Vehicle lamp

Details Vehicle lamp Vehicle lamp

1999-12-06

2001-12-25

Sember, Thomas M. (Department: 2875)

Illumination

Supported by vehicle structure

Light modifier

C362S543000, C362S545000, C362S540000, C362S298000, C362S304000, C362S305000, C362S241000, C362S247000, C362S237000, C362S238000, C362S342000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06332701

ABSTRACT:

This invention claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. HEI10-360866, filed on Dec. 18, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle lamp used as a tail lamp or the like in which a signal is produced. More particularly, the invention relates to vehicle lamps which use several light sources, for example LED lamps or the like, each of which require a small amount of electric power.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 5
illustrates a conventional automobile lamp
90
with a light source including several LED lamps
91
. The LED lamps
91
are mounted on a printed wiring board
92
and are enclosed in a housing
93
. The light emitting direction of the LED lamps
91
corresponds to the illuminating direction of the automobile lamp
90
. The LED lamps
91
are covered by an outer lens
94
which has lens cut
94
a
on the inner surface of the outer lens
94
.
The light rays produced by the LED lamps
91
are beam-formed luminous fluxes. The area of the outer lens
94
which is illuminated by a single LED lamp
91
is comparatively small. Accordingly, a plurality of LED lamps
91
are required to realize a uniformly lit surface for the outer lens
94
.
In some instances the outer lens
94
is curved to fit the design of an automobile body and the distance between the LED lamps
91
and outer lens
94
differs with respect to each other. The difference in distance between the LED lamps
91
and outer lens
94
is due to the mounting configuration of the lamps
91
on the surface of a printed wiring board
92
. Accordingly the size of the areas and the distance between the areas of the outer lens
94
illuminated by the LED lamps
91
is different with respect to each other. The printed wiring boards
92
can be attached in the automobile lamp
90
such that they form a broken line form or can be stacked in a stair configuration for mounting the LED lamps
91
at a uniform distance with respect to the outer lens
94
.
The large number of LED lamps
91
required for the conventional automobile lamp
90
creates high manufacturing costs. Since the light illuminated by a LED lamp
91
is in a beam formation, the illuminated area of the outer lens
94
is narrow. Accordingly, in order to uniformly illuminate the outer lens
94
, a plurality of LED lamps
91
are required. The large number of LED lamps
91
increases both the manufacturing and final product costs.
When the surface of the outer lens
94
has curved lines, the disposition of the printed wiring board
92
is difficult to determine. Accordingly, the position of the printed wiring board
92
with respect to the inner side of the outer lens
94
is not uniform, and the light distribution patterns of the lamps
90
may be different with respect to each other. Furthermore, the quality of the automobile lamp
90
may decrease and may not meet the requirements for each of the light distribution patterns due to the wiring board configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a vehicle lamp that substantially obviates one or more of the above problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of conventional vehicle lamps.
According to the invention, the above objects are achieved by providing a vehicle lamp having an illuminating direction, including a housing, an outer lens located adjacent the housing and including a light emitting surface, a plurality of lamps located in the housing, a first reflection structure located such that the first reflection structure is capable of reflecting light from the plurality of lamps to the light emitting surface, and a second reflection structure located such that the second reflection structure is capable of reflecting the light reflected by the first reflection structure to the illuminating direction of the vehicle lamp.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a vehicle lamp having an illuminating direction can be provided that includes a housing, an outer lens located adjacent the housing and including a light emitting portion, a plurality of lamps located in the housing, a first reflection structure located such that the first reflection structure is capable of reflecting the light from the plurality of lamps to the light emitting portion, and a second reflection structure including reflection cuts and located such that the second reflection structure is capable of reflecting the light reflected by the first reflection structure to the illuminating direction of the vehicle lamp.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1814669 (1931-07-01), Cushing
patent: 5582480 (1996-12-01), Zwick et al.
patent: 5877682 (1999-03-01), Groeller
patent: 6096549 (2000-08-01), Jenkins et al.
patent: 2-4401 (1990-02-01), None
patent: 2-4405 (1990-02-01), None

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