WO2016157765A1

WO2016157765A1 - Illumination device

Info

Publication number: WO2016157765A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/001422
Authority: WO
Inventors: 誠阿閉; 公博村上
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2015-03-31
Filing date: 2016-03-14
Publication date: 2016-10-06
Also published as: JP6314326B2; EP3279551A1; JPWO2016157765A1; EP3279551A4

Abstract

The present invention provides an illumination device producing a clear adaptive driving beam. This illumination device is provided with: a light source (11) for generating a laser light; a movable mirror (12) having a mirror surface for reflecting the laser light, the mirror surface being drivable; and a phosphor (13) irradiated with the laser light reflected by the movable mirror, the phosphor (13) converting the laser light into fluorescent light. The laser light irradiating the phosphor has a configuration in which the rise in intensity distribution in the scanning direction along which the phosphor is scanned is steeper than the rise in intensity distribution in the perpendicular direction, which is substantially orthogonal to the scan direction.

Description

Lighting device

The present invention relates to a lighting device.

In recent years, laser light sources have attracted attention as light sources applied to automobile headlights because of their high efficiency and high directivity. When a laser light source is applied, it is known that light distribution with a high degree of freedom can be realized by utilizing the high directivity and using a movable mirror.

Patent Document 1 is cited as a prior document related to the present invention. In Patent Document 1, a mirror that reflects light from a semiconductor light source is reciprocally rotated, and on / off (ON / OFF) of the semiconductor light source is controlled for each of a plurality of light control sections obtained by dividing the movement cycle of the mirror. A vehicular lamp that adjusts the illuminance distribution around the vehicle by combining ON / OFF control of a semiconductor light source with the periodic movement of the mirror is disclosed.

JP 2010-6109 A

Generally, when a laser light source is applied to an automobile headlight, a white light source is obtained by exciting a phosphor with laser light emitted from the laser light source.

However, in Patent Document 1 described above, in an automotive headlight using a laser light source and a phosphor, for example, an adaptive driving beam (ADB: Adaptive Driving Beam) for the purpose of preventing dazzling with respect to an oncoming vehicle is performed. No specific laser irradiation method is disclosed. That is, a method for narrowing the boundary area between the area irradiated with the headlight light and the area not irradiated with light is not disclosed, and therefore a clear and fine light distribution variable cannot be realized. Therefore, there is a problem that a clear adaptive driving beam cannot be realized.

An object of the present invention is to provide an illumination device that realizes a clear adaptive driving beam.

An illumination device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a light source that generates laser light, a mirror surface that reflects the laser light, a movable mirror that can drive the mirror surface, and laser light reflected by the movable mirror. And a phosphor that converts laser light into fluorescence. The laser light applied to the phosphor adopts a configuration in which the rise of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction for scanning the phosphor is steeper than the rise of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially perpendicular to the scan direction.

According to the present invention, the rise of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction of the laser light irradiated onto the phosphor is steeper than the rise of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction. If the left and right directions are defined, it is possible to realize a clear and fine light distribution variable in the left and right directions. Therefore, it is possible to clearly and finely set the light distribution for the purpose of preventing dazzling for oncoming vehicles and the like, and to finely control the dimming region on the left and right outer sides. From these results, a clear adaptive driving beam can be realized.

Front view of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention Configuration diagram when the headlight on the left side of the vehicle in FIG. 1 is viewed from the side Diagram for explaining the intensity of laser excitation light on a phosphor The figure which shows the laser irradiation intensity on the fluorescent substance when the fluorescent substance is scanned using laser light Schematic showing how the laser light source emits laser light The figure which shows the light distribution pattern which lowers the luminous intensity gradually in the region near the outside of the phosphor The figure which shows the light distribution pattern which reduces the luminous intensity in the area | region near the outer side of a fluorescent substance using the optical path difference of the fluorescent substance center and the outer side Headlight configuration diagram when using two light sources The figure which shows the light distribution pattern at the time of using two light sources The figure which shows the light distribution pattern which made the spot area which irradiates the fluorescent substance a square The block diagram which shows the structure for controlling the headlight which concerns on embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the control procedure in the control part of FIG. The figure which shows the road surface irradiation pattern which a headlight forms

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

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, headlights 2 are arranged on the left and right sides of the front portion of the main body of the vehicle 1.

The headlight 2 is arranged with the light irradiation direction facing the front of the vehicle.

