JP2023135008A - Lamp fitting unit and shade for lamp fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve a problem of an uncured paint when two plates are overlapped to form a shade which forms a cutoff line of a lamp fitting.SOLUTION: A lamp fitting unit includes: a light source; a floodlight lens; and a plate-like shade 60 which is disposed at a rear side focus of the floodlight lens and controls light radiated from the light source. The shade 60 has: a first plate 61 formed with a step part 63 for forming a cutoff line, in which one plate surface has a convex shape and the other plate surface has a concave shape; and a second plate 62 which reinforces the first plate 61 and is disposed overlapping with the first plate 61. The second plate 62 has a non-overlapping area 65 which does not overlap with at least a part of the step part 63 of the first plate 61 in a direction of overlapping with the first plate 61.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a lamp unit used in a vehicle such as an automobile, and particularly to a lamp unit including a plate-shaped shade.

Low beams require light distribution that does not glare on oncoming vehicles. The cut-off line for this purpose is created by an image near the rear focal point of the light projection lens of the lamp unit, so if the member placed at the focal point position can be made as thin as possible, the boundary line of the cut-off line will not become dark. You can create a clean cut-off line. For this reason, it is conceivable to make the shade for forming the cut-off line plate-shaped. A lamp unit including a plate-shaped shade is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

European Patent Application No. 2982902

In a configuration where the shade is formed into a thin plate, the strength of the shade may be insufficient. For this purpose, a configuration may be considered in which a reinforcing plate is further stacked on the shade plate to form a shade with two plates. However, when a shade is formed from two plates, a gap is inevitably created between the two plates due to the stepped shape formed on the plate side of the shade to form a cutoff line. When considering painting the shade with aluminum vapor deposition, etc., there was a risk that the paint would not harden in this gap.

The present invention was proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to solve the problem of uncured paint when forming a shade that forms a cut-off line by stacking two plates. shall be.

In order to solve the above problems, a lamp unit according to an aspect of the present invention includes a light source, a light projecting lens, and a plate-shaped device disposed at a rear focal point of the light projecting lens to control light emitted from the light source. A lighting unit comprising a shade, the shade comprising: a first plate having a stepped portion where one plate surface is convex and the other plate surface is concave for forming a cut-off line; a second plate reinforcing the first plate and disposed overlapping the first plate, the second plate reinforcing the first plate in the overlapping direction with the first plate; It is characterized by having a non-overlapping region that does not overlap with at least a portion of the step portion of one plate.

In the above aspect, it is also preferable that the thickness of the first plate is thinner than the thickness of the second plate.

In the above aspect, a portion of the first plate that includes the step portion of a light control unit that controls light from the light source is closer to the light projecting lens than the non-overlapping area of the second plate. It is also preferable that they be located close to each other.

In the above aspect, it is also preferable that the lamp unit includes two or more optical systems, and the shade is arranged so as to partition the optical systems.

In the present invention, when the shade forming the cut-off line is formed by overlapping two plates, it is possible to prevent the coating material from uncuring.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a lamp unit 100 to which a shade 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp unit 100. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lighting unit 100. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a shade 60 according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view of the same shade 60 seen from the rear and upper side. It is a perspective view of the same shade 60 seen from the rear lower part. It is an exploded perspective view of the same shade 60. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shade 60', which is a comparative example with the same shade 60, viewed from the rear and upper side. FIG. 7 is an enlarged rear view of the vicinity of a stepped portion 63 of a shade 60' of a comparative example. It is an exploded perspective view of shade 60 concerning modification 1 of an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a shade 60', which is a comparative example with the shade 60 according to Modification 1, viewed from the upper rear side. 7 is a rear view of a shade 60' as a comparative example with a shade 60 according to Modification 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shade 60 according to a second modification of the embodiment, viewed from the rear and upper side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. Identical or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the embodiments are illustrative rather than limiting the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. In addition, in this specification, "top", "bottom", "front", "back", "left", "right", "inside", "outside", "front", "back", "front", When terms such as "rear" are used, these terms refer to the direction in which the lamp unit is positioned in a vehicle. In the drawings, the front-to-back direction of the lamp unit is indicated by an arrow FB.

