Lens body and lighting tool for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10174896-B2
Application number	US-201615377127-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2016
Priority date	Dec 15, 2015
Publication date	Jan 8, 2019
Grant date	Jan 8, 2019

Abstract

A lens body configured to radiate light entering from a light source forward along a forward/rearward reference axis extending in a forward/rearward direction of a vehicle, the lens body including a first reflecting surface having an elliptic spherical shape, a second reflecting surface configured to internally reflect at least some of the light internally reflected by the first reflecting surface, and a light emitting surface, and the light emitting surface having a first leftward/rightward emission region configured to refract an entered light, which has passed through a first focal point, in a direction approaching a forward/rearward reference axis and a second leftward/rightward emission region configured to refract an entered light, which has passed through the first focal point, in a direction separating away from the forward/rearward reference axis at cross sections in a forward/rearward direction and a leftward/rightward direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lens body that is disposed in front of a light source and that includes a rear end portion and a front end portion, and that is configured to emit light from the light source, which has entered an inside of the lens body, forward from the front end portion along a forward/rearward reference axis extending in a forward/rearward direction of a vehicle, the lens body comprising:
an incidence part configured to cause light having a predetermined angular range with respect to an optical axis of the light source, among the lights from the light source, to be refracted in a concentration direction and to be entered inside the lens body;
a first reflecting surface configured to internally reflect the light from the light source which has entered from the incidence part;
a second reflecting surface configured to internally reflect at least some of the light internally reflected by the first reflecting surface; and
a light emitting surface disposed at the front end portion and configured to emit the light internally reflected by the first reflecting surface and the light internally reflected by the second reflecting surface forward,
wherein the optical axis of the light source is inclined with respect to a vertical direction such that an incident angle of the light from the light source, which has entered from the incidence part, with respect to the first reflecting surface is a critical angle or more,
the first reflecting surface includes an elliptic spherical shape rotatable symmetrical with respect to a major axis and has, on the major axis, a first focal point in the front side and a second focal point in the rear side, serving as focal points of the elliptic spherical shape,
the second focal point is disposed at a vicinity of an imaginary light source position which is an intersection when it is assumed that refracted lights which are lights from the light source that have entered from the incidence part are extending in an opposite direction,
the second reflecting surface has a planar shape extending rearward and in parallel to the forward/rearward reference axis,
the second reflecting surface has, at the front thereof, a front edge,
the first focal point is disposed in the vicinity of the front edge of the second reflecting surface,
the light emitting surface has a convex shape at a cross section along a surface perpendicular to a leftward/rightward direction of the vehicle, the convex shape having an optical axis parallel to the forward/rearward reference axis and having a reference point formed at a point located at the vicinity of the first focal point,
the light emitting surface has a first leftward/rightward emission region and a second leftward/rightward emission region at a cross section along a surface perpendicular to an upward/downward direction of the vehicle, the first leftward/rightward emission region and the second leftward/rightward emission region being adjacent to each other in the leftward/rightward direction,
the light emitting surface has a first upward/downward emission region and a second upward/downward emission region in a cross section along a surface perpendicular to the leftward/rightward direction of the vehicle, the first upward/downward emission region and the second upward/downward emission region being adjacent to each other in the upward/downward direction,
the second upward/downward emission region is disposed above the first upward/downward emission region,
the first leftward/rightward emission region refracts an entered light, which has passed through the first focal point, in a direction approaching the forward/rearward reference axis,
the second leftward/rightward emission region refracts an entered light, which has passed through the first focal point, in a direction separating away from the forward/rearward reference axis,
the light source has a light emitting surface with a predetermined area, the light emitting surface facing the incidence part,
the light emitting surface has a light source central point that is a center of the light emitting surface, a light source front end point that is an end point of a forward side of the light emitting surface, and a light source rear end point that is an end point of a rearward side of the light emitting surface,
the light radiated from the light source central point is concentrated to the first focal point without being internally reflected by the second reflecting surface, reaches the first upward/downward emission region of the light emitting surface to be emitted forward,
the light radiated from the light source rear end point passes above the first focal point without being internally reflected by the second reflecting surface, and reaches the first upward/downward emission region of the light emitting surface to be emitted forward and downward, and
the light radiated from the light source front end point is internally reflected by the second reflecting surface, passes above the first focal point, and reaches the second upward/downward emission region of the light emitting surface to be emitted forward and downward,
whereby a light distribution pattern including a cutoff line defined by the front edge of the second reflecting surface is formed at an upper edge of the lens body.

2. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light emitting surface has a surface shape configured such that the light passing through the vicinity of the first focal point is emitted in a direction substantially parallel to the forward/rearward reference axis when viewed from the side in a horizontal direction.

3. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein
the second upward/downward emission region has a shape standing up in the vertical direction with respect to a surface shape of the first upward/downward emission region, and emits the entered light in a direction inclined upward with respect to the forward/rearward reference axis.

4. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second leftward/rightward emission region has a concave shape recessed at a central portion of the second leftward/rightward emission region when seen in the upward/downward direction, and
the first leftward/rightward emission region has convex shapes arranged at both sides in the leftward/rightward direction of the second leftward/rightward emission region.

5. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein a distance and eccentricity between the first focal point and the second focal point of the first reflecting surface are set such that the light from the light source internally reflected by the first reflecting surface and concentrated to the vicinity of the focal point of the light emitting surface is captured by the light emitting surface.

6. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the major axis is inclined with respect to the forward/rearward reference axis and the second focal point is disposed below the first focal point.

7. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second reflecting surface is set to an angle with respect to the forward/rearward reference axis such that the light internally reflected by the second reflecting surface, among the light internally reflected by the first reflecting surface, is captured by the light emitting surface.

8. The lens body according to claim 7 ,
wherein the second reflecting surface is set to an angle with respect to the forward/rearward reference axis such that the light reaching the light emitting surface being internally reflected by the first reflecting surface and not being internally reflected by the second reflecting surface is not shielded.

9. The lens body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the front edge of the second reflecting surface is formed so as to extend

Assignees

• Stanley Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Owada Ryotaro

Classifications

• F21S41/322

  the reflector using total internal reflection · CPC title

• F21S41/43

  characterised by the shape thereof · CPC title

• F21S41/27

  Thick lenses · CPC title

• F21Y2115/30

  Semiconductor lasers · CPC title

• F21S41/285

  Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S41/24 - F21S41/2805 · CPC title