JP7574651B2 - Inner lens for vehicles, vehicle lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an inner lens for a vehicle. This invention also relates to a vehicle lamp equipped with an inner lens for a vehicle.

Examples of vehicle inner lenses and vehicle lamps equipped with vehicle inner lenses are shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. Patent Document 1 will be described below.

The light guide (vehicle inner lens) of Patent Document 1 is composed of a rod-shaped portion and a plate-shaped portion that are integrally formed. The rod-shaped portion guides light incident on the end face of the rod-shaped portion in the direction in which the rod-shaped portion extends. The plate-shaped portion protrudes from the periphery of the rod-shaped portion and contains a light diffusing material inside, and the light from the rod-shaped portion is incident and emitted from the main surface by the light diffusing material.

In the light guide of Patent Document 1, light incident on the end face of the rod-shaped portion is guided from the incident side (upstream side) of the rod-shaped portion to the opposite side (downstream side) of the rod-shaped portion, and is then guided from the rod-shaped portion to the plate-shaped portion, where it is emitted from the main surface by the light diffusing material of the plate-shaped portion, thereby providing a light-emitting surface.

The vehicle lamp of Patent Document 1 is a rear combination lamp in which a lamp chamber is formed by a lamp body and an outer cover, and the light guide of Patent Document 1 and a light source are housed in the lamp chamber. The light source is disposed on the end face of the rod-shaped portion of the light guide. The main surface of the plate-shaped portion of the light guide faces the outer cover.

In the vehicle lamp of Patent Document 1, light from a light source enters the end face of the rod-shaped portion of the light guide and exits from the main surface of the plate-shaped portion of the light guide, providing a light-emitting surface, which functions as a stop lamp, tail lamp, turn signal lamp, clearance lamp, daytime running lamp, etc.

The light guide and vehicle lamp in Patent Document 1 are made by integrally forming a rod-shaped portion and a plate-shaped portion, which reduces the number of parts.

The light guide (vehicle inner lens) of Patent Document 2 comprises a columnar light guide and a plate-shaped light guide separately. The columnar light guide comprises an incident surface at one end face, an exit surface at a portion of the circumferential surface, and a number of reflective surfaces formed on the circumferential surface opposite the exit surface, the more inward the reflection surfaces are formed from the circumferential surface as they move away from the incident surface. The plate-shaped light guide comprises an incident end face, an exit front surface, and a rear surface with a number of inclined surfaces and a flat surface.

In the light guide of Patent Document 2, light incident on the entrance surface of the columnar light guide is guided from the entrance surface side (upstream side) to the opposite side (downstream side) from the entrance surface side, reflected by multiple reflecting surfaces, emitted to the outside from the exit surface, and enters the plate-shaped light guide from the entrance end surface of the plate-shaped light guide. In addition, in the light guide of Patent Document 1, light incident on the entrance end surface of the plate-shaped light guide is guided from the entrance end surface side (upstream side) to the opposite side (downstream side) from the entrance surface side, reflected by multiple inclined surfaces, and emitted to the outside from the exit front surface, thereby obtaining a light-emitting surface.

The vehicle lamp of Patent Document 2 has a lamp chamber formed by a lamp body and an outer cover, and houses the light guide and light source of Patent Document 2 in the lamp chamber. The light source is disposed on the light incident surface of the columnar light guide. The front light exit surface of the plate-shaped light guide faces the outer cover.

In the vehicle lamp of Patent Document 2, light from a light source enters the entrance surface of a columnar light guide, exits from the exit surface of the columnar light guide, enters the entrance end face of a plate-shaped light guide, and exits from the front exit surface of the plate-shaped light guide, thereby obtaining a light-emitting surface and functioning as various lamps.

The light guide and vehicle lamp in Patent Document 2 are provided with a columnar light guide and a plate-shaped light guide separately, so a uniform light-emitting surface can be obtained.

JP 2020-24867 A JP 2018-46024 A

However, because the light guide in Patent Document 1 is formed by integrally forming a rod-shaped portion and a plate-shaped portion, the amount of light guided from the rod-shaped portion to the plate-shaped portion tends to decrease from the upstream side to the downstream side of the rod-shaped portion. As a result, although the light guide and vehicle lamp in Patent Document 1 can reduce the number of parts, it may not be possible to obtain a uniform light-emitting surface.

