bodies is formed so as to extend from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction.

(3) As one aspect of the above-mentioned vehicle lighting device,
It can be mentioned that the lengths of the irradiation ranges of the light emitted from the respective emitting portions are substantially the same.

(1) In the above-mentioned vehicle lighting device, since a plurality of light sources are centrally arranged on one of the inner side and the outer side in the vehicle width direction, the installation space can be saved and the light source (eg, LED) can be saved. ), It is possible to simplify the wiring. Further, the vehicle lighting device described above includes a plurality of light sources and a plurality of light guide bodies that guide and irradiate the light of each light source, from each light source to a guide portion and an exit portion of each light guide body. The optical path is located on the same plane including the optical axis of each light source. Therefore, there is no three-dimensionally curved portion in the optical path from each light source to the exit portion. Therefore, light leakage (light leakage) in the light guide is unlikely to occur, and the light from the light source can be efficiently guided to the exit portion. Therefore, according to the vehicle lighting device described in (1) above, the installation space is saved, and the light is efficiently guided in each light guide body that guides the light from each of the plurality of light sources. Can shine.

Since the emission portions of each light guide body are arranged so as to be offset from each other in the vehicle width direction without overlapping in the vehicle front-rear direction, light is emitted from each emission portion to the outside of the vehicle along the vehicle width direction. It is possible to irradiate.

Further, since the distance between the parallel region of each emitting portion and the lens is substantially the same, it is possible to reduce the variation in appearance when light is irradiated from each emitting portion, and it is possible to improve the appearance at the time of lighting. .. When the distance between the parallel region of each exit and the lens is different, there is a difference in the width of the irradiation range of the light emitted from each exit (width along the vertical direction of the vehicle) when viewed from the outside of the vehicle. Get out. Specifically, since the light emitted from the exit portion is diffused, the width of the irradiation range is narrow in the exit portion where the distance from the lens is short, and the width of the irradiation range is wide in the exit portion where the distance from the lens is long. .. That is, the variation in appearance when irradiating light from each emitting portion becomes large. On the other hand, by making the distance between the parallel region of each emitting portion and the lens equal, the width of the irradiation range of the light emitted from each emitting portion can be made evenly close to each other. Therefore, the variation in appearance when irradiating light from each emitting portion is reduced, and the appearance when lit is improved.

Further, in the other light guide body among the pair of light guide bodies in which the light sources are adjacent to each other, the bending region is interposed between the guide portion and the parallel region of the exit portion, so that the parallel region of each emission portion is formed. It is possible to make the distance to the lens equal. By having a single inflection point in the other bending region, light leakage in the bending region can be suppressed. This is because the more inflection points there are in the bending region, the more likely it is that light leakage will occur.

(2) According to the vehicle lighting device described in (2) above, since the light source is arranged outside in the vehicle width direction, it becomes easy to secure the installation space of the light source. Vehicle lights are provided, for example, on at least one of the front or rear of the vehicle. In particular, in an automobile, since a radiator or the like is mounted inside (center side) in the vehicle width direction in the front part of the vehicle, it is easier to secure a space for installing a light source on the outside in the vehicle width direction than on the inside.

(3) According to the vehicle lighting device described in (3) above, the length of the irradiation range of the light emitted from each emitting portion (the length along the vehicle width direction) is substantially equal. , The appearance is good when the lights are turned on in order from the exit portion located inside in the vehicle width direction, that is, when the lights are turned on sequentially.

It is a schematic front view of the vehicle to which the vehicle lighting device according to the first embodiment is applied, as viewed from the front. FIG. 6 shows a main part of the structure of the vehicle lighting device according to the first embodiment, and is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. It is a schematic partial cross-sectional view which shows the modification of the vehicle lighting device which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.

Specific examples of the vehicle lighting device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same names. In the following explanation, "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "left", and "right" mean the direction in which the front of the vehicle is "front" and is used as a reference. In the figure, the arrow FR is the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction, the arrow RR is the rear side, the arrow UP is the upper side in the vehicle vertical direction, the arrow LWR is the lower side, the arrow LH is the left side in the vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the arrow. RH indicates the right side, arrow IN indicates the inside (center side) in the vehicle width direction, and arrow OUT indicates the outside. FIG. 2 shows a main part of the structure of the vehicle lighting device, and is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle lighting device cut in a horizontal plane orthogonal to the vertical direction as viewed from above.

