JP7542392B2 - Vehicle Warning Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle warning device that warns the driver of an approaching vehicle from behind, and in particular belongs to the technical field of a structure that is incorporated into a vehicle mirror unit.

Conventionally, blind spot monitoring (hereafter referred to as BSM) has been one of the driving assistance functions for automobiles. BSM is designed to warn the driver that another vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is approaching the vehicle, and the number of vehicles equipped with this function is increasing.

The BSM is configured to include a sensor for detecting other vehicles mounted, for example, on the rear bumper, a determination unit that determines whether or not another vehicle is approaching the vehicle based on an output signal from the sensor, and a warning device that turns on or blinks a warning light when the determination unit determines that another vehicle is approaching the vehicle. The warning device is usually incorporated in each of the left and right door mirrors. The warning device is configured to shine light from the back side of the mirror and transmit part of the mirror, causing a warning mark to shine on the front side of the mirror, making the image visible to the driver.

JP 2020-121575 A

Because BSM is provided for driving assistance, the warning mark on the surface of the mirror needs to be illuminated with high brightness so that the driver can see it clearly when a warning is required. In particular, in the case of automobiles, the sun may shine on the mirror depending on the direction of the sunlight, so even higher brightness is desired. Furthermore, even when we say high brightness, the warning mark occupies a certain area on the mirror surface, so the entire warning mark needs to be made uniformly bright.

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and its purpose is to improve visibility by uniformly increasing the brightness of the entire warning display section.

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is a warning device for a vehicle that has a rearview mirror that extends vertically and horizontally and is incorporated into a mirror unit that is attached to a vehicle, the warning device comprising: a light source that is provided on the vehicle front side of the rearview mirror and irradiates light by supplying power; a light entrance surface into which the light irradiated from the light source is incident; and a light exit surface that emits the incident light; a light guide member that is provided on the vehicle front side of the rearview mirror; and a warning display unit that is provided in a partial area of the rearview mirror that is located on the vehicle rear side of the light exit surface and transmits the light exited from the light exit surface to the vehicle rear side to display a predetermined warning, and a light distribution surface that diffuses and distributes the light that is incident on the light entrance surface is provided between the light entrance surface and the light exit surface of the light guide member.

According to this configuration, when light is irradiated from the light source, it enters the light entrance surface of the light guide member, passes through the inside of the light guide member, and reaches the light distribution surface. The light that reaches the light distribution surface is diffused by the light distribution surface and distributed in a predetermined direction. The light before being emitted from the light exit surface is diffused by the light distribution surface, thereby expanding the irradiation range of the light irradiated from the light source. Since the diffused light is emitted from the light exit surface, it is uniformly transmitted through a wide area of the warning display section provided in a partial area of the rearview mirror and is irradiated to the rear of the vehicle. When the light passes through the warning display section, the warning display section appears to be glowing to the driver, so the driver can recognize the warning.

The second invention is characterized in that the light guide member is provided between the light source and the front side of the rearview mirror.

The third invention is characterized in that the light entrance surface is provided on one side of the light guide member in the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle front side, the light source is provided to irradiate light from the vehicle front side to the vehicle rear side of the light entrance surface, the light exit surface is provided on the other side of the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle rear surface of the light guide member, the light distribution surface is provided on one side of the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle rear surface of the light guide member and is formed to reflect light toward the other side in the vehicle left-right direction, and a reflective surface is provided on the other side of the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle front side of the light guide member that reflects the light reflected by the light distribution surface toward the light exit surface.

According to this configuration, light emitted from the light source and incident on the light entrance surface passes through the inside of the light guide member toward the rear of the vehicle, is diffused by the light distribution surface, and is then reflected toward the rear of the vehicle by the reflective surface. The reflected light is emitted from the light exit surface. In this way, by having light enter from the front, diffused, and reflected in the left-right direction, and then reflected toward the rear, it is possible to obtain a diffusion effect from the light distribution surface while suppressing the dimensional expansion of the light guide member in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle.

The fourth invention is characterized in that the light distribution surface is formed in a stepped shape that is closer to the front of the vehicle as it approaches one side in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

With this configuration, the stepped light distribution surface can reliably diffuse the light that is incident on the light distribution surface.

The fifth invention is characterized in that the light source includes a first light source and a second light source that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.

With this configuration, the light emitted from the first light source and the light emitted from the second light source are both emitted in a diffused state, making it possible to increase the brightness over an even wider range.