1. Embodiment 1-1. Overall configuration FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a lamp unit 100 to which a shade 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp unit 100, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of the lamp unit 100. 2 (a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1). The lamp unit 100 is, for example, a headlamp mounted on the front right side of a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the lamp unit 100 includes a light projection lens 10, a lens holder 20, a primary lens 30, a light source board 40, and a heat sink 50.

The light projection lens 10 is a plano-convex aspherical lens made of a light-transmitting material and has a convex front surface and a flat rear surface, and directs light from a light source (described later) mounted on the light source board 40 forward. Project light.

As shown in FIG. 2, the light source board 40 includes a plurality of LEDs 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, and 416 as light sources on the front surface. The LEDs 411 to 416 are arranged in two rows, one above the other, an optical system in which LEDs 411, 412, and 413 are responsible for low beam light distribution (hereinafter referred to as "low beam optical system" 42), a bottom row, LEDs 414, 415 and 416 are configured as optical systems responsible for high beam light distribution (hereinafter referred to as "high beam optical system" 43). The low beam optical system 42 and the high beam optical system 43 are controlled by a common wiring pattern, and each of the LEDs 411 to 416 can be selectively turned off and turned on. The light source board 40 is positioned and fixed to the heat sink 50.

The primary lens 30 is disposed in front of the light source board 40 and includes a cylindrical portion 33 (FIG. 2) that forms a reflective surface (paraboloid) 31 (FIG. 3) for each of the LEDs 411 to 416. . The primary lens 30 is provided with abutment portions 32 (FIG. 2) on both left and right sides for contacting the lens holder 20, and is fixed to the lens holder 20.

The lens holder 20 is a member for holding the light projection lens 10 and the primary lens 30, and is fixed to the heat sink 50. As shown in FIG. 2, a shade 60 that forms a low beam cutoff line is attached to the lens holder 20. The configuration of the shade 60 will be described later. The lens holder 20 includes a front end annular portion 21 that holds the light emitting lens 10, a rear end annular portion 23 that accommodates the primary lens 30, and a connecting portion with a downward opening that connects the front end annular portion 21 and the rear end annular portion 23. 22 is integrally provided. The shade 60 is fixed to the extending surfaces 24 provided on the left and right sides of the connecting portion 22 by, for example, screws.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shade 60 is fixed to the lens holder 20 so that the front edge 601 of the shade 60 is positioned at or near the rear focal point f of the light projection lens 10. The projection lens 10 projects an image formed on a focal plane including the rear focal point f forward. The light from the high beam optical system 43 passes through the primary lens 30 or is totally reflected by the reflective surface 31 and heads toward the light projecting lens 10 via the lower surface of the shade 60 (light control unit 6052 described later). The light from the low beam optical system 42 passes through the primary lens 30 or is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 31 and heads toward the light projecting lens 10 via the upper surface of the shade 60 (light control section 6051 described later).

The heat sink 50 serves as a fixing part for the light source board 40 and the lens holder 20, and is made of a material with good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum die-casting. releases heat into the air.

1-2. Structure of Shade FIG. 4 is a plan view of the shade 60 according to the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shade 60 seen from the upper rear, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the shade 60 seen from the lower rear, and FIG. It is an exploded perspective view of the same shade 60.

The shade 60 is a flat plate, and has contact parts 604 fixed to the left and right extension surfaces 24 of the lens holder 20, and an arc-shaped light that bridges the contact parts 604, 604 and has a front edge 601 inside. It includes a control section 605 and a reinforcing section 606 overlaid on the light control section 605. In FIGS. 4 to 7, the light control unit 605 is shown by hatching. Each of the contact parts 604 includes a fixing hole 602 (FIG. 4) with the lens holder 20. The shade 60 is fixed with the contact portion 604 in contact with the extension surface 24 so that the plate surface of the light control portion 605 is horizontal (see also FIG. 3). The contact portion 604 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape, but is not limited to the illustrated shape as long as it can ensure the horizontality of the shade 60.