[Embodiment 1]
The vehicle lighting device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an example in which the vehicle lighting device 1 is applied to the direction indicators provided on the left and right sides of the front portion of the vehicle 100 will be described. The vehicle lighting device 1 irradiates light toward the outside (front in the present embodiment) of the vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle lighting device 1 includes a plurality of light sources 11, 12, 13 (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as a light source 10) and a plurality of guides corresponding to the respective light sources 11, 12, 13. It includes light bodies 21, 22, and 23 (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as a light source 20). Each light guide 20 has guide units 210, 220, 230 (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as guide units 200) that guide the light of each light source 10, and the light guided by the guide unit 200. It has an emission unit 212, 222, 232 (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as an emission unit 202) that irradiates the front of the vehicle 100 (see FIG. 1). Further, the vehicle lighting device 1 includes a lens 40 arranged so as to face the exit portions 212, 222, and 232 of the light guide bodies 21, 22, and 23.

One of the features of the vehicle lighting device 1 is that the optical paths from each light source 10 to the guide portion 200 and the exit portion 202 of each light guide body 20 are located on the same plane including the optical axis of each light source 10. be. Further, the exit portions 202 of each light guide body 20 are arranged so as to be offset from each other in the vehicle width direction without overlapping in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the parallel region 25 having substantially the same distance from the lens 40. It is at a point including a bending region 26 interposed between the guide portion 200 and the parallel region 25. Further, of the pair of light guides 20 to which the light sources 10 are adjacent to each other, one emitting portion 202 is located outward (forward in this example) with respect to the other guide portion 200, and the other bending region 26 is simply located. It is at a point having one inflection point 26f. Hereinafter, the configuration of the vehicle lighting device 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. Since the vehicle lamps 1 on both the left and right sides shown in FIG. 1 have a substantially symmetrical structure, only the vehicle lamp 1 on the right side will be described in the following description, and the vehicle lamp 1 on the left side will be described. Is omitted. In FIG. 2, the arrow OUT side corresponds to the right side of the vehicle 100 (see FIG. 1).

<overall structure>
The vehicle lighting device 1 is attached to the vehicle 100 (see FIG. 1). The light source 10, the light guide body 20, and the lens 40 (see FIG. 2) constituting the vehicle lighting device 1 are housed in a housing (not shown). An opening is formed in the housing from the front surface to the outer surface, and a transparent cover (outer lens) (not shown) is attached so as to cover the opening. The lens 40 is arranged on the outside (front side in this example) of the light guide body 20 (emission unit 202), and transmits the light radiated forward from the emission unit 202. The outer lens is arranged so as to cover the front side of the lens 40. The light transmitted through the lens 40 is transmitted forward through the outer lens. The lens 40 and the outer lens are made of, for example, a transparent resin such as an acrylic resin (PMMA) or a polycarbonate resin (PC) or glass.

(light source)
The plurality of light sources 10 are arranged on one of the inner side and the outer side in the vehicle width direction. Further, the plurality of light sources 10 are arranged in the vehicle width direction. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of light sources 11, 12, and 13 are collectively arranged on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and are arranged in order from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction. The light sources 11, 12, and 13 shown in this example are mounted on one substrate 30, and are arranged so that their respective optical axes face forward. In this example, a light emitting diode (LED) is used as the light source 10. The substrate 30 is supported in a housing (not shown). In the case of this example, since the light sources 11, 12, and 13 are arranged in parallel in the vehicle width direction, the plane including the optical axes of all the light sources 10 is a substantially horizontal plane.

(Light guide body)
Each of the plurality of light guide bodies 20 is a rod-shaped or tubular member extending along the vehicle width direction. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, the light guide bodies 21, 22, and 23 are formed so as to extend from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction in which the light sources 11, 12, and 13 are arranged. Each of the light guide bodies 21, 22, 23 shown in this example extends in the vehicle front-rear direction from one end side facing each light source 11, 12, 13 while being curved and extends from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction. There is.

