CN115823521A - Light guide and vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a light guide body and a vehicle lamp, which can make a corner part on the opposite side of the extending direction of a 1 st light guide part emit light. The light guide body guides light emitted by the light source, wherein the light guide body comprises a light incident portion, a 1 st light guide portion and a 2 nd light guide portion, the light incident portion is a light incident portion for light emitted by the light source to enter, and the 1 st light guide portion is a light guide portion as follows: the light guide member extends from one end portion toward the other end portion, emits light by light guided by the 2 nd light guide member, incident from the one end portion, and guided toward the other end portion in the 1 st light guide member, and the 2 nd light guide member is a light guide member having: the light guide plate is connected to the light incident portion and the 1 st light guide portion, has a curved portion as a total internal surface reflection surface, and guides light incident from the light incident portion to one end portion, and an auxiliary light emitting portion is formed in the 2 nd light guide portion in a direction different from a direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends, and emits light by light guided by the 2 nd light guide portion and incident on the auxiliary light emitting portion.

Description

Light guide and vehicle lamp

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a light guide and a vehicle lamp, and more particularly, to a light guide and a vehicle lamp capable of emitting light at a corner on the opposite side of the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends.

Background

There is known a vehicle lamp configured as follows: a light source is disposed near an end of a rod-shaped light guide portion extending in the longitudinal direction, and light from the light source is made incident from the end of the light guide portion (see, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2016-100256).

In contrast, the present inventors studied the following: as shown in fig. 13, the light source 220 is disposed at a portion separated from the end 232a of the rod-shaped 1 st light guide part 232 extending in the longitudinal direction (a portion separated in a direction intersecting the direction in which the 1 st light guide part 232 extends), and the 2 nd light guide part 233 is provided which extends from the front of the light source 220 (for example, extends so as to be folded in a U shape) and is integrally connected to the end 232a of the 1 st light guide part 232, and light from the light source 220 is guided by the 2 nd light guide part 233 and enters from the end 232a of the 1 st light guide part 232. Fig. 13 shows an example of a light guide part studied by the present inventors.

Disclosure of Invention

However, in such a case, there is a problem that the corner portion (see the range indicated by reference sign L3 in fig. 13) on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion 232 extends cannot emit light.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a light guide body and a vehicle lamp capable of emitting light at a corner portion on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends.

A light guide according to the present invention is a light guide that guides light emitted from a light source, the light guide including an incident portion, a 1 st light guide portion, and a 2 nd light guide portion, the incident portion being an incident portion into which the light emitted from the light source enters, the 1 st light guide portion being a light guide portion that: the light guide member extends from one end portion toward the other end portion, emits light by the light guided by the 2 nd light guide member, the light being incident from the one end portion and guided in the 1 st light guide member toward the other end portion, and the 2 nd light guide member is a light guide member having: and a second light guide portion that connects the light incident portion and the first light guide portion, has a curved portion that is a total internal reflection surface, and guides the light incident from the light incident portion to the one end portion, and an auxiliary light emitting portion that emits light using the light guided by the first light guide portion and incident on the auxiliary light emitting portion is formed in the second light guide portion in a direction different from a direction in which the first light guide portion extends.

With this configuration, the corner portion on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends can be made to emit light.

This is achieved by the auxiliary light emitting unit provided in the 2 nd light guide unit emitting light by the light guided by the 2 nd light guide unit and incident on the auxiliary light emitting unit.

In the light guide, the auxiliary light emitting unit may include a front surface as a light exit surface and a rear surface on the opposite side thereof, and the auxiliary light emitting unit may be provided on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide unit extends.

In the above light guide, the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting unit may be a flat surface.

In the light guide, the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting unit may have an arc-shaped cross section along the front surface of the 1 st light guide unit.

In the light guide, the rear surface of the auxiliary light emitting unit may include a 1 st optical element and a 2 nd optical element, the 1 st optical element may be a total reflection surface that totally reflects light guided to the auxiliary light emitting unit by the 2 nd light guide unit and incident on the 1 st optical element toward the 2 nd optical element, and the 2 nd optical element may be a total reflection surface that totally reflects reflected light from the 1 st optical element and emits the reflected light from the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting unit.