The sixth invention is characterized in that the light guide member has a first light incident surface that is arranged opposite the first light source and on which the light irradiated from the first light source is incident, and a second light incident surface that is arranged opposite the second light source and on which the light irradiated from the second light source is incident, the first light incident surface being spaced apart from the second light incident surface in the vertical direction, and the light guide member has a first light distribution surface that diffuses the light incident on the first light incident surface, and a second light distribution surface that diffuses the light incident on the second light incident surface.

With this configuration, light incident on the first light incident surface from the first light source can be diffused by the first light distribution surface, and light incident on the second light incident surface from the second light source can be diffused by the second light distribution surface. Since the first light distribution surface and the second light distribution surface are separate, the diffused light can be reflected toward different areas. This makes it possible to increase the overall brightness of the warning display unit, for example, even if the warning display unit has a long shape in the vertical or horizontal directions.

The seventh invention is characterized in that the first light incident surface and the second light incident surface are configured as concave surfaces.

With this configuration, the light emitted from the first light source can be collected by the first light entrance surface, and the light emitted from the second light source can be collected by the second light entrance surface, so the light from each light source can be effectively used to further increase the brightness of the warning display.

According to the present invention, the light before being emitted from the light exit surface can be diffused by the light distribution surface and distributed in a predetermined direction, so that the entire warning display can be made uniformly brighter and visibility can be improved.

1 is a view showing a vehicle door mirror unit equipped with a vehicle warning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. 1 is a diagram showing a rearview mirror to which a vehicle warning device is attached, as viewed from the front side of the vehicle. 1 is a view of a warning device for a vehicle as viewed from the rear of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a view of the vehicle warning device without the film, as viewed from the rear of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the warning device for a vehicle. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the vehicle warning device attached to the rearview mirror, corresponding to FIG. 4. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of the vehicle warning device attached to the rearview mirror, corresponding to FIG. 4. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the light guide member and the substrate as viewed obliquely from above on the rear side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light guide member and a substrate as viewed from directly above.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description of the preferred embodiment is essentially merely an example and is not intended to limit the present invention, its applications, or its uses.

1 is a view of a vehicle door mirror unit 100 equipped with a vehicle warning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle door mirror unit 100 is a so-called side mirror unit that is attached to the front end of a door arranged on the side of an automobile, for example, and is mainly used for rearward confirmation, although not shown. In this embodiment, the vehicle door mirror unit 100 installed on the right side of the vehicle will be described, but the vehicle door mirror unit installed on the left side (not shown) will not be described because it has a symmetrical structure with the one on the right side. In the description of this embodiment, the front side of the vehicle will be simply referred to as "front", the rear side of the vehicle will be simply referred to as "rear", the left side in the vehicle width direction will be simply referred to as "left", and the right side in the vehicle width direction will be simply referred to as "right". The mirror unit may also be attached to a part other than the door of the vehicle.

In addition to the vehicle warning device 1, the vehicle door mirror unit 100 includes a mirror base 101 attached to the vehicle, a rearview mirror 102, a mirror holder 103 that holds the rearview mirror 102, and a visor 104 to which the mirror holder 103 is attached. Although not shown, the vehicle door mirror unit 100 also includes an angle adjustment unit that adjusts the angle of the rearview mirror 102, and an electric or manual storage device. The rearview mirror 102 extends in the vertical and horizontal directions. A warning display unit 102a is provided in a portion of the rearview mirror 102. The warning display unit 102a is a part that transmits light irradiated from a light source 30 (shown in FIG. 5, etc.) described later from the front side to the rear side of the rearview mirror 102 to display a predetermined warning, and is one of the components of the vehicle warning device 1. The warning display section 102a is, for example, a film that forms a half mirror formed in a portion of the rearview mirror 102, and can be used as a mirror when no warning display is being displayed. However, when light is irradiated from the front, the warning display section 102a appears to shine to the driver as it passes through the warning display section 102a.

The warning display unit 102a is provided on the outer side of the rearview mirror 102 in the vehicle width direction, and in this embodiment, it is located near the right end of the rearview mirror 102. One example of the shape of the warning display unit 102a is a shape that shows the vehicle and other vehicles in a schematic manner, but is not limited to this and may be a triangle, etc. One example of a shape that shows the vehicle and other vehicles in a schematic manner is shown in Figures 1 and 3, and has a shape that has a predetermined length in the vertical direction.