In addition, the light guide of Patent Document 1 has a rod-shaped portion and a plate-shaped portion separately, so it is not possible to reduce the number of parts. As a result, the light guide and vehicle lamp of Patent Document 2 can obtain a uniform light-emitting surface, but it is not possible to reduce the number of parts.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide an inner lens for vehicles and a vehicle lamp that can reduce the number of parts and provide a uniform light-emitting surface.

The vehicle inner lens of this invention is characterized by having a rod-shaped light guide portion that guides the light incident from the light entrance surface by a light guide action, a plate-shaped light emitting portion that is arranged in parallel with the light guide portion and that obtains a light emitting surface by allowing the light emitted from the light guide portion to enter and emit to the outside, and a connection portion that connects the light guide portion and the light emitting portion at at least one point.

In the vehicle inner lens of this invention, it is preferable that the light guide portion has a straight portion having a straight line shape and a curved portion having a curved line shape, one end of the straight portion and one end of the curved portion are integrally formed, and an entrance surface is provided on the other end surface of the curved portion.

In the vehicle inner lens of this invention, it is preferable that the connection portion connects the straight portion and the light-emitting portion.

In the vehicle inner lens of this invention, it is preferable that the light-emitting portion has two wide surfaces facing each other and a plurality of narrow surfaces located between the two wide surfaces, and that the side of the straight portion and at least one narrow surface of the light-emitting portion face each other.

In the vehicle inner lens of this invention, the light guide portion is preferably provided on the other end face of the curved portion, and has a primary entrance surface on the entrance surface through which light from the light source is incident as primary incident light, a primary exit surface on the side of the straight portion facing the narrow surface, and the primary incident light is exited as primary exit light, and a primary reflection surface on the side of the straight portion facing the primary exit surface, and the primary incident light is reflected to the primary exit surface side as primary reflected light, and the light emitting portion is preferably provided on the narrow surface facing the primary exit surface, and has a secondary entrance surface through which the primary exit light from the primary exit surface is incident as secondary incident light, a secondary exit surface on one wide surface, and a light emitting surface is obtained by emitting the secondary incident light as secondary exit light, and a secondary reflection surface on the other wide surface, and the secondary incident light is reflected to the secondary exit surface side as secondary reflected light.

In the vehicle inner lens of this invention, it is preferable that the connection portion connects the primary exit surface and the secondary entrance surface at both ends of the straight line portion.

The vehicle lamp of this invention comprises a lamp housing and a lamp lens that form a lamp chamber, a light source that is disposed within the lamp chamber, and the vehicle inner lens of this invention, and is characterized in that the light source is disposed facing the light incident surface of the vehicle inner lens, and the light emitting surface of the vehicle inner lens faces the lamp lens.

The vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp of this invention can reduce the number of parts and provide a uniform light-emitting surface.

FIG. 1 is a front view (view from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle) showing an embodiment of a vehicle inner lens and a vehicle lamp according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view (an enlarged front view of part II in FIG. 1) showing a state in which the lamp lens is removed. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view (partially enlarged front view corresponding to FIG. 2) showing the optical path with the reflector and the decorative inner lens removed. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing an optical path (an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3). FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the optical path (an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3). FIG. 6 is a front view showing the inner lens for a vehicle. FIG. 7 is a front view showing a modified example of the inner lens for a vehicle.

Below, an example of an embodiment (example) of the vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In this specification, front, rear, top, bottom, left and right refer to the front, rear, top, bottom, left and right when the vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp of the present invention are installed on a vehicle. In addition, since the drawings are schematic diagrams showing the vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp of the present invention, detailed illustrations of the vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp of the present invention are omitted. Hatching is omitted in cross-sectional views.

(Description of the configuration of the embodiment)
The configurations of the vehicle inner lens and vehicle lamp according to this embodiment will be described below.

(Description of Vehicle Lamp 1)
In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle lamp according to this embodiment (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle lamp"). In this example, the vehicle lamp 1 is a front combination lamp mounted on each of the left and right sides of the front of a vehicle (not shown). The vehicle lamp 1 is mounted on the vehicle in close proximity to other vehicle parts (e.g., parts on the vehicle body) not shown.

As shown in Figures 1 to 5, the vehicle lamp 1 includes a lamp housing 10, a lamp lens (outer lens, outer cover) 11, a light source unit 2, and a vehicle inner lens according to this embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the "vehicle inner lens") 3.