In the light guide, the 1 st optical element may be formed as a part of an inner wall of a recess formed in the rear surface of the auxiliary light emitting portion, and the 2 nd optical element may be formed in a thick portion of the auxiliary light emitting portion where the recess is not formed.

In the light guide body, the 2 nd light guide portion may be a light guide portion including: one end portion is integrally connected to the light incident portion, and the other end portion is integrally connected to one end portion of the 1 st light guide portion, and the curved portion is formed of a straight line or a curved line or a combination of a straight line and a curved line with respect to the traveling direction of light.

In the light guide, the light exit surface of the auxiliary light guide unit, that is, the front surface may be corrugated.

In the light guide, the auxiliary light emitting unit may have a thickness smaller than that of the 2 nd light guide unit in the light irradiation direction.

The vehicle lamp of the present invention includes a light source and the light guide described above.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a light guide body and a vehicle lamp that can emit light at a corner portion on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description given below and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and thus should not be taken as limiting the present invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a vehicle lamp 10.

Fig. 2 isbase:Sub>A sectional view (partial sectional view)base:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the light guide 30 in the vicinity of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34, viewed from the rear surface 34b side.

Fig. 5 is a front view (including an optical path diagram) of the light guide 30.

Fig. 6 isbase:Sub>A sectional view (partial sectional view) taken along linebase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 1 (including an optical path diagram).

Fig. 7 is a front view of the vehicle lamp 10 in a state where the opening of the housing 50 is covered with the light shielding member 60.

Fig. 8 is a front view of the vehicle lamp 100 of the comparative example.

Fig. 9 is a front view of the light guide 30A (modification).

Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34A of the light guide 30A as viewed from the rear surface 34Ab side.

Fig. 11 is a front view (including an optical path diagram) of the light guide 30A (modification).

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view C-C of fig. 9.

Fig. 13 shows an example of a light guide part studied by the present inventors.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a vehicle lamp 10 using a light guide 30 as an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In each drawing, corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a vehicle lamp 10. Fig. 2 isbase:Sub>A sectional view (partial sectional view)base:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view B-B of fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the light guide 30 in the vicinity of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34, viewed from the rear surface 34b side. Fig. 5 is a front view (including an optical path diagram) of the light guide 30. Fig. 6 isbase:Sub>A sectional view (partial sectional view) taken along linebase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A of fig. 1 (including an optical path diagram).

The vehicle lamp 10 is a vehicle signal lamp that functions as a tail lamp, and is mounted on each of the left and right sides of the rear end of a vehicle (not shown) such as an automobile. Since the vehicle lamps 10 mounted on both the left and right sides have a bilaterally symmetrical structure, the following description will be given of the vehicle lamp 10 mounted on the right side (the right side toward the front of the vehicle) of the rear end portion of the vehicle, as a representative example. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, XYZ axes are defined as shown in fig. 1. The X-axis extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. The Y axis extends in the vehicle width direction. The Z-axis extends in the vertical direction.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the vehicle lamp 10 includes a light source 20, a light guide 30 that guides light emitted from the light source 20, a reflector 40 disposed behind the light guide 30, and a housing 50 disposed behind the reflector 40. In order to reflect the light leaking from the light guide 30 toward the reflector 40 and make the vehicle lamp 10 (light guide 30) look bright, the reflector 40 is preferably made of white resin. In fig. 1, the reflector 40 is omitted.

The light source 20 is a semiconductor light emitting element such as an LED that emits red light. The light source 20 is disposed at a position separated from the one end portion 32a of the 1 st light guide unit 32 in a direction intersecting with (e.g., orthogonal to) the direction in which the 1 st light guide unit 32 extends, for example, in the vicinity of the lower side of the one end portion 32a of the 1 st light guide unit 32. At this time, the light source 20 is attached to the reflector 40 (or the housing 50) or the like in a state where its light emitting surface faces the rear of the vehicle and its optical axis extends in the X direction.

The light guide 30 is made of transparent resin such as acryl, polycarbonate, and the like, and as shown in fig. 1, the light guide 30 includes a light incident portion 31, a 1 st light guide portion 32, and a 2 nd light guide portion 33.

