Illumination – Supported by vehicle structure – Plural light sources
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-13
2004-01-06
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supported by vehicle structure
Plural light sources
C362S517000, C362S328000, C362S800000, C362S330000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672746
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp provided with a plurality of LED light sources, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp in which light is radiated using an indirect illumination technique.
Recently, vehicular lamps provided with an LED light source have frequently been employed. As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-306810, a lamp has been developed which provides a soft lighting effect using an indirect illumination technique whereby the LED light source is arranged so as not to be visible from the front of the lamp. Also, there has been known an indirect illumination type vehicular lamp structure in which a Fresnel lens is provided together with an LED light source, as described in German Patent Application No. 19638081.
FIGS. 9 and 10
are respectively a front elevational view and a side cross-sectional view showing a vehicular lamp
100
of this type.
As shown in these drawings, in the vehicular lamp
100
light from a plurality of upward directed LED light sources
102
is formed into upward directed parallel light fluxes by a plurality of Fresnel lenses
104
provided near the upper side of the light sources
102
. The parallel light fluxes from the respective Fresnel lenses
104
are reflected toward the front of the lamp by a reflector
106
.
It is possible to effectively utilize the light source light by combining the LED light sources
102
and the Fresnel lenses
104
in this manner. However, in the conventional vehicular lamp
100
, there is a room for improvement in appearance when the lamp is lit.
That is, the reflecting surface
106
a
of the reflector
106
of the vehicular lamp
100
is divided into a plurality of segments with respect to the vertical direction, providing it with a stepped shape. Each segment is composed of a reflective element
106
s
reflecting a portion of the parallel light flux from the respective Fresnel lenses
104
in a diffused manner toward the front of the lamp and a step portion
106
r
extending in the vertical direction.
When viewing the reflecting surface
106
a
of the reflector
106
from directly in front of the lamp when the lamp is lit, a portion of each of the reflective elements
106
s
appear bright. However, the step portions
106
r
, which the parallel light fluxes from the Fresnel lenses
104
do not strike, appear dark, making the overall appearance of the lamp uneven, and hence not satisfactory.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Taking the foregoing situation into consideration, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular lamp of a type in which light is radiated by indirect illumination using a plurality of LED light sources and which has an improved appearance when the lamp is lit.
The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providing a vehicular lamp of the above-mentioned type having an improved reflector structure.
More specifically, a vehicular lamp according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of LED light sources, a plurality of lenses for forming parallel light fluxes from respective ones of the LED light sources, a reflector for reflecting the parallel light fluxes from respective ones of the lenses toward the front of the lamp, and a translucent cover provided on the front side of the reflector, wherein the plurality of LED light sources are divided into a first LED light source group and a second LED light source group, the plurality of lenses are divided into a first lens group which forms light from the first LED light source group into parallel light fluxes radiating in substantially the same first direction and a second lens group which forms light from the second LED light source group into parallel light fluxes radiating in substantially the same second direction with the first and second directions intersecting at a predetermined angle in a front view of the lamp, the reflecting surface of the reflector is divided into a plurality of segments, and a first reflective element for reflecting the parallel light fluxes from the first lens group and a second reflective element for reflecting the parallel light fluxes from the second lens group are formed in each of the segments.
The specific structure of the lenses is not particularly limited as far as the lenses can form the light from each of the LED light sources into a parallel light flux. For example, it is possible to employ a single spherical lens, a combination lens, a Fresnel lens or the like.
Concerning the direction of the parallel light fluxes mentioned above, the specific direction thereof is not particularly limited as far as the direction is along a line intersecting the longitudinal direction of the lamp; for example, it is possible for the direction of the parallel light fluxes to be an upward direction or a lateral direction by making such direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp.
The term “intersect at a predetermined angle in a front view of the lamp” means not being arranged parallel to the front view of the lamp. Also, the intersecting angle is not particularly limited.
Structural details, such as shape, size and the like, of each of the first and second reflective elements is not particularly limited as far as these elements are structured so as to reflect the parallel light fluxes from each of the lenses toward the front of the lamp. Moreover, the arrangement of the segments is not particularly limited.
As discussed above, the vehicular lamp according to the present invention is structured so as to form the light from a plurality of LED light sources into parallel light fluxes with a plurality of lenses and reflect the parallel light fluxes toward the front of the lamp with the reflector. The radiating direction of the parallel light fluxes from the first lens group and the radiating direction of the parallel light fluxes from the second lens group are set so as to intersect at a predetermined angle in the front view of the lamp. Further, the reflecting surface of the reflector is divided into a plurality of segments, and the first reflective element for reflecting the parallel light fluxes from the first lens group and the second reflective element for reflecting the parallel light fluxes from the second lens group are provided in each of the segments. With this structure, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, each of the segments appears bright in the area of the first reflective element and the portion of the second reflective element when viewing the reflecting surface of the reflector from the directly in front of the lamp when the lamp is lit. Therefore, it is possible to make the reflecting surface visible over a wide viewing range compared to the conventional reflector.
Therefore, according to the vehicular lamp of the present invention where light is radiated by indirect illumination using a plurality of LED light sources, the appearance of the lamp when the lamp is lit is improved.
In the inventive lamp, the arrangement of the first reflective element and the second reflective element in each of the segments is not particularly limited, as mentioned above. However, in the case where a first reflective element and a step portion are provided for the parallel light fluxes from the first lens group and the second reflective element is provided for the parallel light fluxes from the second lens group, it is possible to make a part of the step portion which corresponds to a dark portion in the conventional lamp appear bright due to the presence of the second reflective element, thereby achieving a better overall appearance of the lamp.
Further, in the case where the radiating direction of the parallel light fluxes from the first lens group is in an upward direction and the radiating direction of the parallel light fluxes from the seco
Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
O'Shea Sandra
Sawhney Hargobind S.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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