The lamp housing 10 is made of a non-light-transmitting material (such as a resin material). The lamp lens 11 is made of a light-transmitting material (such as a resin material). The lamp housing 10 and the lamp lens 11 form a lamp chamber 12.

Other vehicle components are arranged close to the lamp housing 10. For this reason, the depth dimension W of the lamp chamber 12 is narrow (small) as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The depth dimension W of the lamp chamber 12 is the width between the lamp housing 10 and the lamp lens 11, and is the width in the direction in which the secondary emission light L5 is emitted from the lamp lens 11 to the outside (the direction of the solid arrow of the secondary emission light L5 in Figures 4 and 5).

The depth direction within the lamp chamber 12 is the emission direction of the secondary emission light L5. The emission direction of the secondary emission light L5 is the front-rear direction or from the inside to the outside of the vehicle (left-right direction), and is a horizontal direction. As a result, the depth direction within the lamp chamber 12 is the front-rear direction or left-right direction, and is a horizontal direction.

Inside the lamp chamber 12, the light source unit 2, the vehicle inner lens 3, the decorative inner lens 13, the inner panels (inner housing, extension) 14, 15, the reflector 16 and other light sources 17, headlamps and other lamp units are arranged.

The light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 are attached to the lamp housing 10 via an inner panel 14 on the lamp housing 10 side. In this example, the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 constitute a front clearance lamp. Note that the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 may be a daytime running lamp, a front turn signal lamp, a front decorative lamp, etc., in addition to the front clearance lamp in this example.

The decorative inner lens 13, reflector 16, and other light sources 17 are attached to the lamp housing 10 directly or via a mounting member such as a bracket. In this example, the reflector 16 and other light sources 17 constitute a front turn signal lamp. Note that when the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 constitute a front turn signal lamp, the reflector 16 and other light sources 17 constitute a front clearance lamp, daytime running lamp, front decorative lamp, etc.

The inner panel 15 on the lamp lens 11 side is for decorative purposes and is attached to the lamp housing 10 directly or via a mounting member such as a bracket.

(Description of Light Source Unit 2)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the light source unit 2 has a substrate 20 and a light source 21 such as an LED mounted on the substrate 20 .

The light source unit 2 is disposed below the vehicle inner lens 3. As a result, the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 are disposed in a direction that intersects with the depth direction within the lamp chamber 12 (up-down direction, vertical direction, perpendicular direction).

The light source 21 is arranged facing the primary entrance surface 300 of the light guide portion 30 of the vehicle inner lens 3 (described below).

(Description of Vehicle Inner Lens 3)
In this example, the vehicle inner lens (light guiding member, light guide, light guiding body, etc.) 3 is made of a colorless transparent resin material such as acrylic resin, PC (polycarbonate), or PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate, methacrylic resin).

As shown in Figures 2 to 6, the vehicle inner lens 3 has a rod-shaped light-guiding portion 30, a plate-shaped light-emitting portion 31, and at least one (two in this example) connecting portion 32.

(Explanation of light guide portion 30)
The light guide portion 30 guides the primary incident light L1 incident from a primary incident surface 300, which will be described later, by a light guide effect. The light guide effect is an effect of repeatedly totally reflecting the primary incident light L1 inside the inner lens 3 for a vehicle and guiding it.

The light-guiding portion 30 has a round bar shape with a circular cross-section. This cross section is perpendicular to the center line of the light-guiding portion 30. The light-guiding portion 30 has a straight portion 301 having a straight line shape and a curved portion 302 having a curved shape. One end of the straight portion 301 and one end of the curved portion 302 are integrally provided. An incident surface (primary incident surface 300) is provided on the other end face of the curved portion 302.

The straight section 301 is disposed horizontally from the inside to the outside (left-right direction) of the vehicle. The curved section 302 is curved downward from the outside of the vehicle relative to the straight section 301.

The light-guiding portion 30 also has a primary entrance surface 300 as an entrance surface, a primary exit surface 303, a plurality of primary reflection surfaces 304, and a plurality of connecting surfaces (step surfaces).

The primary incident surface 300 is provided on the other end surface of the curved portion 302. The primary incident surface 300 allows the light L from the light source 21 to enter as primary incident light L1.