The vehicle warning device 1 is incorporated in a vehicle door mirror unit 100. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, it is disposed in front of the rearview mirror 102 and is housed inside the right side of the visor 104. Therefore, the vehicle warning device 1 does not interfere with rearward visibility.

In this embodiment, the vehicle warning device 1 is a device for blind spot monitoring (hereinafter referred to as BSM). The BSM is for warning the driver that another vehicle traveling in another lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is approaching the vehicle. An example of the configuration of the BSM is not shown, but includes a sensor for detecting another vehicle provided on, for example, a rear bumper, a determination unit that determines whether or not the other vehicle is approaching the vehicle based on an output signal from the sensor, and the vehicle warning device 1. The vehicle warning device 1 turns on or blinks the warning display unit 102a when the determination unit determines that the other vehicle is approaching the vehicle. Since the configurations of the sensor and the determination unit are well known, detailed description will be omitted. The vehicle warning device 1 is provided on the left and right door mirror units 100, and is configured to activate the right vehicle warning device 1 when there is another vehicle approaching from the right, and activate the left vehicle warning device 1 when there is another vehicle approaching from the left. It can also be configured to emit a warning sound at the same time that the warning display unit 102a lights up or flashes.

As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle warning device 1 includes a casing 2, a substrate 3, a light guide member 4, and a film 5. The casing 2 is made of, for example, a resin material, and is a member that houses the substrate 3 and the light guide member 4. The casing 2 includes a front wall portion 20 that extends in the vertical direction, and a peripheral wall portion 21 that extends from the peripheral edge of the front wall portion 20 to the rear side, and the front wall portion 20 and the peripheral wall portion 21 are integrally molded. A through hole 21a that penetrates in the vertical direction is formed in the lower part of the peripheral wall portion 21. The upper and lower parts of the peripheral wall portion 21 extend approximately parallel to the left and right direction. In addition, the left and right parts of the peripheral wall portion 21 extend approximately parallel to the up and down direction. In addition, a flange portion 22 is integrally molded at the rear end of the peripheral wall portion 21.

The rear side of the casing 2 is almost entirely open. The substrate 3 and light guide member 4 can be inserted into the casing 2 through the open part on the rear side of the casing 2. The open part on the rear side of the casing 2 is covered by a film 5. This film 5 is made of, for example, a resin material, and has an outer shape that corresponds to the outer shape of the rear end part of the peripheral wall part 21 of the casing 2. The film 5 is attached to the casing 2 by adhering the peripheral part of the front side of the film 5 to the rear surface of the flange part 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rear surface of the film 5 is attached to the front surface of the rearview mirror 102. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the position of the attached film 5 is set so as to cover the warning display section 102a of the rearview mirror 102. A light-transmitting section 5a that transmits light irradiated from light sources 30A and 30B (described later) to the rear side is provided on the upper side of the film 5. The light-transmitting section 5a is arranged so as to overlap the front side of the warning display section 102a of the rearview mirror 102, and the light irradiated from the light sources 30A and 30B (described later) is incident on the warning display section 102a after transmitting through the light-transmitting section 5a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the board 3 includes a light source including a first light source 30A and a second light source 30B, a constant current circuit (not shown), and a connector portion 31. The board 3 is oriented to extend in the vertical direction, and is fixed to the casing 2 while being housed near the front inside the casing 2 as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The structure for fixing the board 3 to the casing 2 is not particularly limited, but examples include a structure in which a claw provided on one of the board 3 and the casing 2 engages with the other, and a structure in which the board 3 is fastened to the casing 2 with a screw or the like.

The dimension of the substrate 3 in the left-right direction is set shorter than the dimension in the up-down direction, and is generally rectangular in shape with a long vertical length, similar to the front wall portion 20 of the casing 2. A first light source 30A and a second light source 30B are mounted on the rear surface of the substrate 3. The first light source 30A and the second light source 30B both emit light toward the rear.

The first light source 30A is located near the top and to the right of the center in the left-right direction on the rear surface of the substrate 3, and protrudes backward from the rear surface of the substrate 3. The second light source 30B is located downward from the first light source 30A and to the right of the first light source 30A, and protrudes backward from the rear surface of the substrate 3. With such an arrangement of the first light source 30A and the second light source 30B, the center of the light irradiation surface of the first light source 30A and the center of the light irradiation surface of the second light source 30B are separated in the vertical direction and also in the horizontal direction. The first light source 30A and the second light source 30B are arranged to be separated in the vertical direction because the warning display unit 102a of the rearview mirror 102 has a predetermined length in the vertical direction, and the light irradiated from the first light source 30A is irradiated to approximately the upper half of the warning display unit 102a, and the light irradiated from the second light source 30B is irradiated to approximately the lower half of the warning display unit 102a. If the vertical dimension of the warning display unit 102a is short, there may be only one light source. The first light source 30A and the second light source 30B are composed of, for example, light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