The contact portion 604, the light control portion 605, and the reinforcing portion 606 are formed by two metal plates having different thicknesses, a first plate 61 and a second plate 62. The first plate 61 functions as a shade for forming a cutoff line of the low beam, and the second plate 62 functions as a reinforcing material for the shade.

The first plate 61 includes a contact portion 604 and a light control portion 605. The upper surface of the first plate 61 functions as a light control section 6051 that controls light from the low beam optical system 42 (see FIG. 5). The lower surface of the first plate 61 functions as a light control section 6052 that controls light from the high beam optical system 43 (see FIG. 6). In this specification, when referring to the top surface of the light control section 605, it is referred to as a light control section 6051, and when referring to the bottom surface, it is referred to as a light control section 6052.

A step portion 63 for forming a cut-off line is formed in the light control section 605. The stepped portion 63 has a shape in which one plate surface (light control section 6051 in this embodiment) is convex and the other plate surface (light control section 6052 in this embodiment) is concave. It is convex in the direction away from the plate 62. The stepped portion 63 is formed in a line shape approximately at the longitudinal center of the light control section 605 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light control section 605 (the front-rear direction of the lamp). The first plate 61 further includes a cut portion 64 (see FIG. 7) in which a part of the step portion 63 is cut off in order to form a non-overlapping region 65, which will be described later, on the second plate 62. There is.

The second plate 62 includes an abutting portion 604 and a reinforcing portion 606. The reinforcing portion 606 bridges the contact portions 604, 604, and has the same arc shape as the light control portion 605, but is formed smaller than the light control portion 605 in the front-rear direction of the lamp. The size of the reinforcing part 606 is approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the light control part 605 in the longitudinal direction of the lamp, and the reinforcing part 606 is overlapped on the back side of the light control part 605 (on the opposite side of the front edge 601). It will be done. A portion of the reinforcement portion 606 includes a non-overlapping region 65, which will be described later.

In the shade 60 having the above elements, the light from the high beam optical system 43 is controlled to be reflected by the light control unit 6052 and directed toward the light projection lens 10. The light from the low beam optical system 42 is controlled to be reflected by the light control unit 6051 and directed toward the light projection lens 10 (see also FIG. 3). Then, the shape of the front edge line 601 of the first plate 61 is projected as the boundary line of the cutoff line of the low beam. The shade 60 is arranged to vertically partition two optical systems, the low beam optical system 42 and the high beam optical system 43, and controls different light distributions using both sides 6051 and 6052 of the light control unit 605.

The first plate 61 is preferably formed of a plate as thin as possible, since by making the front edge line 601 as thin as possible, the boundary line of the cut-off line will not become dark and the cut-off line can be made neatly. On the other hand, the second plate 62 is preferably formed of a thicker plate than the first plate 61 in order to compensate for the lack of strength of the thin first plate 61. For example, the first plate 61 is formed with a thickness of 0.1 mm, and the second plate 62 is formed with a thickness of 0.6 mm. The first plate 61 is formed by punching out the contact portion 604, the light control portion 605, and the cut portion 64 using a press from a metal plate having the above-mentioned thickness, and bending the stepped portion 63 using a press. The second plate 62 is formed by punching the contact portion 604 and the reinforcing portion 606 from a metal plate having the above-mentioned thickness using a press. The shade 60 is then formed by stacking the first plate 61 and the second plate 62 vertically and laser welding them.

