JP7525820B2 - Optical unit and lighting device - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an optical unit having a light guide plate, and a lighting device having this optical unit.

Conventionally, lighting devices such as emergency exit lights use optical units that include a light guide plate and a light source unit that inputs light to the light guide plate.

In such optical units, the optical characteristics tend to vary depending on the positional relationship between the light guide plate and the light source, so stabilizing the optical characteristics is desirable.

JP 2020-21541 A

The present invention aims to provide an optical unit and lighting device that can stabilize optical characteristics.

The optical unit of the embodiment includes a frame body, a light guide plate, and a light source section. The light guide plate has an emission surface and is arranged on the frame body from a first direction along the emission surface. The light source section is attached to the frame body from the first direction, and is positioned and attached to a position in contact with the light guide plate arranged on the frame body in the first direction, and is positioned and attached to a position in contact with the frame body or the light guide plate in a second direction perpendicular to the emission surface of the light guide plate arranged on the frame body. The frame body has an opening into which the light source section is inserted from the first direction, and a protrusion protruding into the opening. The light source section has a locking section that is engaged with the protrusion, and is attached to the frame body from the first direction by being inserted into the opening of the frame body and the locking section being engaged with the protrusion.

The optical unit of the embodiment is expected to stabilize optical characteristics.

1 is a perspective view of an illumination device including an optical unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lighting device with the decorative frame removed. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the optical unit in an exploded state. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical unit in an exploded state. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical unit in an assembled state. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical unit in an assembled state. FIG. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing an assembly procedure for the display panel of the optical unit.

An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show an emergency exit light 10, which is a lighting device. Emergency exit light 10 comprises a main body 11, an optical unit 12, a power supply unit 13, and a decorative frame 14. Emergency exit light 10 is a recessed emergency exit light in which main body 11 is recessed into a recessed hole provided in an installation portion, such as a ceiling board, and optical unit 12 protrudes from the underside of the ceiling board. In the following description of emergency exit light 10, the direction perpendicular to the main surface (display panel) of optical unit 12 is defined as the front-rear direction, and the width direction of the main surface is defined as the left-right direction.

The main body 11 has a top plate portion 20, front and rear side plate portions 21 of the top plate portion 20, and side plate portions 22 on both the left and right sides of the top plate portion 20, and is formed in a rectangular box shape that is open on the bottom side and is longer in the left-right direction than in the front-to-back direction. The front and rear side plate portions 21 are provided with edge portions 23 that are joined to the underside of the ceiling plate when embedded, and a mounting bracket is attached so that it can slide up and down. The main body 11 is then inserted into the embedding hole in the ceiling plate, and with the edge portion 23 pressed against the underside of the ceiling plate, the mounting bracket 24 is lowered to engage with the upper surface of the ceiling plate, whereby the main body 11 is installed on the top plate. Note that the installation configuration of the main body 11 is not limited to this configuration, and any configuration may be used, such as attaching it to a hanging bolt from the ceiling.

The optical unit 12 is shown in Figs. 3 to 9. The optical unit 12 has a frame 30 which is a case, a light guide plate 31 arranged inside the frame 30, a light source section 32 attached to the frame 30, and a display plate 33 arranged on the front side of the frame 30 (light guide plate 31). The optical unit 12 is a single-sided display type in which the display plate 33 is arranged on only one side of the frame 30, but it may also be a double-sided display type in which the display plate 33 is arranged on both sides of the frame 30.

The frame body 30 is formed in a rectangular frame shape. The frame body 30 has a back portion 36, side portions 37 provided on both the left and right sides of the back portion 36, a bottom portion 38 provided on the lower side of the back portion 36, and a front portion 39 provided on the upper side of the side portion 37. A front opening 40 that opens forward is formed on the front side of the frame body 30. A top opening 41 that opens upward is formed on the top side of the frame body 30. A light guide plate accommodating section 42 is formed on the inside of the frame body 30 below the top opening 41, into which the light guide plate 31 is inserted from above, and a display plate accommodating section 43 is formed in front of the light guide plate accommodating section 42, into which the display plate 33 is fitted from the front. Furthermore, the light source section 32 is inserted from above and arranged in the top opening 41 of the frame body 30.

