Vehicle lamp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10462858-B2
Application number	US-201815977800-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2018
Priority date	Dec 25, 2013
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle lamp includes a planar light-emitting structure having a substrate on which an organic EL emission element is provided, a framing member that fixes the planar light-emitting structure inside a vehicle-lamp light cabinet, and an elastic member that is interposed between the planar light-emitting structure and the framing member and that fixes the planar light-emitting structure by its biasing force.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle lamp, comprising:
a planar light-emitting structure having a first substrate on which an organic electroluminescent emission element is formed, a single linear anode feeder element and a single linear cathode feeder element electrically connected to the organic electroluminescent emission element being provided on a back surface along an outer periphery thereof; and
a second substrate connected to the planar light-emitting structure such as to be in contact with the anode feeder element and the cathode feeder element; wherein
the anode feeder element is longer than the cathode feeder element as gauged along the outer periphery of the planar light-emitting structure,
the second substrate is provided with an extended shape that extends along an outer periphery of the light-emitting structure, and
the extended shape is configured to be in contact with one of terminal portions of the anode feeder element, one of terminal portions of the cathode feeder element, the other terminal portion of the cathode feeder element, and the other terminal portion of the anode feeder element in the stated order from one end of the extended shape to the other.

2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the anode feeder element includes a section shaped in an annular form along the outer periphery of the planar light-emitting structure.

3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a fixing member that includes
a concave portion supporting the outer periphery of the planar light-emitting structure, and
an underside opposing the back surface of the planar light-emitting structure; wherein

the underside has a convex portion provided in a location thereon corresponding to where either the anode feeder element or the cathode feeder element is connected to the second substrate.

4. The vehicle lamp according to claim 3 , wherein:
the second substrate is connected to a lower-end side of the planar light-emitting structure; and
a hole is formed in the concave portion in a portion thereof located on its lower-end side.

5. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the second substrate is a flexible circuit.

6. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein:
a current-carrying wiring formation in contact with either the anode feeder element or the cathode feeder element, and a non-current-carrying dummy formation are formed on the second substrate; and
the wiring formation and the dummy formation are of substantially identical film thickness.

7. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein a Zener diode is interposed between the anode feeder element and the cathode feeder element.

8. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the extended shape extends linearly.

Assignees

• Koito Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shido Masaya
• Onoda Yukihiro
• Ito Toru
• Ito Yoshiro
• Iyoda Haruhiko
• Tsukamoto Hironori

Classifications

• F21S45/37

  specially adapted for signal lamps · CPC title

• H05B33/06

  Electrode terminals · CPC title

• B60Q1/0483

  mounted on a bracket, e.g. details concerning the mouting of the lamps on the vehicle body · CPC title

• F21Y2115/15

  Organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] · CPC title

• H05B33/24

  of metallic reflective layers (H05B33/26 takes precedence) · CPC title