Here, FIG. 8 shows, as a comparative example with the shade 60 of this embodiment, that the cut portion 64 in which a part of the stepped portion 63 of the first plate 61 is cut off is not formed, and the second plate 62 is formed in a non-overlapping manner. 9 is a perspective view of a shade 60' without a region 65, seen from the rear and upper side, and FIG. 9 is a rear view of the shade 60' of a comparative example in which the vicinity of the step portion 63 is enlarged. In FIG. 8, the position of the second plate 62 is indicated by a broken line. As shown in FIG. 8, the shade 60' formed by stacking two plates includes, in addition to the abutting part 604, a light control part 605 of the first plate 61 and a reinforcing part 606 of the second plate 62. , overlap in the vertical direction. In this overlapping direction, an overlapping region 65' is generated where the step portion 63 of the first plate 61 and the second board 62 overlap (the overlapping region 65' is shown in color). In the overlapping region 65', as shown in FIG. 9, the stepped portion 63 separates from the second plate 62, so that a gap 66' is created between the stepped portion 63 and the second plate 62.

Here, since the shade 60 includes the light control section 605, it is preferable to perform a painting process such as aluminum vapor deposition. However, especially when forming the undercoat layer, if the UV-curable undercoat agent enters the gap 66', it is difficult for the UV light to reach the paint that has entered the gap 66'. Otherwise, the paint may become uncured. If the shade 60' with uncured paint is assembled into the lamp unit 100, the uncured paint will volatilize due to the lighting heat of the LEDs 411 to 416, and the paint will adhere to surrounding optical components, especially the light emitting lens 10. However, there is a concern that the lens may become cloudy.

To solve this problem, in this embodiment, the first plate 61 is provided with a cut portion 64 that is obtained by cutting off the stepped portion 63 existing in the overlapping region 65' of FIG. A non-overlapping region 65 is formed that does not overlap with the stepped portion 63 of the plate 61 (see FIGS. 4, 5, and 7. In FIG. 7, the non-overlapping region 65 is indicated by diagonal lines). In the non-overlapping region 65, the second plate 62 is exposed without the stepped portion 63 covering the second plate 62, so the gap 66' shown in FIG. 9 does not occur. Therefore, when painting the shade 60, it is possible to prevent the paint from becoming uncured between the two plates. Further, the stepped portion 63 of the first plate 61 is arranged in front of the lamp (at a position closer to the light projection lens 10) than the non-overlapping region 65 of the second plate 62 (see FIG. 4, etc.). That is, since the non-overlapping region 65 is located further behind the stepped portion 63 of the light control unit 605 at the rear of the lamp where the amount of incident light from the light source is relatively small, even if the non-overlapping region 65 is formed, The influence on light control by the light control unit 605 can be reduced.

2. Preferred modification example 2-1 of the embodiment. Modification example 1
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a shade 60 according to Modification 1 of the embodiment. A shade 60 according to this modification is obtained by changing the shape of the stepped portion 63 of the embodiment. Also in the shade 60 according to this modification, the first plate 61 includes the abutting part 604, the light control part 605, the step part 63, and the cut part 64, and the second plate 62 includes the abutting part 604, the reinforcing part 606, and a non-overlapping region 65 (in FIG. 10, the non-overlapping region 65 is shown with diagonal lines). In the stepped portion 63 of this modification, one plate surface (light control section 6051) is convex and the other plate surface (light control section 6052) is convex over approximately 1/2 of the right side in the longitudinal direction of the light control section 605. It has a concave shape, and a stepped portion 63 is formed wider than in the embodiment. The first plate 61 and the second plate 62 each have a cut portion 64 and a non-overlapping region 65 in the shape shown below.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a shade 60' as a comparative example with the shade 60 of Modification Example 1, when the second plate 62 does not include the non-overlapping area 65, as seen from the upper rear side, and FIG. It is a back view of the shade 60' of a comparative example. In FIG. 11, the position of the second plate 62 is indicated by a broken line. Also in the shade 60' of the comparative example, when the first plate 61 and the second plate 62 are stacked vertically, the stepped portion 63 of the first plate 61 and the second plate 62 overlap in the overlapping direction. An overlapping region 65' is generated (the overlapping region 65' is shown in color). In the overlapping region 65', as shown in FIG. 12, the step 63 separates from the second plate 62, so a gap 66' is created between the step 63 and the second plate 62.