Sensor 3 detects whether there is another vehicle, a person or an object in front of the vehicle, and if any of these exists, also detects the position. The sensor 3 is any one of a camera, a radar, and a sonar, and is disposed on the back side of the room mirror, for example.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram when the headlight 2 on the left side of the vehicle in FIG. 1 is viewed from the side. Hereinafter, the configuration of the headlight 2 will be described with reference to FIG. However, since the configuration of the headlight on the right side of the vehicle is the same as the configuration of the headlight on the left side of the vehicle, detailed description thereof is omitted here. The headlight 2 includes a laser light source 11, a movable mirror 12, a phosphor 13, and a light projecting lens 14.

The laser light source 11 generates laser light and irradiates the movable mirror 12. The laser beam is, for example, blue or violet.

The movable mirror 12 is a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) mirror, for example, and vibrates the mirror surface at high speed around one or two axes under the control of a control unit (not shown). The movable mirror 12 reflects the laser beam generated from the laser light source 11 and scans the phosphor 13. In the following description, it is assumed that the mirror surface vibrates around one axis in the vertical direction.

The phosphor 13 is irradiated with the laser beam reflected by the movable mirror 12 to generate white light. Here, the phosphor 13 converts blue laser light into white light and becomes a white light source. That is, the phosphor 13 converts blue laser light into blue diffused light and yellow fluorescence, and generates white light. When the laser light is blue-violet, the phosphor 13 generates white light by generating blue fluorescence and yellow fluorescence. Note that the phosphor 13 may convert the laser light into not only white light but also light yellow light, orange light, and the like.

The projection lens 14 collects the white light emitted by the phosphor 13 and irradiates the front of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the laser excitation light intensity on the phosphor 13. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the phosphor 13 is irradiated with laser light. As shown in FIG. 3A, when the phosphor 13 is irradiated with laser light, it is longer in the vertical direction than the scanning direction (horizontal direction) for scanning the phosphor 13 (hereinafter referred to as “longitudinal”). An elliptical spot region is formed.

FIG. 3B shows the horizontal intensity distribution, and FIG. 3C shows the vertical intensity distribution. In FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, the width when the beam intensity is 1 / e ² times the peak value (about 13%) is called the beam width. From (b) of FIG. 3, the horizontal beam width is 0.17 mm, and from (c) of FIG. 3, the vertical beam width is 0.39 mm. Thus, the laser beam irradiated onto the phosphor 13 has a horizontal beam width narrower than the vertical beam width. This indicates that the rise of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction for scanning the phosphor is steeper than the rise of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the intensity of laser irradiation on the phosphor 13 when the phosphor 13 is scanned using laser light. FIG. 4 shows a case where a light-shielding region (region where laser beam irradiation is stopped) is provided near the center of the phosphor 13 so that the spot shape of the laser beam on the phosphor 13 is easy to understand. 4A shows the laser irradiation intensity when the phosphor 13 is scanned in a vertically long spot region, and FIG. 4B shows a horizontally long (longer in the horizontal direction than the vertical direction) spot region. The laser irradiation intensity when the phosphor 13 is scanned is shown. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the vertical axis of the graph represents the light intensity at half the height of the phosphor 13, and the horizontal axis of the graph represents the horizontal position of the phosphor 13. Show.

From FIG. 4 (a) and FIG. 4 (b), the clarity and fineness of the variable light distribution in the horizontal direction depend on the spot shape of the laser light irradiated on the phosphor, and the spot shape is narrow in the horizontal direction. If so, the irradiation area can be finely adjusted in the horizontal direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the irradiation region can be formed finely in the horizontal direction by scanning the phosphor 13 with a vertically long spot region that is thin in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, as can be seen from FIG. 4B, when the phosphor 13 is scanned with a horizontally long spot region in the horizontal direction, the irradiation region cannot be finely adjusted in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing how the laser light source 11 emits laser light. When a current flows through the semiconductor laser serving as the laser light source 11, laser light is irradiated from the active layer La sandwiched between the p-type cladding layer Lp and the n-type cladding layer Ln. Since the active layer La is very thin with respect to the current injection width, the laser light immediately after being emitted from the active layer La has a long axis in the length direction of the side forming the emission part of the active layer La as shown in FIG. A near field pattern that forms an ellipse in which is located is formed. In the present embodiment, the phosphor 13 is irradiated with a near field pattern. Therefore, the laser light source 11 is arranged so that the active layer plane is orthogonal to the scanning direction. In this way, an elliptical spot region can be formed without requiring a special optical member.

After the laser beam is emitted from the active layer La, the direction of the ellipse differs by 90 ° due to diffraction, and the major axis is located in a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the side forming the emission part of the active layer La. A far field pattern is formed. For this reason, when the phosphor 13 is irradiated with the far field pattern, the laser light source 11 may be arranged so that the active layer plane is parallel to the scanning direction.