The light incident portion 31 is a light incident portion into which light emitted from the light source 20 enters. The light incident portion 31 is disposed in front of the light source 20 (light emitting surface). Although not shown, the light incident portion 31 includes a total reflection surface that totally reflects the light incident from the light incident portion 31 toward the 2 nd light guide portion 33 (one end portion 33 a).

The 1 st light guide part 32 is a rod-shaped light guide part (light guide rod) as follows: the light guide member extends from one end portion 32a disposed on the inside in the vehicle width direction toward the other end portion 32b disposed on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and emits light by light guided by the 2 nd light guide member 33, incident from the one end portion 32a, and guided toward the other end portion 32b in the 1 st light guide member 32.

Hereinafter, an example will be described in which a light guide bar (see fig. 3) having a circular cross-sectional shape on a plane (XZ plane) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (Y direction) is used as the 1 st light guide unit 32. Further, without being limited thereto, a light guide rod having a cross-sectional shape other than a circle on a plane (XZ plane) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (Y direction) may be used as the 1 st light guide portion 32, and for example, a ginkgo-shaped light guide rod may be used. Further, a light guide rod having a ginkgo-shaped cross-sectional shape is described in, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-41368.

As shown in fig. 2, the outer peripheral surface of the 1 st light guide part 32 includes a front surface 32c disposed on the vehicle rear side and a rear surface 32d disposed on the opposite side (vehicle front side) thereof.

As shown in fig. 3, front surface 32c of 1 st light guide part 32 is a curved surface (cylindrical surface) having an arc shape in which a cross-sectional shape on a plane (XZ plane) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (Y direction) is convex toward the vehicle rear side. On the other hand, the rear surface 32d of the 1 st light guide unit 32 is a flat surface and includes a plurality of lens cut surfaces LC1 (also referred to as light guide slits), and the plurality of lens cut surfaces LC1 totally reflect (diffuse-reflect) the light Ray1 (see fig. 5 and 6) guided in the 1 st light guide unit 32 and incident on the rear surface 32d, and emit the light Ray from the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide unit 32 (see fig. 6).

The lens cut surface LC1 is, for example, a total reflection surface formed by cutting a V groove (for example, a V groove extending in the Z direction) into the rear surface 32d of the 1 st light guide part 32. In fig. 1, the lens cut surface LC1 is disposed within the range shown by reference numeral L1.

The 2 nd light guide part 33 is a light guide part as follows: the light entering from the light incident portion 31 and entering the 2 nd light guide portion 33 is totally reflected to the one end portion 32a of the 1 st light guide portion 32 and guided. The 2 nd light guide part 33 is connected to the light incident part 31 and the 1 st light guide part 32, for example, and has a curved part (or a curved part including a total internal reflection surface) as a total internal reflection surface. The curved portion may be formed of, for example, a straight line or a curved line or a combination of a straight line and a curved line with respect to the traveling direction of the light Ray 1. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the 2 nd beam guide part 33 is a beam guide part having a curved shape (for example, a U-shape curved so as to be convex inward in the vehicle width direction) in which one end part 33a is integrally connected to the light incident part 31 and the other end part 33b is integrally connected to one end part 32a of the 1 st beam guide part 32.

The 2 nd light guide part 33 includes an auxiliary light emitting part 34. The auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is a unit including: the light beams formed in a direction different from the direction in which the 1 st light guide part 32 extends are emitted by the light rays 2 and 3 (see fig. 5 and 6) guided by the 2 nd light guide part 33 and incident on the auxiliary light emitting part 34.

As shown in fig. 2, the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 includes a front surface 34a as a light exit surface disposed on the vehicle rear side and a rear surface 34b disposed on the opposite side (vehicle front side) thereof. The auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is provided at a corner (on an extension line of the 1 st light guide unit 32) on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide unit 32 extends (see fig. 1). The front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is, for example, a flat surface. The front surface 34a of the auxiliary light-emitting part 34, which is a light-exiting surface, is subjected to a corrugation process (a plurality of fine asperity processes).

As shown in fig. 2, the thickness T1 of the auxiliary light emitting part 34 (the thickness between the front surface 34a and the rear surface 34 b) is thinner than the thickness T2 of the 2 nd light guide part 33 in the light irradiation direction. The auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is provided in a state where one end edge (right end edge in fig. 2) thereof is integrally connected to the 2 nd light guide unit 33.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 includes a total reflection surface TRef1 and a lens cut surface LC2 (also referred to as a light guide slit).