The light guide body 20 has a guide unit 200 and an exit unit 202. The guide portions 210, 220, and 230 guide the light from the light sources 11, 12, and 13 toward the inside and the outside in the vehicle width direction. In the case of this example, the light is guided from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction in which each light source 10 is arranged. Each guide portion 200 has an incident surface 20a on which light from each corresponding light source 10 is incident on one end surface facing each light source 10. The guide unit 200 guides the light incident from the incident surface 20a to the exit unit 202 along the longitudinal direction while totally reflecting the light inside. Each of the emitting portions 212, 222, and 232 is continuous with the guide portions 210, 220, and 230, and irradiates the light guided by the guide portions 210, 220, and 230 to the front of the vehicle (dotted arrows in FIG. 2). Indicates the irradiation direction). Of the peripheral surfaces of the respective emitting portions 202, an emitting surface 20b that transmits light forward is formed on the front surface along the longitudinal direction. Further, a reflective surface 20c that reflects light forward is formed on the rear surface opposite to the exit surface 20b. The reflective surface 20c has, for example, a surface formed in a zigzag shape.

When the light source 10 is made to emit light, the light of each light source 10 is incident from the incident surface 20a of each guide portion 200 in each corresponding light guide body 20, passes through each guide portion 200, and is directed to each emission portion 202. It is guided. Then, the light is emitted from the exit surface 20b of each emission unit 202 to the front of the vehicle, so that each emission unit 202 is turned on. The light emitted from each of the emitting portions 202 (exit surface 20b) passes through the lens 40 and the outer lens (not shown) and irradiates the front of the vehicle.

In the present embodiment, the light source 10 and the light guide body 20 are arranged so as to be located on the same plane. The guide portion 200 and the exit portion 202 in each light guide body 20 are located on the same plane. Therefore, the optical paths from the light sources 11, 12, and 13 to the guide portions 210, 220, 230 and the exit portions 212, 222, and 232 of the light guide bodies 21, 22, and 23 are the optical axes of the light sources 11, 12, and 13. Is located on the same plane including. In this example, the optical path is located on a horizontal plane and does not deviate from the horizontal plane.

As shown in FIG. 2, the emission portions 212, 222, and 232 of the light guide bodies 21, 22, and 23 are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the vehicle front-rear direction but to be displaced from each other in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, it is possible to irradiate the front of the vehicle with light from the respective exits 212, 222, and 232 along the vehicle width direction. In this example, when the vehicle lighting device 1 is viewed from the front so that the light emitted forward from the light emitting portion 202 of the light guide 20 is not blocked by another light guide 20, the emitting portions 212 and 222 232 are arranged in order from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction.

Further, each of the emitting portions 212, 222, and 232 includes a parallel region 25 and a bending region 26. The parallel region 25 is a portion extending parallel to the longitudinal direction along the lens 40. The bending region 26 is a portion that is interposed between the guide portion 200 and the parallel region 25 and bends with respect to the parallel region 25. The exit portion 202 is bent in the bent region 26, and the parallel region 25 is parallel along the lens 40. In the present embodiment, the distance between the parallel region 25 of each exit portion 212, 222, 232 and the lens 40, specifically, the exit surface 20b in the parallel region 25 and the inner peripheral surface facing the exit surface 20b in the lens 40. The distance to and is substantially equal. The fact that the distances between the parallel regions 25 of the exiting portions 212, 222, and 232 and the lens 40 are substantially equal means the following. The distance to the lens 40 in each parallel region 25 is obtained. As for the distance between the parallel region 25 and the lens 40, five or more measurement points are set at equal intervals on the emission surface 20b along the longitudinal direction of the parallel region 25, and the shortest distance from the lens 40 at each measurement point. To measure. In addition, the total of the distances measured at the individual measurement points in each parallel region 25 is calculated, and the average value of the total of the respective distances is obtained. For example, if there are 5 measurement points for each of the emission units 212, 222, and 232, the average value of the distances measured at a total of 15 points is obtained. Then, when the distances to the lens 40 at all the measurement points in each parallel region 25 are within ± 20% of the average value, it is considered that the distances between each parallel region 25 and the lens 40 are substantially equal. More preferably, the distance to the lens 40 in each parallel region 25 is within ± 10%.

Of the pair of light guides 20 to which the light sources 10 are adjacent to each other, one emitting portion 202 is located in front of the other guide portion 200. In the case of this example, one of the light guide bodies 21 and 22 adjacent to each other, the exit portion 222, is located in front of the other guide portion 210. Further, of the adjacent light guide bodies 22 and 23, one of the light emitting portions 232 is located in front of the other guide portion 220. That is, one exit portion 202 located outside in the vehicle width direction is located in front of the other guide portion 200 in which the exit portion 202 is located inside in the vehicle width direction. In other words, the guide portion 200 of the other light guide body 20 whose exit portion 202 is located inside the vehicle width direction is the guide portion 200 of one light guide body 20 whose exit portion 202 is located outside in the vehicle width direction. It is located behind one of the exit portions 202.

