JP2009241664A - Vehicular lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular lighting system having both functions of foot illumination for getting-in/getting-out persons and the backward display, and also having high utilization factor of the light. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular lighting system provided on a lower edge of a vehicle door and lit in a state of the vehicle door being opened has: a surface mounting type first LED lamp mounted on a substrate; an outer lens which faces the light emission side of the first LED lamp and has a first light emission unit located on a lower side of the vehicle door; and a second light emission unit located on an inner face or a side end face of a cabin of the vehicle door. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a vehicle interior lighting device for a vehicle.

Some vehicles include a courtesy lamp that is provided inside the door, lights up in conjunction with the opening and closing of the door, and illuminates the feet of passengers. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a courtesy lamp including an outer lens, a bulb fixing rib and a terminal provided on the inner side of the outer lens, and a bulb fixed thereto. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an illuminating device in which a courtesy lamp and a lamp that is turned on when the door is opened and indicates that the door is opened rearward of the vehicle are integrated. The illumination device of Patent Literature 2 includes an LED lamp and an outer lens having a lower illumination unit, a front illumination unit, and a rear illumination unit. Different lens cuts are made on the inner surface of each illumination section of the outer lens, and the light from the LED lamp is distributed in three directions.
JP 2007-22325 A JP 2005-280657 A

The vehicle door is provided with various members such as a door pocket, a door handle, a door lock mechanism, a door window, and switches in addition to the courtesy lamp and the rear display lamp when the door is opened. In order to improve the design freedom of each member, it is desired to reduce the size of each member.
The courtesy lamp of Patent Document 1 uses a bulb as a light source. The valve is difficult to miniaturize and has a problem that it generates a large amount of heat. On the other hand, in the illumination device of Patent Document 2, an LED lamp is used as a light source instead of a bulb. Usually, since the bullet-type LED lamp used here has high directivity of emitted light, lens distribution on the inner side surface or outer side surface of the outer lens is essential in order to distribute light in a plurality of directions with the outer lens.
A perspective view of a conventional courtesy lamp 500 is shown in FIG. 1A, and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1A is shown in FIG. 1B. The courtesy lamp 500 is provided at the lower edge of the vehicle door, and includes two bullet-type LED lamps 102 on the substrate 101, and an outer lens 103 on the light emission side of the LED lamp 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the outer lens 103 is bent at the center and has an L shape, and includes a first light emitting unit 104 below the paper surface and a second light emitting unit 105 on the left side of the paper surface. The light from the first light emitting unit 104 functions as a courtesy lamp, and the light from the second light emitting unit 105 functions as a lamp indicating that the door is open (hereinafter also referred to as “door open display lamp”). The LED lamp 102 is a bullet-type LED lamp and has a directivity angle of about 30 °. Since the directivity angle is narrow in this way, in order to supply light to both the first light emitting unit 104 and the second light emitting unit 105, a lens cut or a texture is provided on the inner surface 106 of the outer lens 103, or a diffusion layer Or a light diffusing treatment such as adding a diffusing material to the outer lens 103 itself is necessary. Further, since the LED lamps 102 emit less light than the bulbs, a plurality of LED lamps 102 are used to secure the amount of light emitted (two are used here). In order to reduce the occurrence of color unevenness and luminance variation due to the light from the plurality of LED lamps, the outer lens 103 needs to be subjected to light diffusion processing such as lens cutting. However, such light diffusion treatment reduces the light utilization rate of the LED lamp.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular illumination device that has both a function for stepping on passengers and a rear display and has a high light utilization rate.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A vehicle lighting device that is provided at a lower edge of a vehicle door and lights up in a state in which the vehicle door is opened,
A surface-mount type first LED lamp mounted on a substrate;
An outer lens facing the light emission side of the first LED lamp, the first light emission part located on the lower surface of the vehicle door, and the second light emission part located on the side surface or the side end surface of the vehicle door. And an outer lens having
It is an illuminating device for vehicles provided with.