The total reflection surface TRef1 is a total reflection surface that totally reflects the light Ray2 (see fig. 4 and 6) guided to the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 by the 2 nd light guide unit 33 and entering the total reflection surface TRef1 toward the lens cut surface LC2. Total reflection surface TRef1 is an example of the 1 st optical element of the present invention.

By forming an inverted triangular concave portion 34c (non-cutting range) in the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34, total reflection surfaces TRef1 (4 total reflection surfaces TRef1 are illustrated in fig. 4) are formed as a part of the inner wall of the concave portion 34 c. The total reflection surface TRef1 is not limited to 4, and may be 1 to 3 or 5 or more. The total reflection surface TRef1 is provided in a step shape from a root portion side (2 nd light guide portion 33 side) of the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 toward the inside in the vehicle width direction and toward an obliquely upper side (an obliquely upper right side in fig. 4). A connection surface 34d is provided between the total reflection surfaces TRef 1. In addition, the inclination angle of the total reflection surface TRef1 may be an appropriate inclination angle.

The lens cut surface LC2 (4 lens cut surfaces LC2 are illustrated in fig. 4) is a total reflection surface that totally reflects the reflected light from the total reflection surface TRef1 to be emitted from the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34. The number of the lens cut surfaces LC2 is not limited to 4, and may be 1 to 3, or 5 or more. The lens cut surface LC2 is an example of the 2 nd optical element of the present invention.

The lens cut surface LC2 is formed in a thick-walled portion of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 where the recess 34c is not formed (a region located on the inside in the vehicle width direction (the right side in fig. 4) with respect to the total reflection surface TRef1 in the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34). The lens cut surface LC2 is, for example, a total reflection surface formed by cutting a V groove (e.g., a V groove extending in the Z direction) into the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting section 34. The depth h (see fig. 2) of the V-grooves is deeper as the distance from the 1 st light guide portion 32 (one end portion 32 a) increases. Accordingly, even if the total reflection surface TRef1 is distant from the 1 st light guide part 32 (one end part 32 a), the reflected light from the total reflection surface TRef1 can be totally reflected and emitted from the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting part 34.

Next, the optical path through which the light emitted from the light source 20 passes will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6.

In the vehicle lamp 10 configured as described above, when the light source 20 is turned on, light emitted from the light source 20 enters from the light entrance portion 31.

As shown in fig. 5, a part of the light Ray1 incident from the light incident portion 31 is guided to the one end portion 32a of the 1 st beam guide portion 32 by the 2 nd beam guide portion 33, and travels while repeating internal reflection toward the other end portion 32b in the 1 st beam guide portion 32. At this time, as shown in fig. 6, light Ray1 incident on rear surface 32d (lens cut surface LC 1) of 1 st light guide part 32 is totally reflected (diffusion reflected) by the lens cut surface LC1 and is emitted from front surface 32c of 1 st light guide part 32. Thereby, the 1 st light guide unit 32 emits light.

As shown in fig. 5, the other part of the light rays 2 and 3 incident from the light incident portion 31 is guided to the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 by the 2 nd light guide portion 33.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the light Ray2 guided to the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 by the 2 nd light guide unit 33 and incident on the total reflection surface TRef1 is totally reflected by the total reflection surface TRef1 toward the inside in the vehicle width direction (the lens cut surface LC 2). As shown in fig. 6, the light Ray2 totally reflected by the total reflection surface TRef1 is further totally reflected (diffusion reflection) by the lens cut surface LC2, and is emitted from the front surface 34a (mainly, the region opposed to the lens cut surface LC 2) of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 (see fig. 6).