The primary emission surface 303 is provided on the side of the straight portion 301, facing the lower narrow surface 312 (described later) of the light emitting portion 31 (in this example, the upper side). The primary emission surface 303 emits the primary incident light L1 as the primary emission light L2.

The multiple primary reflection surfaces 304 are provided on the side surfaces of the straight section 301 that face the primary exit surface 303 (the lower side surfaces in this example). The multiple primary reflection surfaces 304 reflect the primary incident light L1 toward the primary exit surface 303 as primary reflected light L3.

The multiple primary reflecting surfaces 304 and the multiple connecting surfaces are arranged alternately and continuously. The multiple primary reflecting surfaces 304 and the multiple connecting surfaces form a zigzag shape in cross section. One primary reflecting surface 304 and one connecting surface constitute one prism.

(Explanation of the light emitting portion 31)
The light emitting portion 31 is disposed in parallel above the light guiding portion 30. As a result, the light emitting portion 31 and the light guiding portion 30 are disposed in a direction intersecting the depth direction within the lamp chamber 12 (up-down direction, vertical direction, perpendicular direction) in the same manner as the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 described above.

The light-emitting portion 31 receives the primary emitted light L2 emitted from the light-guiding portion 30 and emits it to the outside, thereby obtaining a light-emitting surface 310 (see the part with the lattice pattern in Figures 6 and 7). This light-emitting surface 310 becomes the design surface.

The light-emitting portion 31 is plate-shaped and has two broad surfaces that face each other, namely, a front surface 310 and a back surface 311, and multiple (at least four on the top, bottom, left and right) narrow surfaces 312 located between the front surface 310 and the back surface 311 of the two broad surfaces.

Of the four narrow surfaces 312, the lower narrow surface 312 and the primary emission surface 303 on the upper side of the straight section 301 face each other.

The light emitting portion 31 has a secondary entrance surface 312, a secondary exit surface 310, and a secondary reflection surface 311.

The secondary entrance surface 312 is provided on the lower narrow surface 312 facing the primary exit surface 303. In other words, the secondary entrance surface 312 is the lower narrow surface 312. The secondary entrance surface 312 allows the primary exit light L2 from the primary exit surface 303 to enter as secondary entrance light L4.

The secondary exit surface 310 is provided on one large surface 310. The secondary exit surface 310 emits the secondary incident light L4 as secondary exit light L5, thereby obtaining the light emitting surface 310. In other words, the secondary exit surface 310 is also the light emitting surface 310.

The secondary emission surface 310 faces the lamp lens 11 via the decorative inner lens 13. As a result, the light emitting surface 310 of the light emitting portion 31 of the vehicle inner lens 3 faces the lamp lens 11.

The secondary reflection surface 311 is provided on the back surface 311 of the other large surface. The secondary reflection surface 311 reflects the secondary incident light L4 toward the secondary exit surface 310 as secondary reflected light L6. The secondary reflection surface 311 is provided with a plurality of reflection steps and a plurality of reflection prisms.

(Description of Connection Portion 32)
The connection portion 32 connects the light guiding portion 30 and the light emitting portion 31 at least at one location (two locations in this example).

Furthermore, the connection portion 32 connects the primary emission surface 303 of the straight portion 301 of the light-guiding portion 30 to the secondary incidence surface (lower narrow surface) 312 of the light-emitting portion 31 at the end of the straight portion 301 on the curved portion 302 side (the outer end of the vehicle) and at the end of the straight portion 301 opposite the end on the curved portion 302 side (the inner end of the vehicle).

Here, the width of the primary emission surface 303 of the straight portion 301 of the light-guiding portion 30 is slightly narrower (smaller) than the width of the secondary incidence surface (lower narrow surface) 312 of the light-emitting portion 31, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The width of the connection portion 32 is approximately half narrower (smaller) than the width of the primary emission surface 303 of the straight portion 301 of the light-guiding portion 30, as shown in Figure 5.

(Description of the Function of the Embodiment)
The vehicle inner lens 3 and the vehicle lamp 1 according to this embodiment are configured as described above, and their operation will be described below.

When the light source 21 is turned on, the light L from the light source 21 enters the light guide portion 30 of the vehicle inner lens 3 from the primary entrance surface 300 of the light guide portion 30 as primary incident light L1. The primary incident light L1 is guided from the curved portion 302 of the light guide portion 30 to the straight portion 301 by the light guide action.