Further, of the pair of light guide bodies 20 to which the light sources 10 are adjacent to each other, the bending region 26 of the other emitting portion 202 has a single inflection point 26f. In the case of this example, among the adjacent light guide bodies 21 and 22, a single inflection point 26f is provided in the bending region 26 of the other emitting portion 212 in which the guide portion 210 is located behind the one emitting portion 222. .. Further, among the adjacent light guide bodies 22 and 23, the guide portion 220 has a single inflection point 26f in the bending region 26 of the other emitting portion 222 located behind the one emitting portion 232. In this example, the bending region 26 of the exit portion 232 also has a single inflection point 26f.

In the present embodiment, the lengths of the irradiation ranges of the light emitted from the respective emission units 212, 222, and 232 are substantially the same. The length of the irradiation range means the length of the irradiation range along the vehicle width direction when the vehicle lamp 1 (emission unit 202) is viewed from the light irradiation direction (front in this example). In FIG. 2, the length of the irradiation range of the emitting unit 212 is L ₁ , and the length of the irradiation range of the emitting unit 222 is L _2. The length of the irradiation area of the exit portion 232 represented by _{L 3. The fact that the lengths (L 1} , L ₂ , L ₃ ) of the irradiation range of each of the emission units 212, 222, and 232 referred to here is substantially equal means the following. The number of the outgoing portion 202 of the total length of the irradiation range _{(L 1 + L 2 + L} 3) arranged along the vehicle width direction (in this three in this example) divided by the length of the average length (L _a). When the length _L 1 of the irradiation range of each emitting part 212, 222, _232, L 2, _{L 3} is within ± 20% of the average length _{L a,} regarded as substantially equal. More preferably, the length _L 1 of the irradiation range of each emitting part 212, 222, _232, L 2, _{L 3} is within ± 10% of the average length _{L a.}

In each of the emitting portion 212, 222, 232, the length of the irradiation range of light emitted from the parallel region 25 (in FIG. 2, the length indicated by _{L b),} the irradiation of the emitting portion 212, 222 It is preferably 50% or more, more preferably 60% or more, with respect to the length of the range (L ₁ , L ₂ , L _{3). The larger the ratio of the length (L b} ) of the irradiation range of each parallel region 25 to the length of the irradiation range (L ₁ , L ₂ , L ₃ ) of each emission unit 212, 222, 232 is preferable, and the upper limit thereof is, for example, 90% or less, and further 80% or less.

The light guide body 20 is made of, for example, a transparent resin such as an acrylic resin (PMMA) or a polycarbonate resin (PC) or glass. In this example, the guide portion 200 and the exit portion 202 are integrally formed.

(Lighting control circuit)
Further, the vehicle lighting device 1 of the present embodiment includes a lighting control circuit 31 that emits light from each light source 10 to control the lighting operation of each emission unit 202 in each light guide body 20. In this example, the lighting control circuit 31 is mounted on the substrate 30. The lighting control circuit 31 controls the light emitting operation of each light source 10 based on the lighting operation signal input by the operation of a lighting switch (not shown), and performs the lighting operation of each exit unit 202. Hereinafter, the lighting operation of the exit unit 202 by the lighting control circuit 31 will be described in detail. In the following description, the exiting portions 212, 222, and 232 may be referred to as a first emitting portion, a second emitting portion, and a third emitting portion in this order from the inside in the vehicle width direction. Further, the light source 21 having the first emission unit 212 has a first light source, the light source 22 having the second emission unit 222 has a second light source, and the third emission unit 232 is provided. The light guide body 23 may be referred to as a third light guide body, and the corresponding light sources 11, 12, and 13 may be referred to as a first light source, a second light source, and a third light source.