A guide portion 44 is provided on the inside of the side portion 37 of the frame body 30, protruding along the inside of the light guide plate housing portion 42. The guide portions 44 on both side portions 37 position and hold the light guide plate 31 in the left-right direction. A claw portion 44a (see FIG. 7, etc.) is provided on the upper side of the guide portion 44, which engages with the upper surface side of the light guide plate 31 arranged in the light guide plate housing portion 42 and holds the light guide plate 31 between the bottom surface portion 38. The front side of the guide portion 44 is a step portion with respect to the display plate housing portion 43, and is configured to come into contact with the back side of the display plate 33 arranged in the display plate housing portion 43. A main body attachment portion 45 for attachment to the main body 11 is provided on the outer upper portion of each side portion 37.

A light guide plate holding recess 46 is formed in the center of the bottom surface 38 of the frame body 30 in the left-right direction to correspond to the position of the light guide plate accommodating section 42, and a display plate holding recess 47 is formed to correspond to the position of the display plate accommodating section 43.

The front part 39 of the frame body 30 has a light source mounting part 48 and a front side pressing part 49 provided from the upper side of the side part 37. The light source mounting part 48 is provided so as to face the rear part 36 through the upper opening 41. The inner side of the light source mounting part 48 is provided with a protruding part 50 which is a locking part for locking the light source part 32. The protruding part 50 protrudes from the inner side of the light source mounting part 48 into the upper opening 41, and its protruding shape is formed in a cross section of an approximately arc in the vertical direction. In addition, the front side pressing part 49 is provided at a position separated below the light source mounting part 48 so as to face the rear part 36 through the upper opening 41. The front side pressing part 49 is formed in a cross section of an approximately L-shape, and has a light guide plate pressing part 49a on the upper side and a display plate pressing part 49b on the front side. Between the light guide plate retainer 49a and the rear surface portion 36, a light guide plate insertion opening 51 is formed, through which the light guide plate 31 can be inserted from above, and the light guide plate 31 is positioned and held in place in the front-to-rear direction. Between the display plate retainer 49b and the front surface side of the guide portion 44, the upper side of the display plate 33 can be inserted, and the display plate 33 placed in the display plate housing portion 43 is held.

The light guide plate 31 is formed in a rectangular plate shape. The light guide plate 31 is formed of synthetic resin such as acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, etc. The light guide plate 31 has an exit surface 31a, which is the main surface, and has light distribution means such as dot printing, in which ink containing a light transmission control material (white pigment) is regularly printed on the surface facing the exit surface 31a, a prism cut shape or dot processing, in which multiple irregularities are provided on the surface facing the exit surface 31a, and roughening processing, in which fine irregularities are provided by polishing the surface facing the exit surface 31a, so that the incident light is configured to exit from the exit surface 31a. The upper end surface of the light guide plate 31 that is perpendicular to the exit surface 31a is the entrance surface 31b into which light is incident from the light source unit 32.

A protrusion 53 is provided at the center in the left-right direction on the lower side of the light guide plate 31, which is inserted into and held in the light guide plate holding recess 46 of the frame body 30.

Notches 54 are formed on both the left and right sides of the upper part of the light guide plate 31, and engage with the claws 44a when the light guide plate 31 is inserted into the light guide plate holding recess 46 of the frame body 30. The outer end side of the notches 54 may protrude laterally so as to be caught by the claws 44a.

The light source unit 32 also has a light source module 57 and a holder 58 that holds the light source module 57.

The light source module 57 has a substrate 60 and a light-emitting element 61 mounted on the substrate 60. The substrate 60 is formed horizontally long in the left-right direction. The light-emitting element 61 is, for example, a semiconductor light-emitting element such as an LED or an organic EL. The light-emitting element 61 is mounted at one or more locations on the wiring surface provided on the underside of the substrate 60, and emits light downward. A connector 62 for inputting power is mounted on the wiring surface of the substrate 60. The connector 62 protrudes forward from the substrate 60, allowing connector connection from the front.

The holder 58 has a holder body 63 and a holder cover 64 attached to the upper side of the holder body 63. The light source module 57 is housed between the holder body 63 and the holder cover 64. The holder 58 is formed into an external shape that allows it to be fitted from above into the upper opening 41 of the frame body 30.

The holder body 63 is formed from a resin material. The holder body 63 has a bottom 65 and a peripheral wall 66 that protrudes upward from the periphery of the bottom 65. The light source module 57 is inserted from above into the inside of the peripheral wall 66, and the holder cover 64 is further arranged from above. The peripheral wall 66 is provided with a plurality of claws 67 that engage the holder cover 64. The bottom 65 of the holder body 63 is formed with a cover 68 that protrudes toward the front side of the light guide plate accommodating section 42. The front side of the holder body 63 is provided with a connector frame 69 in which the connector 62 is arranged.