Most of the primary incident light L1 guided to the straight portion 301 is reflected by the primary reflection surface 304 toward the primary exit surface 303 as primary reflected light L3. Most of the primary reflected light L3 is once emitted to the outside from the primary exit surface 303 as primary exit light L2. The primary exit light L2 enters the inside of the light emitting portion 31 of the vehicle inner lens 3 from the secondary entrance surface 312 of the light emitting portion 31 as secondary incident light L4.

A portion of the primary reflected light L3 passes through the connecting portion 32 and enters the light emitting portion 31 directly as secondary incident light L4. A portion of the primary incident light L1 passes through the end of the straight portion 301 opposite the end on the curved portion 302 side to the outside. The light that passes through the end of the straight portion 301 to the outside is blocked by the inner panel 14 and reflector 16 on the lamp lens 11 side, so it does not pass through the decorative inner lens 13 and lamp lens 11 and is not irradiated to the outside of the vehicle. As a result, there is no harm caused by the light that passes through the end of the straight portion 301 to the outside.

The secondary incident light L4 incident on the light emitting portion 31 is reflected by the secondary reflecting surface 311 toward the secondary exit surface 310 as secondary reflected light L6. The secondary reflected light L6 is emitted to the outside from the secondary exit surface 310 as secondary exit light L5. The secondary exit light L5 passes through the decorative inner lens 13 and the lamp lens 11 and is irradiated to the outside of the vehicle. As a result, the secondary exit surface 310 emits light over a wide area as the light emitting surface 310 and functions as a front clearance lamp.

(Explanation of Effects of the Embodiment)
The vehicle inner lens 3 and the vehicle lamp 1 according to this embodiment have the above-mentioned configuration and function, and the effects thereof will be described below.

The vehicle inner lens 3 in this embodiment has an integrated structure of the light guide portion 30, the light emitting portion 31, and the connection portion 32, which reduces the number of parts.

In the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment, the rod-shaped light guide portion 30 and the plate-shaped light emitting portion 31 are connected at two points by the connecting portion 32. Therefore, in the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment, the primary incident light L1 guided inside the light guide portion 30 is emitted almost uniformly from the primary emission surface 303 of the light guide portion 30 over the entire length of the light guide portion 30 (the entire length from the upstream side on the primary incidence surface 300 side to the downstream side on the opposite side to the primary incidence surface 300 side). Moreover, in the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment, the primary emission light L2 emitted almost uniformly over the entire length of the light guide portion 30 is incident almost uniformly as secondary incident light L4 from the secondary incidence surface 312 of the light emitting portion 31 into the light emitting portion 31.

As a result, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can make the amount of secondary incident light L4 incident from the rod-shaped light guide portion 30 to the plate-shaped light emitting portion 31 approximately uniform from the upstream side of the primary incident surface 300 to the downstream side opposite the primary incident surface 300. As a result, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment emits the secondary exit light L5 approximately uniformly from the secondary exit surface 310 of the light emitting portion 31 over the entire secondary exit surface 310, so that a secondary exit surface 310, i.e., a light emitting surface 310 that is approximately uniform over the entire surface is obtained.

In this way, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can reduce the number of parts and provide a uniform light-emitting surface 310.

The vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment has a light guide portion 30 having a straight portion 301 having a straight line shape, and a curved portion 302 having one end provided at one end of the straight portion 301 and a primary entrance surface 300 provided at the other end surface, and having a curved shape. Therefore, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can position the primary entrance surface 300 of the curved portion 302, i.e., the light source unit 2, at any position relative to the light emitting portion 31 having the light emitting surface 310.

As a result, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can position the light source unit 2 outside the range of the light-emitting surface 310, increasing the degree of freedom in the design of the light-emitting surface 310. In addition, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can position the light source unit 2 in a direction that intersects with the depth direction of the lamp chamber 12, in this example, downward, so it is suitable for a vehicle lamp 1 with a narrow (small) depth dimension W within the lamp chamber 12.

In the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment, the connection portion 32 connects the straight portion 301 of the light guide portion 30 and the light emitting portion 31. Therefore, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can allow the primary incident light L1 to reach the downstream side of the straight portion 301, and can emit the primary emitted light L2 almost uniformly over the entire length of the straight portion 301, thereby obtaining a light emitting surface 310 that is almost uniform over the entire surface, as described above.