The connector portion 31 is disposed so as to protrude rearward from near the center of the board 3 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the connector portion 31 is positioned directly above the through hole 21a formed in the lower portion of the casing 2. A harness (not shown) extending from the vehicle side is connected to the connector portion 31. Power supplied from this harness is supplied to the first light source 30A and the second light source 30B via a constant current circuit. This causes the first light source 30A and the second light source 30B to emit light. The first light source 30A and the second light source 30B may be kept lit or may be made to blink while a warning is required. By incorporating a constant current circuit, the current can be cut in the event of an unintended overvoltage, preventing damage.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the light-guiding member 4 is entirely made of a colorless and transparent resin material, and is provided between the first light source 30A and the second light source 30B and the vehicle front surface of the rearview mirror 102. The light-guiding member 4 includes a plate-shaped portion 40 extending in the up-down and left-right directions, a left plate portion 41 extending forward from the left end of the plate-shaped portion 40, and a protruding portion 42 protruding forward from the right end of the plate-shaped portion 40. The plate-shaped portion 40, the left plate portion 41, and the protruding portion 42 are integrally molded.

The first light source 30A is positioned so as to face the upper right side of the plate-shaped portion 40. An upper cylindrical portion 43 that protrudes forward is formed on the right side (one side in the left-right direction of the vehicle) of the front surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. The light exit surface of the first light source 30A is positioned so as to face the front end portion of the upper cylindrical portion 43, and the relative positional relationship between the first light source 30A and the light-guiding member 4 is set so that the center of the light exit surface of the first light source 30A is located on an extension of the center line of the upper cylindrical portion 43.

The second light source 30B is positioned so as to face the vertical middle part on the right side of the plate-shaped part 40. On the right side (one side in the left-right direction of the vehicle) of the front surface of the plate-shaped part 40, a lower cylindrical part 44 that protrudes forward is formed below the upper cylindrical upper part 43. The light exit surface of the second light source 30B is positioned so as to face the front end part of the lower cylindrical part 44, and the relative positional relationship between the second light source 30B and the light-guiding member 4 is set so that the center of the light exit surface of the second light source 30B is located on an extension of the center line of the lower cylindrical part 44.

6, the front end surface of the upper cylindrical portion 43 is formed with an upper light incident surface 43a into which light irradiated from the first light source 30A toward the rear side is incident. The upper light incident surface 43a is configured as a spherical surface concave toward the rear side, i.e., in the direction away from the first light source 30A. The upper light incident surface 43a may be configured as a part of a perfect sphere (arcuate surface), or may be configured as a surface that can be approximated to a sphere. Since the upper light incident surface 43a is concave, the upper light incident surface 43a can also be called a concave surface. The center of the upper light incident surface 43a is located directly in front of the center of the light exit surface of the first light source 30A. Therefore, the light irradiated from the first light source 30A enters the interior of the upper cylindrical portion 43 from the upper light incident surface 43a and proceeds toward the rear of the plate-shaped portion 40.

In addition, a lower light incident surface 44a (shown by a broken line in FIG. 4) is formed on the front end surface of the lower cylindrical portion 44, into which light irradiated from the second light source 30B toward the rear side is incident. The lower light incident surface 44a is also formed of a concave surface similar to the upper light incident surface 43a. The center of the lower light incident surface 44a is located directly in front of the center of the light exit surface of the second light source 30B. Therefore, the light irradiated from the second light source 30B enters the inside of the lower cylindrical portion 44 from the lower light incident surface 44a and proceeds toward the rear of the plate-shaped portion 40. In other words, the light incident from the first light source 30A passes through the upper side of the right part of the plate-shaped portion 40 and proceeds backward, while the light incident from the second light source 30B passes through the lower side of the right part of the plate-shaped portion 40 and proceeds backward.

In this embodiment, the upper light incident surface 43a and the lower light incident surface 44a are spherical, so that the light irradiated from the first light source 30A and the second light source 30B can be efficiently collected by the upper light incident surface 43a and the lower light incident surface 44a. The upper light incident surface 43a and the lower light incident surface 44a may have a shape other than a spherical surface.