On both the left and right sides of the holder body 63, there are provided locking portions 70 that elastically lock onto the frame body 30 when the light source unit 32 is disposed in the frame body 30. The locking portions 70 have a base portion 71 that protrudes outward from the rear surface side of the holder body 63, an elastic portion 72 that is bent from the upper side of the base portion 71 toward the front in a substantially U-shape, and a claw portion 73 that is provided on the tip side of the elastic portion 72 and that locks onto the protrusion 50.
The claw portion 73 is provided with an inclined surface 73 a so that, when the claw portion 73 comes into contact with the underside of the protrusion 50 , a downward force acts on the light source portion 32 due to the elastic force of the elastic portion 72 against the protrusion 50 .

The holder cover 64 is made of a resin material. The holder cover 64 is attached to the holder body 63 and holds the light source module 57 between the holder cover 64 and the holder body 63.

The display board 33 is formed in a rectangular plate shape from a translucent resin material. A predetermined guidance display is formed on the display board 33.

A protrusion 76 is provided in the left-right center of the lower side of the display plate 33, which is inserted into and held in the display plate holding recess 47 of the frame body 30. Abutment portions 77 are provided protruding on both the left and right sides of the rear side of the display plate 33, which abut against the front side of the guide portion 44 of the side portion 37. The upper side of the abutment portion 77 is formed into an arcuate surface so that the protruding height decreases the further upward.

The display board 33 is detachably arranged in the display board housing 43 from the front opening 40 of the frame body 30. The vertical dimension of the display board 33 is larger than the vertical opening dimension of the front opening 40, that is, the dimension between the display board pressing part 49b of the front side pressing part 49 and the bottom part 38. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, first, the upper side of the display board 33 is inserted between the display board pressing part 49b and the front side of the guide part 44 of the side part 37 and moved upward from a predetermined arrangement position, and then the lower side of the display board 33 is moved onto the bottom part 38, and the display board 33 is moved downward so that the protrusion 53 falls into the display board holding recess 47, so that the display board 33 can be arranged in the display board housing 43.

Next, the power supply unit 13 includes a power supply section and a battery connected to the power supply section. The battery is a secondary battery that can be charged and discharged.

The power supply unit converts the power supplied from an external power source into a predetermined lighting power that lights the light-emitting element 61 and supplies it to the light source module 57. The power supply unit and the light source module 57 are electrically connected by connecting a connection connector provided at the tip of the connection cable pulled out from the power supply unit to the connector 62 of the light source module 57.

Furthermore, the inspection unit 80 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 13. The inspection unit 80 is provided with a light receiving unit and a light emitting unit that transmit and receive signals via optical media to a remote control or the like, and a monitor lamp that displays various conditions including charging and abnormalities.

The decorative frame 14 also covers the recessed hole in the ceiling surface and the underside of the main body 11 recessed in this recessed hole. The decorative frame 14 is provided with an insertion hole 83 through which the optical unit 12 passes. The decorative frame 14 is formed with a window hole 84 in which the light receiving section, light emitting section, monitor lamp, etc. of the inspection section 80 are arranged.

A pair of mounting springs 85 are attached to the upper surface of the decorative frame 14. The pair of mounting springs 85 are engaged with the side plate portion 22 of the main body 11, and are configured to pull the decorative frame 14 up and attach it to the main body 11 by the spring force of the pair of mounting springs 85.

Next, we will explain how to assemble the optical unit 12.

In FIG. 4, the light guide plate 31 is inserted into the upper opening 41 of the frame body 30 from above toward below, that is, in the first direction F1.

The left and right side portions of the light guide plate 31 are inserted into the light guide plate insertion openings 51 between the rear portion 36 of the frame body 30 and the light source mounting portions 48 of the front portion 39, and are also inserted between the guide portions 44 of the side portions 37 on both sides.

The protrusions 53 on the lower side of the light guide plate 31 are inserted into the light guide plate holding recesses 46 on the bottom surface portion 38, and the left and right cutouts 54 of the light guide plate 31 are hooked onto the claws 44a of the guide portion 44 to lock them in place.

As a result, the light guide plate 31 is positioned and attached to the frame 30 between the claws 44a and bottom surface 38 of the guide portions 44 in the up-down direction, positioned and attached in the front-rear direction by disposing the upper side between the rear surface portion 36 and the light source attachment portion 48 and inserting the protrusions 53 on the lower side into the light guide plate holding recesses 46, and positioned and attached between the left and right guide portions 44 in the left-right direction. Therefore, the light guide plate 31 is attached in a positioned state to the frame 30.