The lighting control circuit 31 lights in order from the exit portion 212 located inside in the vehicle width direction. Specifically, the timing of energizing each light source 10 is shifted, and the first light source 11, the second light source 12, and the third light source 13 are sequentially emitted to emit light, and the first light source 212 and the second light source 212 are emitted. The lights are turned on in the order of 222 and the third light source unit 232. That is, after the first light source 11 is made to emit light and the first light source 212 is turned on, the second light source 12 and the third light source 13 are continuously made to emit light in order to make the second light source 222 and the second light source 222. The third light source 232 is continuously lit. That is, so-called sequential lighting is performed so that the vehicle flows from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction. Then, after turning on the first emitting unit 212, the second emitting unit 222, and the third emitting unit 232 in this order, the light sources 11, 12, and 13 are repeatedly turned off.

In the present embodiment, the case where sequential lighting is performed by the lighting control circuit 31 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the light sources 11, 12, and 13 may be made to emit light at the same time, the emission units 212, 222, and 232 may be turned on at the same time, and then the light sources 11, 12, and 13 may be turned off.

<Effect>
The vehicle lighting device 1 of the above-described first embodiment has the following effects.

Since the plurality of light sources 10 are arranged on one of the inner side and the outer side in the vehicle width direction, it is possible to save the installation space and simplify the wiring of the light source 10. In particular, in the first embodiment, since the light sources 10 are collectively arranged on the outside in the vehicle width direction, it is easy to secure the installation space for the light sources 10. In a vehicle such as an automobile, a radiator or the like is mounted inside (center side) in the vehicle width direction at the front of the vehicle, so that it is easier to secure an installation space for the light source 10 on the outside in the vehicle width direction than on the inside. Is.

Further, the optical paths from the light sources 11, 12, 13 to the guide portions 210, 220, 230 and the exit portions 212, 222, 232 of the light guide bodies 21, 22, 23 are the optical axes of the light sources 11, 12, and 13. Is located on the same plane including. Therefore, there is no three-dimensionally curved portion in the optical path from each of the light sources 11, 12, and 13 to the exit portions 212, 222, and 232. Therefore, the leakage of light in the light guide can be suppressed, and the light from the light sources 11, 12, and 13 can be efficiently guided to the respective emission units 212, 222, and 232.

By making the distances between the parallel regions 25 of the respective emitting portions 212, 222, 232 and the lens 40 substantially equal, the variation in appearance when light is irradiated from the respective emitting portions 212, 222, 232 is reduced. Can be done. When the distances between the parallel regions 25 and the lens 40 are different, the width of the irradiation range of the light emitted from the respective emission portions 212, 222, and 232 is different when viewed from the outside of the vehicle. The width of the irradiation range means the width of the irradiation range along the vehicle vertical direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2) when the vehicle lighting device 1 (emission unit 202) is viewed from the light irradiation direction. For example, due to the diffusion of the light emitted from the exit unit 202, the width of the irradiation range is narrow in the emission unit 202 that is close to the lens 40, and the width of the irradiation range is wide in the exit unit 202 that is far from the lens 40. .. That is, there is a large variation in appearance when light is irradiated from the respective emitting portions 212, 222, and 232. On the other hand, by making the distances between the parallel regions 25 and the lens 40 equal, the width of the irradiation range of the light emitted from the respective exit portions 212, 222, and 232 can be made evenly close to each other. Therefore, the variation in appearance when light is irradiated from each of the emitting portions 212, 222, and 232 is reduced, and the appearance when lit is improved.

_{In particular, the length of the irradiation range (L b} ) of the light emitted from each parallel region 25 in each of the exit portions 212, 222, 232 is the length of the irradiation range (L) of each of the exit portions 212, 222, 232. _{1, L} 2, _{L 3)} having 50% or more, when it is more than 60%, it is possible to bring the width of the irradiation range of light irradiated from each of the emitting portion 212, 222, 232 more evenly .. This is because the ratio of the irradiation range of each parallel region 25 to the irradiation range of each emission unit 212, 222, 232 increases. Therefore, the variation in appearance when light is irradiated from each of the emission units 212, 222, and 232 becomes smaller.

Further, since the light source 10 has only a single inflection point 26f in the bending region 26 of the other emitting portion 202 (the emitting portion 212 and 222 in FIG. 2) of the pair of light guide bodies 20 adjacent to each other, the bending point 26f is bent. Light leakage in the region 26 can be suppressed. This is because if a plurality of inflection points 26f are present in the bending region 26, light leakage is likely to occur in the bending region 26.