  The vehicle lighting device of the present invention uses a surface-mounted LED lamp as a light source. Since the surface mount type LED lamp has lower directivity of emitted light than the bullet type LED lamp, it emits light in a wide range on the opposite outer lens side. Thereby, when using a bullet-type LED lamp, the lens cut and the formation of the texture and the use of the diffusing material and the diffusing layer provided in the outer lens become unnecessary in the configuration of the present invention. As a result, light loss due to lens cuts, wrinkles, diffusing materials, and diffusing layers does not occur, thereby improving the light utilization rate and contributing to higher brightness of emitted light. Further, the necessity of forming lens cuts, embossing, and the use of a diffusing material or a diffusion layer contributes to simplification of the manufacturing process. Here, if there is a lens cut of the foot illumination or the unevenness of the texture, light is lost, and the illumination quality is deteriorated, so that the foot cannot be illuminated well. On the other hand, in the actual implementation, since the lens is noticeable when there is no lens cut or wrinkle at all and the lens is scratched, a wrinkle that is shallow enough to make the scratch less noticeable may be inserted. Further, since the surface mount type LED lamp is smaller than the bulb, the entire apparatus can be miniaturized. On the other hand, the surface-mounted LED lamp can obtain light having the same directivity as a courtesy lamp using a conventional bulb, so that a surface-mounted LED lamp can be used instead of the conventional bulb. According to this configuration, in addition to the advantage that it can be applied to existing vehicles, since the surface-mount LED lamp is small as described above, it is easy to take measures against heat generation such as securing a heat dissipation path, and reliability is increased.

  In the vehicle lighting device of the present invention, a surface mount type (SMD type) LED lamp is used as a light source. Surface mount type LED lamps are small in size, have a wide directivity angle of emitted light (that is, low directivity), low driving power, low heat generation, long life, etc. Have advantages. The directivity angle of the surface-mount LED lamp used in the present invention is, for example, about 90 ° to about 170 °, preferably about 100 ° to about 170 °, more preferably about 110 ° to about 170 °. The directivity angle of a bullet-type LED lamp is usually about 15 ° to about 50 °, and the directivity angle of a surface-mount LED lamp is larger than the directivity angle of a bullet-type LED lamp. That is, the surface mount type LED lamp has low directivity. The emission color of the LED lamp can be arbitrarily selected. For example, an LED lamp having an emission wavelength in the visible region such as white, red, amber, green, and blue can be employed. It is also possible to use an LED lamp that converts part of the light of the LED chip with a phosphor and emits light in which the light of the LED chip and fluorescence are mixed. The phosphor can be contained in, for example, a sealing resin for LED lamps. A layer containing a phosphor may be provided on the surface of the sealing resin.

  An LED lamp in which a plurality of LED chips of the same type or different types are incorporated can also be used as a light source. For example, a desired color can be emitted by using an LED lamp (3-in-1 LED lamp) in which LED chips of red, green, and blue are mounted on a single substrate and controlling the light emission mode of each LED chip. Thereby, the illuminating device which light-emits a desired luminescent color is comprised. A plurality of the same or different kinds of LED lamps may be used.

  In the present invention, the LED lamp is mounted on a substrate. The kind of board | substrate used here is not specifically limited, Well-known kind board | substrates, such as board | substrates, such as a glass epoxy board | substrate (FR-4) and a flexible substrate (FPC, Flexible Printed circuit), are employable. The substrate is preferably provided substantially parallel to the lower edge of the vehicle door. This is because if the substrates are provided substantially in parallel, the entire apparatus can be made thinner than when the substrates are not provided in parallel.