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, light Ray3 guided to the auxiliary light emitting part 34 by the 2 nd light guide part 33 and incident on the thin part (the part between the bottom surface of the concave part 34c and the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting part 34) of the auxiliary light emitting part 34 is emitted from the front surface 34a (mainly, the region facing the concave part 34 c) of the auxiliary light emitting part 34. Part of the light (diffused light after being reflected by the white resin) that has leaked from the light guide 30 toward the reflector 40 and has been reflected by the white resin reflector 40 also passes through the thin portion (the portion between the bottom surface of the concave portion 34c and the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34) of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 and is emitted from the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34. As described above, the light rays 2, 3, etc. are emitted from the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34, and the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 emits light. At this time, since the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting part 34 is subjected to the wrinkle process (a plurality of minute concave-convex processes), the auxiliary light emitting part 34 can be uniformly (substantially uniformly) emitted. Further, by increasing the thickness T1 (see fig. 2) of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34, the light incident on the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 increases, and therefore the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 can be made to emit light brightly. On the other hand, when the thickness T1 (see fig. 2) of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is increased, the light entering the 1 st light guide unit 32 is decreased, but the 1 st light guide unit 32 can be brightly emitted by increasing the density of the lens cut surface LC1 provided in the range indicated by reference numeral L1 in fig. 1, or the like.

Fig. 7 is a front view of the vehicle lamp 10 in a state where the opening of the housing 50 is covered with the light shielding member 60.

As shown in fig. 7, the opening of the case 50 is covered with the light blocking member 60 (e.g., the extending portion) having the opening 51 (through hole) through which the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide portion 32 and the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 are exposed, whereby the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide portion 32 and the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 exposed from the opening 51 (through hole) can constitute a linear light emitting portion. The light blocking member 60 is attached to the reflector 40 (or the housing 50), for example.

Next, the effects of the vehicle lamp 10 configured as described above will be described in comparison with a comparative example.

Fig. 8 is a front view of a vehicle lamp 100 of a comparative example.

The vehicle lamp 100 of the comparative example includes a light source 120 and a light guide 130 that guides light emitted from the light source 120.

The light source 120 is disposed with its light emitting surface facing the one end portion 132a (light incident portion) of the light guide 130.

The light guide 130 is a long light guide rod extending in the Y direction from one end portion 132a disposed on the inside in the vehicle width direction to the other end portion 132b disposed on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and the 2 nd light guide portion 33 is omitted. Except for this, the light guide 130 has the same structure as the 1 st light guide 32.

In the vehicle lamp 100 of the comparative example, the light source 120 is disposed on the side opposite to the direction in which the light guide 130 extends, and therefore the range indicated by the reference symbol L2 in fig. 8 cannot be made to emit light. That is, the range indicated by reference numeral L2 is a dark portion where no light is emitted.

Therefore, for example, although not shown, in fig. 8, when a cover lamp (a movable portion such as a trunk lid provided in a vehicle) is disposed adjacent to the left side of the vehicle lamp 100 (in a state where the trunk lid is closed), a dark portion (a dark portion at least in a range indicated by reference numeral L2 in fig. 8) is formed between a light emitting portion formed by lighting the light source 120 (a linear light emitting portion constituted by the front surface of the light guide 130 exposed from the opening 51) and a light emitting portion formed by lighting the cover lamp. The dark portion is formed mainly by the thickness of the substrate K on which the light source 120 is mounted and the space provided between the light source 120 and the one end portion 132a (light incident portion) of the light guide 130 in order to prevent the melting loss of the one end portion 132a (light incident portion) of the light guide 130. As a result, there is a problem that it cannot be visually recognized that the vehicle lamp 100 (light guide 130) and the cover lamp emit light integrally.

In contrast, in the vehicle lamp 10 configured as described above, since the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 (see fig. 7) is disposed on the side opposite to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion 32 extends, the range indicated by reference symbol L2 in fig. 8 can be made to emit light.

Therefore, for example, although not shown, in fig. 7, it is suppressed that a dark portion (at least a dark portion in a range indicated by reference symbol L2 in fig. 8) is formed between the light emitting portion formed by lighting the light source 20 and the light emitting portion formed by lighting the cover lamp when the cover lamp (a movable portion such as a trunk lid provided in the vehicle) is disposed adjacent to the left side of the vehicle lamp 10 (in a state where the trunk lid is closed). As a result, the vehicle lamp 10 (the linear light emitting portion constituted by the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide portion 32 exposed from the opening 51 and the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34) and the cover lamp can be visually recognized to emit light integrally.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the corner portion on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion 32 extends can be made to emit light.