8 and 9, a light exit surface 40a is provided on the left side of the rear surface of the light guide member 4, which emits light incident from the upper light entrance surface 43a and the lower light entrance surface 44a. The light exit surface 40a extends in the vertical and horizontal directions and is configured as a flat surface extending approximately parallel to the front surface of the rearview mirror 102. The light exit surface 40a continues from the upper end to the lower end of the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40, and also continues from the left end to the middle part in the horizontal direction of the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. The right end of the light exit surface 40a is located to the right of the left-right center part of the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. The light exit surface 40a can be configured as a rectangular surface.

As shown in FIG. 8, a first light distribution surface 40b and a second light distribution surface 40c are provided between the first and second light incident surfaces 43a, 44a and the light exit surface 40a in the light guide member 4, respectively, to diffuse the light incident on the first and second light incident surfaces 43a, 44a. The first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c are located on the right side of the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. Specifically, the first light distribution surface 40b is located in approximately the upper half of the area to the right of the light exit surface 40a on the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. The second light distribution surface 40c is located in approximately the lower half of the area to the right of the light exit surface 40a on the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40, and therefore the first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c are aligned in the vertical direction.

The light that is incident on the first light incident surface 43a and travels in a straight line to the rear side is incident on the first light distribution surface 40b. The first light distribution surface 40b is a surface that diffuses the incident light and reflects the diffused light to distribute it in a predetermined direction, and may be a surface that utilizes the property of total reflection of light at the interface between the plate-shaped portion 40 and the air, or may be a surface that is composed of a mirror layer. The direction of reflection of light by the first light distribution surface 40b is to the left. The shape of the first light distribution surface 40b can be, for example, a stepped shape, and can be a shape in which multiple steps are continuous in the left-right direction, a shape in which multiple convex portions are continuous in the left-right direction, a shape in which multiple concave portions are continuous in the left-right direction, etc. By making the first light distribution surface 40b a stepped shape, etc., it is possible to diffuse the incident light and reflect the diffused light in a desired direction. The first light distribution surface 40b has a stepped shape that is located closer to the front as it goes to the right, and the diffused light can be reflected to the left by such a stepped shape. Similarly, when the first light distribution surface 40b is configured with a convex or concave portion, it can be formed so that the further to the right it is, the more forward it is.

In addition, light that is incident on the second light incident surface 44a and travels in a straight line to the rear is incident on the second light distribution surface 40c. Like the first light distribution surface 40b, the second light distribution surface 40c is a surface that diffuses the incident light and reflects the diffused light so as to distribute it in a predetermined direction, and the direction in which light is reflected by the second light distribution surface 40c is to the left. Like the first light distribution surface 40b, the second light distribution surface 40c can also be formed in a stepped shape that is more forward as it moves to the right.

The first light distribution surface 40b is generally located in front of the second light distribution surface 40c. As a result, the distance from the light irradiation surface of the first light source 30A to the first light distribution surface 40b is shorter than the distance from the light irradiation surface of the second light source 30B to the second light distribution surface 40c. The step shape of the first light distribution surface 40b may be the same as the step shape of the second light distribution surface 40c, or the step (also called pitch) may be set larger or smaller than the step shape of the second light distribution surface 40c. In other words, the first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c can be made to have different shapes, so that the light incident from the first light source 30A and the light incident from the second light source 30B can be reflected in different directions, and the diffusion direction and range can also be made different.

The left side of the front surface of the light guide member 4 is provided with a reflecting surface 40d that reflects the light reflected by the first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c toward the light exit surface 40a. The reflecting surface 40d is located to the left of the upper cylindrical portion 43 and the lower cylindrical portion 44, and is inclined so that it is located further back as it goes to the left overall. The reflecting surface 40d is continuous from the upper end to the lower end of the rear surface of the plate-shaped portion 40. The area of the light exit surface 40a is set to be larger than the combined area of the first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c. In addition, the left-right dimension of the light exit surface 40a is set to be longer than the left-right dimensions of the first light distribution surface 40b and the second light distribution surface 40c.

As shown in FIG. 7, the reflective surface 40d has a plurality of grooves 40e extending in the left-right direction, spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction. The cross section of the grooves 40e in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is arc-shaped. Furthermore, flat surfaces 40f extending in the left-right direction are provided between adjacent grooves 40e in the up-down direction. The reflective surface 40d may utilize the property of total reflection of light at the interface between the plate-shaped portion 40 and the air, or may be composed of a mirror layer. The size of the reflective surface 40d may be set to match the size of the warning display portion 102a.