An outer lens is provided on the light emission side of the LED lamp. The outer lens has a first light emitting portion located on the lower surface of the vehicle door and a second light emitting portion located on the side surface or the side end surface of the vehicle door. The material of the light guide is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent material. For example, a polycarbonate resin, an acrylic resin, a silicon resin, glass, etc. can be illustrated. Among these, it is preferable to use a polycarbonate resin or an acrylic resin. This is because polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin has high light transmittance, is easy to mold and has excellent strength, and is easy to handle. Since the outer lens is exposed to the lower side of the door trim, it is easy to receive an impact due to contact or collision of a passenger's foot or the like. Therefore, the outer lens is particularly preferably made of polycarbonate resin having high impact resistance. The inner surface of the outer lens is a smooth surface on the entire surface. The shape of the first light emitting portion is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, a planar shape parallel to the lower end surface of the vehicle door or a convex lens shape protruding to the ground side. The shape of the second light emitting portion is not particularly limited, and may be a planar shape parallel to the side surface or side end surface of the vehicle door or a convex lens shape protruding to the vehicle interior side.
Hereinafter, based on an Example, this invention is demonstrated in detail.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a vehicle door 100 including a vehicle lighting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of the vehicle lighting device 1 extracted from FIG. A cross-sectional view along line B is shown in FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicular lighting device 1 is provided at the lower edge of the vehicle door 100. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the vehicle lighting device 1 includes a substrate 10, an LED lamp 20, and an outer lens 30. The LED lamp 20 is a surface mount type (SMD type) white LED lamp. The directivity angle of the LED lamp 20 is about 150 °. Two LED lamps 20 are mounted on the substrate 10. The substrate 10 is provided inside the outer lens 30 so that the LED lamp 20 faces the inner side surface 33 of the outer lens 30. The outer lens 30 is a substantially rectangular flat plate made of polycarbonate resin, and is bent at the center indicated by reference numeral 34 in FIG. Of the outer lens 30, the lower surface side of the vehicle door 100 is flush with the lower surface of the vehicle door 100 and is exposed to the outside to form the first light emitting portion 31. On the other hand, the vehicle interior side surface of the outer lens 30 is flush with the vehicle interior side surface and is exposed to the outside to form the second light emitting portion 32. The first light emitting portion 31, the second light emitting portion 32, and the inner side surface 33 of the outer lens 30 are all smooth surfaces.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the optical axis 21 of the LED lamp 20 passes through the central bent portion 34 of the outer lens 30. The lighting state of the LED lamp 20 is controlled in conjunction with opening and closing of the vehicle door 100.

  Next, the illumination aspect of the vehicle lighting device 1 will be described. First, when the vehicle door 100 is opened, the LED lamp 20 is turned on in conjunction therewith. Part of the light from the LED lamp 20 travels to the first light emitting portion 31 side of the outer lens 30 and is emitted to the outside from the first light emitting portion 31 via the inner side surface 33. The first light emitting portion 31 is exposed on the lower surface side of the vehicle door 100, and the emitted light illuminates the ground below the vehicle door 100. Thereby, the illuminating device 1 for vehicles functions as a courtesy lamp, and improves the safety at the time of getting on and off. On the other hand, the other part of the light from the LED lamp 20 travels to the second light emitting portion 32 side of the outer lens 30 and is emitted to the outside from the second light emitting portion 32 through the inner side surface 33. The second light emitting portion 32 is exposed on the side surface of the vehicle door 100, and the emitted light travels downward of the vehicle. Thereby, the illuminating device 1 for vehicles functions as a lamp | ramp which shows that the vehicle door 100 is an open body, and improves the safety | security to the vehicle rear. Thus, the vehicular lighting device 1 has both a function as a courtesy lamp and a function as a door opening display lamp, thereby saving space and reducing the number of parts compared to the case of separately providing a lighting device. Simplification of the mounting process and reduction of costs are realized.

  Since the LED lamp 20 is a surface-mounted LED lamp and has a wide directivity angle, the light from the LED lamp 20 is supplied to both the first light emitting unit 31 and the second light emitting unit 32. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a light diffusion process on the inner side surface 33 of the outer lens. As a result, no light loss due to the light diffusion process occurs, so that the light utilization rate is improved and the brightness of the emitted light is increased. On the other hand, the optical axis 21 of the LED lamp 20 passes through a bent portion 34 that is a boundary between the first light emitting portion 31 and the second light emitting portion 32. Thereby, since light is supplied to both the first light emitting unit 31 and the second light emitting unit 32 in a well-balanced manner, the luminance balance of the entire apparatus is improved.

  FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of a vehicular lighting apparatus 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 4A. The vehicle lighting device 400 is provided at the lower edge of the vehicle door 100 in the same manner as the vehicle lighting device 1. As shown in FIG. 4A, the vehicle lighting device 400 includes a substrate 410, a first LED lamp 420, a second LED lamp 440, and an outer lens 430. The first LED lamp 420 is a top-view (top emission) type surface-mounted LED lamp, and its directivity angle is about 150 °. Two first LED lamps 420 are mounted on the substrate 410 such that the light emission side is downward and the lower surface side of the vehicle door 100. On the other hand, the second LED lamp 440 is a side-view (side light emission) type surface-mounted LED lamp. Two are mounted on the substrate 410 so that the light emission side is on the vehicle interior side and on the vehicle interior side with respect to the first LED lamp 420. The outer lens 430 includes a first light emitting portion 431 that is flush with the lower surface of the vehicle door 100 and a second light emitting portion 432 that is flush with the side surface of the vehicle door 100, and emits light from the first LED lamp 420. And the light emitting side of the second LED lamp 440 are collectively disposed. Note that the inner surface 433 of the outer lens 430 facing the first LED lamp 420 and the second LED lamp 440 is a smooth surface.

