Vehicular lamp for forming different light distribution patterns

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11313529-B2
Application number	US-201917254007-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2019
Priority date	Jun 21, 2018
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

A vehicular lamp (10) includes: a condensing unit (12) including a condensing upper emitting unit (22, 23) for a condensing upper pattern (65, 67, 68), a condensing lower emitting unit (21, 31) for a condensing lower pattern (63, 64, 66), and a condensing projection lens (24, 34) that projects light from the condensing upper emitting unit and the condensing lower emitting unit; and a diffusion unit (13) including a diffusion upper emitting unit (42) for a diffusion upper pattern (73); a diffusion lower emitting unit (41) for a diffusion lower pattern (71, 72), and a diffusion projection lens (44) that projects light from the diffusion upper emitting unit and the diffusion lower emitting unit, the condensing lower pattern and the diffusion lower pattern form a passing light distribution pattern (LP), and the condensing upper pattern and a diffusion upper pattern (73) form a traveling light distribution pattern (HP).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular lamp comprising:
a condensing unit that forms a condensing light distribution pattern and
a diffusion unit that forms a diffusion light distribution pattern that is formed in a wider area than the condensing light distribution pattern and that is at least partially overlapped with the condensing light distribution pattern, wherein
the condensing unit includes
a condensing upper emitting unit that emits light for forming a condensing upper pattern that is an upper portion of the condensing light distribution pattern,
a condensing lower emitting unit that emits light for forming a condensing lower pattern that is a lower portion of the condensing light distribution pattern, and
a condensing projection lens that projects light emitted from the condensing upper emitting unit and the condensing lower emitting unit to a front side in an optical axis direction,

the diffusion unit includes
a diffusion upper emitting unit that emits light for forming a diffusion upper pattern that is an upper portion of the diffusion light distribution pattern,
a diffusion lower emitting unit that emits light for forming a diffusion lower pattern that is a lower portion of the diffusion light distribution pattern, and
a diffusion projection lens that projects light emitted from the diffusion upper emitting unit and the diffusion lower emitting unit to the front side in the optical axis direction,

the condensing lower pattern and the diffusion lower pattern form a passing light distribution pattern, and
the condensing upper pattern and the diffusion upper pattern form a traveling light distribution pattern,
wherein the condensing upper emitting unit, the condensing lower emitting unit, the diffusion upper emitting unit, and the diffusion lower emitting unit individually include a light source and a lens that forms light from the light source.

2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the condensing unit includes a condensing oblique unit that forms a condensing oblique lower pattern having an oblique cutoff line.

3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the condensing unit includes a condensing horizontal unit that forms a condensing horizontal lower pattern having a horizontal cutoff line.

4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein
at least either of the condensing upper emitting unit and the condensing lower emitting unit includes two pairs of the light source and the lens, and
at least either of the diffusion upper emitting unit and the diffusion lower emitting unit includes two pairs of the light source and the lens.

5. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , comprising:
a condensing shade that is provided on the front side of the condensing upper emitting unit and the condensing lower emitting unit in the optical axis direction and is provided between the condensing upper emitting unit and the condensing lower emitting unit, and
a diffusion shade that is provided on the front side of the diffusion upper emitting unit and the diffusion lower emitting unit in the optical axis direction and is provided between the diffusion upper emitting unit and the diffusion lower emitting unit.

6. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the condensing projection lens and the diffusion projection lens include a cylindrical lens having a refractive power exclusively in a vertical direction.

7. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein an exit surface of the condensing projection lens and the diffusion projection lens on the front side in the optical axis direction has a refractive power exclusively in the vertical direction and an entrance surface of the condensing projection lens and the diffusion projection lens on a rear side in the optical axis direction has a refractive power exclusively in a horizontal direction.

8. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein the condensing projection lens and the diffusion projection lens have a shape identical to one another on a projection surface from the front side in the optical axis direction.

Assignees

• Ichikoh Industries Ltd

Inventors

• Suzuki Eiji
• Inoue Katsuhiko

Classifications

• F21S41/43

  characterised by the shape thereof · CPC title

• F21S41/285 Primary

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

• F21S41/141

  Light emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title

• F21S41/143

  the main emission direction of the LED being parallel to the optical axis of the illuminating device · CPC title

• F21S41/322

  the reflector using total internal reflection · CPC title