(Effects of the embodiment)
As described above, according to this embodiment, when light is irradiated from the light sources 30A and 30B, it enters the light incident surfaces 43a and 44a of the light guide member 4, and then passes through the inside of the light guide member 4 to reach the light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c. The light incident on the light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c is diffused by the light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c, reflected to the left, and enters the reflection surface 40d. The light incident on the reflection surface 40d is reflected to the rear and emitted from the light emission surface 40a. The light before being emitted from the light emission surface 40a is diffused by the light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c, so that the irradiation range of the light irradiated from the light sources 30A and 30B is expanded. The diffused light is emitted from the light emission surface 40a, so that it uniformly transmits through a wide range of the warning display portion 102a of the rearview mirror 102. When light passes through the warning display section 102a, the warning display section 102a appears to be shining, so the driver can recognize the warning. Therefore, the entire warning display section 102a can be made uniformly bright to improve visibility.

In addition, the light emitted from light sources 30A and 30B and incident on light entrance surfaces 43a and 44a passes through the interior of light-guiding member 4 to the rear, is diffused by light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c, is reflected to the rear by reflection surface 40d, and is emitted from light exit surface 40a. In this way, by having light enter from the front, diffused and reflected in the left-right direction, and then reflected to the rear, it is possible to obtain a diffusion effect by light distribution surfaces 40b and 40c while suppressing the expansion of the light-guiding member 4 in the front-to-rear direction.

The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted as limiting. Furthermore, all modifications and variations within the scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the vehicle warning device of the present invention can be used as a BSM that warns the driver that a following vehicle is approaching.

1 Vehicle warning device 4 Light guide member 30A First light source 30B Second light source 40a Light exit surface 40b First light distribution surface 40c Second light distribution surface 40d Reflective surface 43a Upper light entrance surface 44a Lower light entrance surface 100 For vehicles Door mirror unit 102 Rear visibility mirror 102a Warning display section

Claims (4)

A warning device for a vehicle includes a rearview mirror extending vertically and laterally of the vehicle and is incorporated in a mirror unit attached to the vehicle,
A light source is provided on a vehicle front side of the rearview mirror and emits light by supplying power;
A light guide member having a light incident surface on which light emitted from the light source is incident and a light exit surface from which the incident light is exited, the light guide member being provided on a vehicle front side of the rearview mirror;
a warning display unit that is provided in a partial area of the rearview mirror arranged on the vehicle rear side of the light exit surface and transmits light emitted from the light exit surface to the vehicle rear side to display a predetermined warning,
The light source is disposed on one side of the warning display unit in the left-right direction of the vehicle,
The light guide member is provided between the light source and a front surface of the rearview mirror,
The light incident surface is provided on one side of the vehicle front surface of the light guiding member in the left-right direction of the vehicle so as to correspond to the light source,
The light source is provided to irradiate light from a front side of the vehicle to a rear side of the light incident surface,
The light exit surface is provided on the other side of the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle rear surface of the light guide member,
a light distribution surface that diffuses and distributes light incident on the light incident surface is provided between the light incident surface and the light exit surface of the light guiding member ,
the light distribution surface is provided on one side of the vehicle left-right direction on the vehicle rear surface of the light guiding member, and is formed in a stepped shape that is positioned closer to the front of the vehicle as it goes to the one side in the vehicle left-right direction so as to reflect the incident light toward the other side in the vehicle left-right direction,
A warning device for a vehicle, characterized in that a reflective surface is provided on the other side of the light-guiding member in the left-right direction of the front surface of the vehicle, which reflects light reflected by the light distribution surface toward the light exit surface . 2. The vehicle warning device according to claim 1 ,
The warning device for a vehicle, wherein the light source includes a first light source and a second light source spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction. 3. The vehicle warning device according to claim 2 ,
The light guide member is provided with a first light incident surface that is disposed opposite to the first light source and into which the light irradiated from the first light source is incident, and a second light incident surface that is disposed opposite to the second light source and into which the light irradiated from the second light source is incident, the first light incident surface being spaced apart in the up-down direction;
A warning device for a vehicle, characterized in that the light-guiding member is provided with a first light distribution surface that diffuses light incident on the first light incident surface, and a second light distribution surface that diffuses light incident on the second light incident surface. 4. The vehicle warning device according to claim 3 ,
2. A warning device for a vehicle, wherein the first light incident surface and the second light incident surface are formed as concave surfaces.

Images