Next, the case where the light distribution pattern of the headlight 2 is changed will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern that gradually decreases the luminous intensity in a region near the outside of the phosphor 13. The laser light source 11 is gradually darkened as it approaches the outside by decreasing the luminous intensity (laser light intensity) in the region closer to the outside than the center of the scanning range of the phosphor 13. When the state is seen from a bird's-eye view, the outline of the outside light appears to be blurry, and there is no sudden decrease in luminous intensity at the edge of the driver's field of view. Moreover, in the headlight 2, since the fluorescent substance 13 is scanned by the vertically long elliptical spot region, the blur of the outline of the outside light can be finely controlled. That is, the headlight 2 can have both a clear adaptive driving beam and a blurred natural light distribution. As a result, the driver can easily drive.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern that lowers the luminous intensity in a region near the outside of the phosphor 13 by utilizing the optical path difference between the center and the outside of the phosphor 13. Here, the laser is such that the optical path length when irradiating the laser beam to the center of the scanning range of the phosphor 13 is shorter than the optical path length when irradiating the laser beam to the region near the outside of the scanning range of the phosphor 13. A light source 11 is arranged. Due to this optical path length difference, that is, the optical path difference, as shown in FIG. 7, in the center of the scanning range of the phosphor 13, the spot width of the laser beam becomes smaller, the intensity of the laser beam increases, and the phosphor 13. Since the optical path is longer in the region near the outer side than the center of the phosphor 13, the spot width of the laser light is widened and the intensity of the laser light is reduced. Thereby, there is no sudden light intensity drop at the end of the driver's field of view. That is, the headlight 2 can have both a clear adaptive driving beam and a blurred natural light distribution. As a result, the driver can easily drive. Further, it is not necessary to finely control the light distribution in a region near the outside of the phosphor 13.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the headlight 2 when two light sources are used. The headlight 2 shown in FIG. 8 is obtained by adding a laser light source 15 for a fixed light source to the configuration of FIG. The laser light source 15 generates laser light and irradiates the phosphor 13. The laser beam is, for example, blue or violet. The laser light source 15 irradiates with a far field pattern.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern when two light sources are used. As described above, the laser light source 15 is a fixed light source, and the phosphor 13 is scanned using a vertically long spot region formed by the laser light source 11. The laser light source 15 irradiates near the center of the scanning range of the phosphor 13. In addition, the laser light source 15 does not form a light shielding area for an oncoming vehicle or the like, and a light distribution pattern having a wider irradiation range in the left-right direction than in the vertical direction is formed by one light source. The spot area to be irradiated is preferably an ellipse that is longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. Thereby, a driver | operator's distance visibility can be improved and the safety | security at the time of high speed driving | running | working can be improved especially. In addition, the light distribution in the region near the outside of the phosphor 13 can be finely controlled. The laser light source 11 corresponds to an example of a first light source according to the present invention, and the laser light source 15 corresponds to a second light source according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern in which the spot area irradiated on the phosphor 13 is rectangular. FIG. 10A shows a state in which the phosphor 13 is irradiated with laser light. 10B shows the horizontal intensity distribution, and FIG. 10C shows the vertical intensity distribution. Formation of a spot region as shown in FIG. 10A can be realized by passing laser light through a collimator lens or a cylindrical lens. Also in this light distribution pattern, the rising of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction for scanning on the phosphor can be steeper than the rising of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction. This is effective in the case of an optical configuration in which the near field pattern of the laser light source 11 cannot be inherited on the phosphor as in the case of guiding the laser beam with a fiber.

In this way, the headlight 2 prepares various light distribution patterns, and by switching the light distribution pattern according to the position of other vehicles and people, preventing dazzling to other vehicles or people in front of the vehicle, And a driver | operator's visual field can be kept favorable.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration for controlling the headlight 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation unit 21 is a switch for switching on / off of the headlight 2.

The memory 22 stores a plurality of light distribution patterns of the laser light source 11 according to a position in front of the headlight, that is, a position where another vehicle or person such as an oncoming vehicle is present in the irradiation direction of white light.

Sensor 3 detects whether there is another vehicle or person in front of the vehicle, and if there is another vehicle or person, it also detects its position.

The laser light source 11 switches the output of the laser light according to the control of the control unit 23.

The movable mirror 12 switches the vibration speed of the mirror according to the control of the control unit 23.