Next, the light source unit 32 is inserted from above downward into the top opening 41 of the frame body 30, that is, in the first direction F1. During the process of inserting the light source unit 32, the claw portions 73 of the locking portions 70 on both sides of the light source unit 32 come into contact with the protrusions 50 of the light source attachment portion 48, but the locking portions 70 are elastically deformed by the elastic portions 72, allowing the insertion to continue.

When the bottom 65 of the light source unit 32 comes into contact with the incident surface 31b on the upper surface of the light guide plate 31 and stops, the claw portion 73 of the locking portion 70 climbs over the protruding portion 50 of the light source attachment portion 48, and the repulsive force of the elastically deformed locking portion 70 presses the light source unit 32 downward toward the light guide plate 31. In other words, when the inclined surface 73a of the claw portion 73 comes into contact with the underside of the protruding portion 50, which has an arc-shaped cross section, the elastic force of the elastic portion 72 against the protruding portion 50 acts to press the light source unit 32 downward toward the light guide plate 31. Furthermore, the elastic force of the elastic portion 72 of the locking portion 70 presses the back side of the light source unit 32 in a state in which it is in contact with the back portion 36 of the frame body 30. The cover portion 68 of the light source unit 32 may be pressed in a state in which it is in contact with the front side of the light guide plate 31.

As a result, the light source unit 32 is positioned and attached in a position in the first direction F1, which is from top to bottom, so that it is in contact with the incident surface 31b on the upper surface of the light guide plate 31, which is positioned and attached to the frame body 30.

Furthermore, the light source unit 32 is positioned and attached in a position in contact with the frame body 30 (or the light guide plate 31) to which the light guide plate 31 is positioned and attached in the second direction F2, which is the front-rear direction and perpendicular to (vertical to) the exit surface 31a of the light guide plate 31.

Furthermore, the light source unit 32 is positioned and attached at a position that contacts the frame body 30 within a predetermined range of movement in the third direction F3, which is the left-right direction and perpendicular to the first direction F1 and the second direction F2. That is, since there is a slight gap between the left-right outer surface of the light source unit 32 and the left-right inner surface of the top opening 41 of the frame body 30 so that the light source unit 32 can be inserted into the top opening 41 of the frame body 30, the light source unit 32 is positioned and attached at a position that contacts the frame body 30 within a predetermined range of movement that allows the light source unit 32 to move left-right between the left-right inner surfaces of the top opening 41 of the frame body 30.

Therefore, the light source unit 32 maintains a constant positional relationship with the light guide plate 31 in all directions, the first direction F1, the second direction F2, and the third direction F3.

Then, the display board 33 is placed in the display board storage section 43 of the frame body 30. In this case, as described above, first, the upper side of the display board 33 is inserted between the display board pressing section 49b and the front side of the guide section 44 of the side section 37 and moved upward from the predetermined placement position, and then the lower side of the display board 33 is moved onto the bottom section 38, and the display board 33 is moved downward so that the protrusion 53 falls into the display board holding recess 47, thereby placing the display board 33 in the display board storage section 43.

When the upper side of the display plate 33 is inserted between the display plate retainer 49b and the front side of the guide portion 44 of the side portion 37 and moved upward from a predetermined position, the upper side of the display plate 33 abuts against the light guide plate retainer 49a provided on the upper side of the display plate retainer 49b, thereby restricting the display plate 33 from moving too far upward and maintaining good assembly of the display plate 33.

The optical unit 12 assembled in this manner is attached to the main body 11 using the main body mounting parts 45 on both sides of the frame 30.

After the optical unit 12 is attached to the main body 11, the connection cable from the power supply unit 13 is connected to the connector 62 of the light source unit 32. At this time, since the connection direction of the light source unit 32 to the connector 62 is from the front to the rear, even if a load is applied to the light source unit 32 when the connection cable from the power supply unit 13 is connected to the connector 62, the rear side of the light source unit 32 is simply pressed against the rear part 36 of the frame body 30, and the positional relationship between the light guide plate 31 and the light source unit 32, which are positioned in the front-to-rear direction, does not shift.

When the connection cable is removed from the connector 62 of the light source unit 32, a force is applied that pulls the light source unit 32 forward relative to the frame body 30, but the elastic portion 72 of the locking portion 70 buffers this pulling force. Furthermore, even if the light source unit 32 shifts relative to the light guide plate 31, once the connection cable is removed from the connector 62 of the light source unit 32, the elastic portion 72 of the locking portion 70 can return the light source unit 32 to its original, specified positional relationship relative to the light guide plate 31.

