Lamp unit and vehicle headlamp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10359169-B2
Application number	US-201715412084-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 23, 2017
Priority date	Jul 23, 2014
Publication date	Jul 23, 2019
Grant date	Jul 23, 2019

Abstract

A lamp unit includes a light-emitting element array composed by a plurality of light-emitting elements, having respective individual irradiation regions constituting a high-beam light-distribution pattern and configured to be capable of being turned on individually, mounted in array on a substrate, a projection lens disposed in front of the light-emitting element array, and a reflector disposed below the light-emitting element array. Inter-light-emitting-element spacing within the light-emitting element array widens the more separated the elements are from the projection lens' optical axis.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lamp unit, comprising:
a light-emitting element array composed by a plurality of light-emitting elements, having respective individual irradiation regions constituting a high-beam light-distribution pattern and configured to be capable of being turned on individually, mounted in a row on a substrate;
a projection lens disposed in front of the light-emitting element array; and
a reflector disposed below the light-emitting element array and reflecting light from the light-emitting element array toward the projection lens; wherein:
a spacing between light emitting elements within the light-emitting element array widens the more separated the elements are from the projection lens' optical axis;
the light-emitting element array is disposed such that a light axis of the light-emitting element array passes through the projection lens;

and at least a portion of light from the light-emitting element array is directly incident on the projection lens and at least another portion of light from the light-emitting element array is reflected by the reflector before being incident on the projection lens.

2. The lamp unit according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate of the light-emitting element array is disposed such as to incline in a downward direction relative to the projection lens' optical axis.

3. The lamp unit according to claim 1 , adopted in a vehicle, wherein the reflector is disposed such as to incline in a downward direction relative to the projection lens' optical axis such that an extension line extending from a surface of the reflector toward the vehicle's front positions in the vicinity of a lower edge of an effective surface of the projection lens.

4. The lamp unit according to claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting element array is disposed such as, when viewed from perpendicularly overhead, to align on the projection lens' virtual image surface.

5. The lamp unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a shading plate disposed between the light-emitting element array and an upper edge of the projection lens.

6. Vehicle headlamp comprising:
lamp units each according to claim 1 , provided on either of right and left sides of a vehicle-body front portion; wherein
in the light-emitting element arrays of the two lamp units, the light-emitting elements are disposed unequally sideways centering on the projection lens' optical axis, and
the individual irradiation regions of the light-emitting element array of one of the lamp units and the individual irradiation regions of the light-emitting element array of the other of the lamp units partially overlap horizontally.

7. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 6 , wherein the light-emitting element array of the one of the lamp units includes three light-emitting elements, one of the light-emitting elements being disposed on the projection lens' optical axis, and the other two of the light-emitting elements being disposed such as to have individual irradiation regions that overlap the individual irradiation regions of light-emitting elements located at edge portions of the light-emitting element array of the other of the lamp units.

Assignees

• Koito Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kawai Hiroki
• Oishi Kenta
• Uchida Naoki
• Ishida Hiroyuki
• Tanaka Hidetada
• Sato Noriko
• SATO Ryuho
• Fujiyoshi Takatomo

Classifications

• F21S45/435

  circulating the gas within a closed system · CPC title

• F21S41/151

  arranged in one or more lines · CPC title

• F21S41/148

  the main emission direction of the LED being perpendicular to the optical axis · CPC title

• F21Y2103/10

  comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements · CPC title

• F21S45/47

  Passive cooling, e.g. using fins, thermal conductive elements or openings · CPC title