When the operation unit 21 switches the headlight 2 to ON, the control unit 23 receives an ON signal and acquires detection information from the sensor 3 as to whether there is another vehicle or a person in front of the headlight, If there is another vehicle or person, the position information is also acquired. When there is another vehicle or a person in front of the headlight, the control unit 23 reads the light distribution pattern of the laser light source 11 according to the position from the memory 22 and, according to the read light distribution pattern, the laser light source 11. Control the output. That is, the control unit 23 controls the intensity of the laser light according to the irradiation position in the scanning direction. In addition, when another vehicle or person is present in front of the headlight, the control unit 23 controls the laser light source 11 so as to stop or suppress the irradiation of the laser light using the position as a light shielding region.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the control unit 23 of FIG. In step S01, the control unit 23 determines whether or not an ON signal indicating that the headlight 2 is ON is input from the operation unit 21. When the ON signal is input (step S01: YES), the process proceeds to step S02. When the ON signal is not input (step S01: NO), the process of the control unit 23 is terminated.

In step S02, the control unit 23 activates the laser light source 11 and the movable mirror 12, and indicates that another vehicle (preceding vehicle or oncoming vehicle), a person, an obstacle, or the like is detected in front of the headlight in step S03. Detection information is acquired from the sensor 3.

In step S04, the control unit 23 determines whether the place should be shielded or dimmed based on the detection information acquired in step S03. That is, when the detection information is another vehicle or a person, the control unit 23 determines that the position is a place where light should be shielded or dimmed. If it is a place where light should be blocked or dimmed (step S04: YES), the process proceeds to step S05. If it is not a place where light should be blocked or dimmed (step S04: NO), the process proceeds to step S06.

In step S05, the control unit 23 reads a light distribution pattern for suppressing the light distribution of the irradiation light from the memory 22, and controls the laser light source 11 according to the read light distribution pattern.

In step S06, the control unit 23 reads a light distribution pattern that does not suppress the light distribution of the irradiation light from the memory 22, and controls the laser light source 11 according to the read light distribution pattern.

In step S07, the control unit 23 determines whether an OFF signal for turning off the headlight 2 is input from the operation unit 21. When the OFF signal is input (step S07: YES), the process proceeds to step S08, and when the OFF signal is not input (step S07: NO), the process returns to step S03.

In step S08, the control unit 23 stops the laser light source 11 and the movable mirror 12 and ends the process of the control procedure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a road surface irradiation pattern formed by the headlight 2. As shown in FIG. 13, the front left side of the vehicle 1 forms a long irradiation region, and the front right side of the vehicle 1 forms a short irradiation region. Thereby, while being able to illuminate the pedestrian or obstacle which passes the front left side of the vehicle 1 from the distant position, the dazzling with respect to the vehicle which opposes the right side of the vehicle 1 or the nearby pedestrian which is not illustrated is prevented. be able to.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the rise of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction of the spot region formed by the laser light irradiated to the phosphor is made steeper than the rise of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction. A clear adaptive driving beam can be realized by scanning the phosphor using this spot region.

The present invention is useful for realizing a clear adaptive driving beam.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Headlight 3

Sensor

11, 15 Laser light source 12 Movable mirror 13 Phosphor 14 Light projection lens 21 Operation part 22 Memory 23 Control part

Claims

A light source that generates laser light;
A movable mirror having a mirror surface that reflects the laser light, and capable of driving the mirror surface;
A phosphor that is irradiated with the laser light reflected by the movable mirror and converts the laser light into fluorescence;
Comprising
The rise of the intensity distribution in the scanning direction that scans the phosphor is steeper than the rise of the intensity distribution in the vertical direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction of the laser light applied to the phosphor.
Lighting device.
The spot region of the laser light irradiated onto the phosphor is a substantially ellipse that is longer in the vertical direction than the scanning direction.
The lighting device according to claim 1.
The light source is
An active layer that emits the laser light;
The plane of the active layer is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the scanning direction.
The lighting device according to claim 1.
A control unit for controlling the intensity of the laser beam according to the irradiation position in the scanning direction;
Further having
The lighting device according to claim 1.
The light source irradiates the region closer to the outside than the center of the scanning range of the phosphor so that the intensity of the laser light is lower.
The lighting device according to claim 1.
The light source reduces the intensity of the laser light by controlling the output of the laser light.
The lighting device according to claim 5.
The light source is
The optical path length when irradiating the laser beam to the center of the scanning range of the phosphor is arranged to be shorter than the optical path length when irradiating the laser beam to a region near the outside of the phosphor scanning range. ,
Due to the difference in optical path length, irradiation is performed so that the region closer to the outside than the center of the scanning range of the phosphor is lower in intensity of the laser light.
The lighting device according to claim 5.
The light source includes a first light source that generates a first laser light as the laser light;
A second light source that irradiates a second laser beam fixedly to a region closer to the center than the outside of the phosphor;
The lighting device according to claim 1, comprising:
The spot region of the second laser light irradiated onto the phosphor is a substantially ellipse whose scanning direction is longer than the vertical direction.
The lighting device according to claim 8.