Further, in the embodiment 1, when the length _L 1 of the irradiation range of each emitting part 212, 222, _232, L 2, _{L 3} is that substantially equal, that the exit portion 212, 222, 232 is sequentially turned Looks good.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the direction of the optical axis (emission direction) of each light source 10 and the irradiation direction of light from each emission unit 202 coincide with each other. By matching the light emitting direction of each light source 10 with the irradiation direction of the light from each emitting unit 202, the light from each light source 10 can be easily emitted from each emitting unit 202 in the irradiation direction. In the case of this example, since the light sources 11, 12, and 13 are arranged so that the optical axis faces forward, the light from each of the light sources 11, 12, and 13 irradiates forward from each of the emission units 212, 222, and 232. Easy to do.

The present invention is not limited to these examples, and is indicated by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. Examples of modifications of the vehicle lighting device 1 of the first embodiment include the following.

In the first embodiment, the embodiment in which the plurality of light sources 10 are arranged outside in the vehicle width direction has been described, but as shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of light sources 10 can be arranged inside in the vehicle width direction. be. In this case, each light guide body 20 corresponding to each light source 10 is formed so as to extend from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction. Each light guide body 20 shown in FIG. 3 extends from one end side facing each light source 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and is curved and extends from the inside to the outside in the vehicle width direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, of the pair of light guide bodies 20 in which the light sources 10 are adjacent to each other, one emitting unit 202 (in the example of FIG. 3, the emitting unit 212 and 222) is the other guide unit 200 (guide unit). It is located in front of 220, 230). That is, one exit portion 202 located inside in the vehicle width direction is located in front of the other guide portion 200 in which the exit portion 202 is located outside in the vehicle width direction.

In the first embodiment, the embodiment in which the number of the light source 10 and the light guide body 20 is three has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of the light source 10 and the light guide body 20 may be two. However, the number may be four or more. For example, in the vehicle lighting device 1 shown in FIG. 2, when the number of the light source 10 and the light guide body 20 is 4, the fourth exit portion is located outside the exit portion 232 in the vehicle width direction. The addition of another light guide can be mentioned.

In the first embodiment, the vehicle lighting device 1 applied to the direction indicator provided at the front portion of the vehicle has been described as an example, but the vehicle lighting device 1 is applied to the direction indicator provided at the rear portion of the vehicle. It is also possible to do. In this case, the front-rear direction is opposite to that of the vehicle lighting device 1 described in the first embodiment, and the light is emitted toward the rear of the vehicle. That is, the orientation of each light source 10 and the positional relationship of each light guide body 20 are reversed in the front-rear direction, and light is emitted from the exit portion 202 of each light guide body 20 to the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle lighting device of the present invention can be suitably used as a turn signal for an automobile.

100 Vehicles 1 Vehicle lights (direction indicators)
10, 11, 12, 13 Light source 20, 21, 22, 23 Light guide 200, 210, 220, 230 Guide part 20a Incident surface 202, 212, 222, 232 Exit part 20b Exit surface 20c Reflection surface 25 Parallel region 26 Bending Area 26f Inflection point 30 Board 31 Lighting control circuit 40 Lens

Claims (2)

It is a vehicle lighting device that irradiates light toward the outside of the vehicle.
Multiple light sources located on either the inside or the outside in the vehicle width direction,
A plurality of light guides extending from one of the inner and outer sides in the vehicle width direction in which each of the light sources is arranged toward the other,
Provided with lenses, the,
The plurality of light sources are arranged in the vehicle width direction, and the plurality of light sources are arranged in the vehicle width direction.
Each of the plurality of light guides has a guide portion and an exit portion, and has a guide portion and an emission portion.
The lens is arranged so as to face the exit portion of each light guide body.
The optical paths from each light source to the guide portion and the emission portion of each light guide body are located on the same plane including the optical axis of each light source.
Each of the guide portions guides the light from each of the light sources to each of the exit portions.
Each of the emitting parts
The light is arranged so as to be offset from each other in the vehicle width direction without overlapping in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the light guided by each of the guide portions is irradiated to the outside of the vehicle .
A parallel region having substantially the same distance from the lens and a bending region interposed between the guide portion and the parallel region are included.
Of the pair of light guides in which the light sources are adjacent to each other
One of the emitting parts is located outward with respect to the other of the guide parts.
A vehicle lamp having a single inflection point in the other bending region. Each of the light sources is arranged outside in the vehicle width direction.
The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each light guide body is formed so as to extend from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction.

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