That is, if the connection portion 32 is provided on the curved portion 302, most of the primary incident light L1 may pass through the connection portion 32 along the curved portion 302 and enter the light emitting portion 31 side, and the primary incident light L1 may not reach the downstream side of the straight portion 301. In this case, the primary exit light L2 cannot be emitted almost uniformly over the entire length of the straight portion 301, and therefore a light emitting surface 310 that is almost uniform over the entire surface cannot be obtained. In contrast, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment has the connection portion 32 provided on the straight portion 301, so that most of the primary incident light L1 can be guided from the curved portion 302 to the straight portion 301, and the light emitting portion 31 side is prevented from passing through the connection portion 32 and entering the light emitting portion 31 side, and the light can reach the downstream side of the straight portion 301. Therefore, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can emit the primary emission light L2 almost uniformly over the entire length of the straight section 301, thereby obtaining a light-emitting surface 310 that is almost uniform over the entire surface, as described above.

The vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment has a primary emission surface 303 on the side of the straight portion 301 of the rod-shaped light guide portion 30 and a secondary incidence surface 312 on the narrow surface of the plate-shaped light emitting portion 31 facing each other. Therefore, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can arrange the light emitting portion 31 and the light guide portion 30 in a direction that intersects with the depth direction of the lamp chamber 12, in this example, vertically, so that it is suitable for a vehicle lamp 1 with a narrow (small) depth dimension W in the lamp chamber 12.

The vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment connects the primary emission surface 303 of the light guide portion 30 and the secondary entrance surface 312 of the light emitting portion 31 at both ends of the straight portion 301 by the connection portion 32. Therefore, the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can hold the light guide portion 30 and the light emitting portion 31 together with high rigidity, even if a large space is formed between the primary emission surface 303 and the secondary entrance surface 312.

The vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment can form a wide space between the primary emission surface 303 and the secondary incidence surface 312, so that the primary incident light L1 of the straight portion 301 can be significantly prevented from passing through the connection portion 32 and being directly incident on the light emitting portion 31, thereby making it possible to obtain a light emitting surface 310 that is substantially uniform across the entire surface, as described above.

The vehicle lamp 1 according to this embodiment is equipped with the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment, and therefore, as described above, can achieve the same effects as those of the vehicle inner lens 3 according to this embodiment.

In particular, the vehicle lamp 1 according to this embodiment can obtain a substantially uniform light-emitting surface 310 over the entire surface of the vehicle inner lens 3 with a single light source 21. As a result, the vehicle lamp 1 according to this embodiment can reduce the number of parts.

(Description of Modified Examples of Inner Lens 3A for Vehicles)
7 is a front view showing a modified example of the vehicle inner lens 3A. The vehicle inner lens 3A of this modified example has a curved portion 302A with a smaller curvature (larger radius of curvature) than the vehicle inner lens 3 described above. The light source unit 2 is disposed on the primary entrance surface 300 of the curved portion 302A of the vehicle inner lens 3A of this modified example. In this way, the position of the light source unit 2 can be arbitrarily changed depending on the accommodation space in the lamp chamber 12 of the vehicle lamp 1.

(Explanation of examples other than the embodiment)
In the above embodiment, the vehicle lamp 1 is used as a front combination lamp. However, in the present invention, the vehicle lamp 1 may be used as a lamp other than a front combination lamp, for example, a rear combination lamp. In this case, the light source unit 2 and the vehicle inner lens 3 are a rear turn signal lamp, a rear clearance lamp, a rear decorative lamp, or the like.

In the above embodiment, the light guide portion 30 and the plate-shaped light emitting portion 31 are connected at two points by the connection portion 32, that is, the primary emission surface 303 of the light guide portion 30 and the secondary incidence surface 312 of the light emitting portion 31 are connected at both ends of the straight portion 301 by the connection portion 32. However, in this invention, the number and locations of the connection points by the connection portion 32, as well as the size and shape of the connection portion 32, are not particularly limited. In other words, in this invention, it is sufficient that a wide space can be formed between the primary emission surface 303 and the secondary incidence surface 312, or that the light guide portion 30 and the light emitting portion 31 can be held together with high rigidity.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the vehicle inner lens 3 and the light source unit 2 are arranged vertically. However, in this invention, the arrangement of the vehicle inner lens 3 and the light source unit 2 is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the light-emitting portion 31 and the light-guiding portion 30 of the vehicle inner lens 3 are arranged vertically. However, in this invention, the arrangement of the light-emitting portion 31 and the light-guiding portion 30 of the vehicle inner lens 3 is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the secondary emission surface 310 of the inner lens 3 for a vehicle, i.e., the light-emitting surface that forms the design surface, is rectangular in shape. However, in this invention, the shape of the light-emitting surface that forms the design surface, which is the secondary emission surface 310 of the inner lens 3 for a vehicle, is not particularly limited.