To install the emergency exit light 10, the power cable pulled out from the recessed hole in the ceiling board is connected to the power supply unit 13 (the terminal block of the power supply unit 13), the main body 11 is inserted into the recessed hole in the ceiling board, and the main body 11 is attached to the ceiling board using the mounting bracket 24.

The optical unit 12 is passed through the insertion hole 83 of the decorative frame 14, the pair of mounting springs 85 of the decorative frame 14 are engaged with the frame body 30, and the decorative frame 14 is pulled up and attached to the main body 11 by the spring force of the pair of mounting springs 85. The decorative frame 14 covers the embedding hole in the ceiling surface and the underside of the main body 11 embedded in this embedding hole, completing the installation of the emergency exit light 10.

When the emergency light 10 is installed and power is supplied from an external power source, the power supply unit 13 converts the power from the external power source into lighting power and supplies it to the light source module 57 to light the light emitting element 61. The light from the lit light emitting element 61 enters the light guide plate 31 from the entrance surface 31b and exits from the exit surface 31a of the light guide plate 31, illuminating the display plate 33. When the external power source is cut off, the power supply unit 13 converts the battery power into lighting power and supplies it to the light source module 57 to light the light emitting element 61. When the power supply unit 13 detects that the charge level has decreased due to, for example, natural discharge of the battery or discharge during a power outage, it converts the power from the external power source into charging power for charging the battery and supplies it to the battery to charge the battery.

In the optical unit 12 of this embodiment, the light guide plate 31 and the light source section 32 are arranged on the frame body 30 from the first direction F1, and the light source section 32 is positioned and attached to a position in contact with the light guide plate 31 arranged on the frame body 30 in the first direction F1, and is positioned and attached to a position in contact with the frame body 30 in which the light guide plate 31 is arranged or the light guide plate 31 in the second direction F2 perpendicular to the exit surface 31a of the light guide plate 31. Therefore, the positional relationship between the light guide plate 31 and the light source section 32 is kept constant, and the optical characteristics can be stabilized.

Furthermore, since the first direction F1 is the direction of gravity, the light guide plate 31 and the light source unit 32 can be arranged so as to be dropped into the frame body 30, making it possible to easily and reliably position the light guide plate 31 and the light source unit 32.

Furthermore, the light source unit 32 is positioned and attached at a position in contact with the frame body 30 within a predetermined range of movement in the third direction F3 perpendicular to the first direction F1 and the second direction F2, so that the positional relationship between the light guide plate 31 and the light source unit 32 is maintained within a constant range in the third direction F3 as well, making it possible to stabilize the optical characteristics.

Furthermore, since the connection direction of the light source unit 32 to the connector 62 is along the second direction F2, even if the light source unit 32 is pressed when connecting the connection cable from the power supply unit 13 to the connector 62, the positional relationship between the light guide plate 31 and the light source unit 32, which are positioned in the second direction F2, can be prevented from shifting.

The emergency exit light 10 using this optical unit 12 can reduce the variation in brightness of the display board 33 and prevent uneven brightness within the display board 33.

The configuration of this embodiment can be applied not only to emergency lights, but also to other lighting devices that use batteries, such as emergency lights.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

10. Emergency exit lights as lighting devices
11 Main unit
12 Optical unit
30 Frame
31 Light guide plate
31a Exit surface
32 Light source section
41 Opening at the top
50 protrusion
62 Connector
70 Locking part
F1 First direction
F2 Second direction
F3 Third direction

Claims (5)

A frame body;
a light guide plate having an exit surface and arranged on the frame in a first direction along the exit surface;
a light source unit that is attached to the frame body from the first direction, positioned and attached in the first direction at a position in contact with the light guide plate arranged on the frame body, and positioned and attached in a position in contact with the frame body or the light guide plate in a second direction perpendicular to the emission surface of the light guide plate arranged on the frame body;
Equipped with
the frame body has an opening into which the light source unit is inserted from the first direction and a protrusion protruding into the opening,
The light source unit has a locking portion that is locked to the protrusion, and is attached to the frame body from the first direction by being inserted into the opening of the frame body and the locking portion being locked to the protrusion.
An optical unit characterized by: The optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the first direction is aligned with a direction of gravity. 3. The optical unit according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit is positioned and attached at a position in contact with the frame within a predetermined range of movement in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. 4. The optical unit according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit has a connector for inputting electric power, and a connection direction to the connector is a direction along the second direction. The main body;
An optical unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4 attached to the main body;
A lighting device comprising:

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