This is achieved by the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 provided in the 2 nd light guide unit 33 emitting light by the light rays 2 and 3 (see fig. 4 to 6) guided by the 2 nd light guide unit 33 and incident on the auxiliary light emitting unit 34.

Next, a modified example will be described.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the front surface 34a of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is subjected to the wrinkle processing has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The corrugation process may also be omitted.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the total reflection surface TRef1 and the lens cut surface LC2 are provided on the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 has been described, but is not limited thereto. For example, the rear surface 34b of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 may also be a flat surface from which the total reflection surface TRef1 and the lens cut surface LC2 are omitted.

Next, a modified example of the light guide 30 will be described. Hereinafter, the light guide 30A is described.

Fig. 9 is a front view of the light guide 30A (modification). Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34A of the light guide 30A as viewed from the rear surface 34Ab side. Fig. 11 is a front view (including an optical path diagram) of the light guide 30A (modification). Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view C-C of fig. 9.

The light guide 30A is made of transparent resin such as acryl or polycarbonate, and includes a light incident portion 31, a 1 st light guide portion 32, and a 2 nd light guide portion 33A as shown in fig. 9. Hereinafter, differences from the light guide 30 will be mainly described. The same components as those of the light guide 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted as appropriate

The 2 nd light guide part 33A is a light guide part that guides light incident from the light incident part 31 to one end part 32a of the 1 st light guide part 32. Specifically, the 2 nd light guide portion 33A is a linear light guide portion extending in the Z direction, one end portion 33Aa being integrally connected to the light incident portion 31, and the other end portion 33Ab being integrally connected to the one end portion 32a of the 1 st light guide portion 32 via the total reflection surface TRef2 (45 ° inclined surface).

The 2 nd light guide portion 33A includes an auxiliary light emitting portion 34A. The auxiliary light emitting unit 34A emits light by the light Ray2 (see fig. 11 and 12) guided by the 2 nd light guide unit 33A and incident on the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A.

As shown in fig. 10, the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A includes a front surface 34Aa, which is a light exit surface, disposed on the rear side of the vehicle, and a rear surface 34Ab disposed on the opposite side (the front side of the vehicle). The auxiliary light emitting unit 34A is provided at a corner (on an extension line of the 1 st light guide unit 32) on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide unit 32 extends.

As shown in fig. 10 and 12, the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A is provided in a state of being integrally connected to the 2 nd light guide unit 33A. The front surface 34Aa of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A is, for example, a surface having an arc-shaped cross section along the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide unit 32. Similarly, the rear surface 34Ab of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A is also a surface having an arc-shaped cross section.

In the vehicle lamp 10 using the light guide 30A having the above-described configuration, when the light source 20 is turned on, light emitted from the light source 20 enters from the light entrance portion 31.

As shown in fig. 11, a part of the light Ray1 incident from the light incident portion 31 is guided to the one end portion 32a of the 1 st light guide portion 32 by the 2 nd light guide portion 33A, and travels while repeating internal reflection toward the other end portion 32b (not shown in fig. 11) in the 1 st light guide portion 32. At this time, similarly to the case shown in fig. 5, the light Ray1 incident on the rear surface 32d (the lens cut surface LC 1) of the 1 st light guide part 32 is totally reflected (diffuse reflected) by the lens cut surface LC1 and is emitted from the front surface 32c of the 1 st light guide part 32. Thereby, the 1 st light guide unit 32 emits light.

Further, the other part of the light Ray2 incident from the light incident portion 31 is guided to the auxiliary light emitting portion 34 by the 2 nd light guide portion 33A.

The light Ray2 guided to the auxiliary light emitting part 34A by the 2 nd light guide part 33A (see fig. 11) is emitted from the front surface 34Aa of the auxiliary light emitting part 34A (see fig. 12). Thereby, the auxiliary light emitting unit 34A emits light.