However, this invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Vehicle lamp 10 Lamp housing 11 Lamp lens 12 Lamp chamber 13 Decorative inner lens 14 Inner panel on lamp housing 10 side 15 Inner panel on lamp lens 11 side 16 Reflector 17 Other light source 2 Light source unit 20 Substrate 21 Light source 3, 3A Vehicle inner lens 30 Light guide portion 300 Primary entrance surface 301 Straight portion 302, 302A Curved portion 303 Primary exit surface 304 Primary reflecting surface 31 Light emitting portion 310 Secondary exit surface (light emitting surface, wide surface)
311 Secondary reflecting surface (wide back surface)
312 Secondary entrance surface (lower narrow surface)
32 Connection portion L Light from light source 21 L1 Primary incident light L2 Primary emitted light L3 Primary reflected light L4 Secondary incident light L5 Secondary emitted light L6 Secondary reflected light W Depth dimension

Claims (8)

A rod-shaped light guiding portion that guides the light incident from the incident surface by a light guiding action;
a plate-shaped light-emitting portion disposed in parallel with the light-guiding portion, the light being input to the light-guiding portion and output to the outside to obtain a light-emitting surface;
a connection portion that connects the light guiding portion and the light emitting portion at at least one point;
Equipped with
The light guiding portion is
A straight portion having a straight line shape;
A curved portion having a curved shape;
having
One end of the straight line portion and one end of the curved portion are integrally provided,
The other end surface of the curved portion is provided with the entrance surface,
The connection portion is provided on the straight portion .
An inner lens for a vehicle. The light emitting portion is
Two broad surfaces facing each other,
a plurality of narrow surfaces located between two of said broad surfaces;
having
A side surface of the linear portion and at least one of the narrow surfaces of the light-emitting portion face each other .
2. The inner lens for a vehicle according to claim 1. The light guiding portion is
a primary incident surface of the incident surface provided on the other end surface of the curved portion, through which light from a light source is incident as primary incident light;
a primary exit surface provided on a side surface of the linear portion facing the narrow surface, the primary exit surface emitting the primary incident light as a primary exit light;
a primary reflection surface provided on a side surface of the linear portion facing the primary emission surface, the primary reflection surface reflecting the primary incident light toward the primary emission surface as a primary reflected light;
having
The light emitting portion is
a secondary entrance surface provided on the narrow surface facing the primary exit surface, through which the primary exit light from the primary exit surface is incident as a secondary entrance light;
a secondary emission surface provided on one of the broad surfaces, the secondary incident light being emitted as a secondary emission light to obtain the light emitting surface;
a secondary reflection surface provided on another of the broad surfaces and reflecting the secondary incident light toward the secondary exit surface as secondary reflected light;
having
The inner lens for a vehicle according to claim 2 . The connection portion connects the primary emission surface and the secondary incidence surface at both ends of the straight line portion .
The inner lens for a vehicle according to claim 3 . The width of the connection portion is narrower than the width of the primary emission surface of the straight portion and the width of the secondary incidence surface of the light emitting portion.
5. The inner lens for a vehicle according to claim 3 or 4. The curved portion and the light-emitting portion face each other in the up-down direction at one end of the curved portion .
The inner lens for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5. a lamp housing and a lamp lens forming a lamp chamber;
A light source disposed in the lamp chamber and the inner lens for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
Equipped with
The light source is disposed facing the incident surface of the inner lens for a vehicle,
The light emitting surface of the vehicle inner lens faces the lamp lens.
A vehicle lamp characterized by the above. The straight line portion and the curved line portion are arranged in a direction intersecting a depth direction, which is a width direction between the lamp housing and the lamp lens of the lamp chamber.
8. A vehicle lamp according to claim 7.

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