Illumination modes of the vehicle lighting device 400 are as follows. When the vehicle door 100 is opened, the first LED lamp 420 and the second LED lamp 440 are lit in conjunction with this. The light of the first LED lamp 420 is emitted to the outside from the first light emitting portion 431 through the inner side surface 433 of the outer lens 430 that is opposed to illuminate the ground below the vehicle door 100. Thereby, it functions as a courtesy lamp for illuminating the feet of passengers. On the other hand, the light of the second LED lamp 440 is emitted to the outside from the second light emitting unit 432 via the inner side surface 433 of the outer lens 430 facing the vehicle, and travels backward in the vehicle. Thereby, it functions as a door opening display lamp.
Since the first LED lamp 420 is a surface-mount type LED lamp and has a wide directivity angle, the light of the first LED lamp 420 reaches a wide range of the inner side surface 433. As a result, the first light emitting portion 431 can be formed larger, and visibility from the outside is increased. Since the first LED lamp 420 is a top view type and the second LED lamp 440 is a side view type, the first LED lamp 420 is mounted on the same plane of the same substrate 410, and the light of the first light emitting portion 431 and the second light are mounted. The light of the emission part 432 can be each emitted. Thereby, space saving, a reduction in the number of parts, a simplification of the mounting process, and a reduction in cost are realized as compared with the case where a lighting device is provided separately.

Although the vehicle lighting devices 1 and 400 are provided on the vehicle door 100 on the driver's seat side, the vehicle lighting device having the same configuration can be provided on the vehicle doors on the passenger seat side and the left and right rear seat sides.
Although the lighting state of the LED lamp 2 is interlocked with the opening and closing of the vehicle door 100, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be turned on immediately before the vehicle door 100 is opened in conjunction with the door handle operation of the vehicle door 100. Alternatively, the vehicle door 100 may be turned on for a predetermined time after the vehicle door 100 is closed.

  The vehicle lighting device of the present invention can be used for various vehicle doors.

The present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments and examples of the invention described above. Various modifications may be included in the present invention as long as those skilled in the art can easily conceive without departing from the description of the scope of claims.
The contents of papers, published patent gazettes, patent gazettes, and the like specified in this specification are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

1A is a perspective view of a conventional courtesy lamp 500, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle door 100 including the vehicle lighting device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3A is a perspective view of the vehicular lighting device 1, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3A. 4A is a perspective view of a vehicular illumination device 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 4A.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle door 1,400 Vehicle lighting device 10, 101, 410 Board | substrate 20 LED lamp (surface mount type)
102 LED lamp (cannonball type)
21, 102a Optical axes 30, 430, 103 Outer lenses 31, 431, 104 First light emitting portions 32, 432, 105 Second light emitting portions 33, 433, 106 Inner side surface 34 Bent portion 420 First LED lamp (surface mount type) )
440 2nd LED lamp (surface mount type)
500 courtesy lamps

Claims (3)

A vehicle lighting device that is provided at a lower edge of a vehicle door and lights up in a state in which the vehicle door is opened,
A surface-mount type first LED lamp mounted on a substrate;
An outer lens facing the light emission side of the first LED lamp, the first light emission part located on the lower surface of the vehicle door, and the second light emission part located on the side surface or the side end surface of the vehicle door. And an outer lens having
A vehicle lighting device comprising:   2. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the first LED lamp intersects a boundary portion between the first light emitting portion and the second light emitting portion of the outer lens. The first LED lamp is a top view type LED lamp, and is mounted on the substrate such that the light emission side of the first LED lamp is the first light emission part side,
A second LED lamp of a side view type, further mounted on the substrate such that the light emitting side of the second LED lamp is the second light emitting unit side;
The vehicular illumination device according to claim 1, wherein

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