In addition, in the light guide 30A of the present modification, as in the above-described embodiment, the front surface 34Aa of the auxiliary light emitting section 34A may be subjected to a corrugation process (a plurality of fine uneven processes). In addition, in the light guide 30A of the present modification, as in the above-described embodiment, the total reflection surface TRef1 and the lens cut surface LC2 may be provided on the rear surface 34Ab of the auxiliary light emitting portion 34A.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is provided in a state in which one end edge (right end edge in fig. 2) is integrally connected to the 2 nd light guide unit 33 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one end edge of the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 may be provided in a state of being integrally connected to a portion of the 2 nd light guide unit 33 closer to the vehicle rear side (lower side in fig. 2), or may be provided in a state of being integrally connected to a portion of the 2 nd light guide unit 33 between the portion closer to the vehicle front side and the portion closer to the vehicle rear side.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 is provided at the corner (on the extension line of the 1 st light guide unit 32) on the opposite side to the direction in which the 1 st light guide unit 32 extends has been described (see fig. 1), but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the auxiliary light emitting unit 34 may be provided in any portion of the 2 nd light guide unit 33.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the rod-shaped light guide portion (light guide rod) is used as the 1 st light guide portion 32 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plate-shaped light guide portion may be used as the 1 st light guide portion 32.

In the above-described embodiments, the example in which the vehicle lamp of the present invention is applied to the tail lamp has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle lamp of the present invention may be applied to other vehicle signal lamps such as a rear lamp, a position lamp, a front combination lamp, a rear combination lamp, a position lamp, and a side marker lamp, and to vehicle lamps such as a headlamp.

All of the numerical values shown in the above embodiments are examples, and it is needless to say that appropriate numerical values different from these numerical values can be used.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative in all respects. The present invention is not to be construed as being limited by the description of the embodiments. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics.

Claims (10)

1. A light guide for guiding light emitted from a light source,

the light guide body comprises a light incident part, a 1 st light guide part and a 2 nd light guide part,

the light incident part is used for the incident of the light emitted by the light source,

the 1 st light guide part is a light guide part as follows: extending from one end portion toward the other end portion, and emitting light by the light guided by the 2 nd light guide portion, incident from the one end portion, and guided toward the other end portion in the 1 st light guide portion,

the 2 nd light guide portion is a light guide portion as follows: a curved portion connecting the light incident portion and the 1 st light guide portion and having a total reflection surface as an inner surface, the curved portion guiding the light incident from the light incident portion to the one end portion,

an auxiliary light emitting portion is formed in the 2 nd light guide portion in a direction different from the direction in which the 1 st light guide portion extends,

the auxiliary light emitting unit is a portion that emits light by the light guided by the 2 nd light guide unit and incident on the auxiliary light emitting unit.

2. The light guide according to claim 1,

the auxiliary light emitting part includes a front surface as a light exit surface and a rear surface opposite to the front surface, and is disposed on a side opposite to a direction in which the 1 st light guide part extends.

3. The light guide according to claim 2,

the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting part is a flat surface.

4. The light guide according to claim 2,

the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting part is a surface having an arc-shaped cross section along the front surface of the 1 st light guide part.

5. The light guide according to claim 2,

the rear surface of the auxiliary light emitting part includes a 1 st optical element and a 2 nd optical element,

the 1 st optical element is a total reflection surface totally reflecting light guided to the auxiliary light emitting unit by the 2 nd light guide unit and entering the 1 st optical element toward the 2 nd optical element,

the 2 nd optical element is a total reflection surface that totally reflects the reflected light from the 1 st optical element and emits the reflected light from the front surface of the auxiliary light emitting unit.

6. The light guide according to claim 5,

forming an inverted triangular concave portion on the rear surface of the auxiliary light emitting portion, and forming the 1 st optical element as a part of an inner wall of the concave portion,

the 2 nd optical element is formed in a thick-walled portion of the auxiliary light emitting portion where the recess is not formed.

7. The light guide according to claim 1,

the 2 nd light guide portion is a light guide portion as follows: one end portion is integrally connected to the light incident portion, and the other end portion is integrally connected to one end portion of the 1 st light guide portion,

the curved portion is constituted by a straight line or a curved line or a combination of a straight line and a curved line with respect to the traveling direction of light.

8. The light guide according to claim 1,

the light-emitting surface of the auxiliary light guide unit, that is, the front surface is corrugated.

9. The light guide according to claim 1,

the auxiliary light emitting part has a thickness smaller than that of the 2 nd light guide part in a light irradiation direction.

10. A vehicular lamp having the light guide body according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a light source.

Images