On the other hand, also in this modification, by providing the first plate 61 with a cut portion 64 obtained by cutting off the stepped portion 63 existing in the overlapping region 65' of FIG. A non-overlapping region 65 that does not overlap with the step portion 63 of the plate 61 is formed. That is, if the second plate 62 is provided with a non-overlapping region 65 corresponding to the shape of the stepped portion 63, the same effects as in the embodiment can be obtained. In this way, the non-overlapping region 65 is deformed depending on the shape and range of the stepped portion 63.

2-2. Modification example 2
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a shade 60 according to a second modification of the embodiment, viewed from the rear and upper side. In the shade 60 of this modification, the stepped portion 63 existing in the overlapping region 65' in FIG. , a non-overlapping region 65 is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the light from the low beam optical system 42 is controlled by the light control section 6051 of the first plate 61. For this reason, if all the step portions 63 existing in the overlapping region 65' are cut off, there is a risk that unintended reflection will occur in the non-overlapping region 65 and light leakage will occur. On the other hand, by leaving a spare part 67 on the front side of the stepped part 63 and forming a non-overlapping area 65, the gap 66' in FIG. 9 created between the two plates is made as small as possible, and the light source Since the light distribution control can be maintained in the spare part 67 where the amount of incident light is relatively large, it is possible to deal with both the problem of uncured paint and the problem of light leakage. Note that the shape and range of the reserve portion 67 may be modified depending on whether uncured paint or leaked light is more important.

Note that the lamp unit 100 has been described as an example equipped with two optical systems, the low beam optical system 42 and the high beam optical system 43, but for example, the low beam optical system 42 may be equipped with an amber light source, and a turn signal optical system Additional variations are also possible. In this case, the shade 60 is arranged to partition a plurality of optical systems (two or more optical systems), so that both sides of the light control section 605 (light control sections 6051 and 6052) have different configurations. Responsible for light control. Further, the shades 60 may be stacked and arranged such that the first plate 61 is on the bottom and the second plate 62 is on the top, corresponding to the arrangement of the optical systems and the like.

The preferred embodiments and modifications thereof of the present invention have been described above, but these are only examples of the present invention, and these can be combined based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and such embodiments are also included in the present invention. Included in the range.

100 Lighting unit 10 Light projection lens 20 Lens holder 30 Primary lens 40 Light source board 411 to 416 LED (light source)
42 Low beam optical system 43 High beam optical system 50 Heat sink 60 Shade 61 First plate 62 Second plate 63 Step part 64 Cut area 65 Non-overlapping area 67 Reserve area 601 Front edge 604 Contact part 605 Light control part 606 Reinforcement part 60 ´ Comparative example shade 65´ Overlapping area 66´ Gap

Claims (5)

A lamp unit comprising a light source, a light projection lens, and a plate-shaped shade arranged at a rear focal point of the light projection lens and controlling light emitted from the light source, the lamp unit comprising:
The shade includes a first plate formed with a stepped portion in which one plate surface is convex and the other plate surface is concave to form a cut-off line; a second plate placed over the first plate,
The lamp unit is characterized in that the second plate has a non-overlapping area that does not overlap with at least a part of the stepped portion of the first plate in the direction of overlap with the first plate.
The lamp unit according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the first plate is thinner than the thickness of the second plate.
A portion of the first plate that includes the stepped portion of the light control unit that controls light from the light source is located closer to the light projection lens than the non-overlapping area of the second plate. The lamp unit according to claim 1, characterized in that:
The lighting unit includes two or more optical systems,
The lamp unit according to claim 1, wherein the shade is arranged to partition the optical system.
a first plate having a stepped portion where one plate surface is convex and the other plate surface is concave to form a cut-off line;
a second plate reinforcing the first plate and placed over the first plate,
The lamp shade, wherein the second plate has a non-overlapping area that does not overlap with at least a part of the stepped portion of the first plate in the direction of overlap with the first plate.