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EP-4425046-B1 - VEHICLE LAMP

EP4425046B1EP 4425046 B1EP4425046 B1EP 4425046B1EP-4425046-B1

Inventors

  • HONDA, TAKAHIKO
  • ITO, Tatsuki

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221021

Claims (5)

  1. A vehicle lamp (10) comprising: a plurality of light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) and a projection lens (40, 340, 440), the vehicle lamp (10) being configured to form a horizontally-long light distribution pattern by emitting light from the plurality of light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) to a lamp front via the projection lens (40, 340, 440), wherein the plurality of light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) is mounted on a common substrate (50, 450) in a state in which the light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) are arranged in a left-right direction and light emitting surfaces (30a) thereof face the projection lens (40, 340, 440), the substrate (50, 450) is arranged in a state of being inclined in the left-right direction with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to a lamp front-back direction, the plurality of light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) includes a plurality of first light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) located closer to a front end portion of the substrate (50, 450) and a plurality of second light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) located closer to a back end portion of the substrate (50, 450), the projection lens (40, 340, 440) is divided into a first lens region (40A, 340A, 440A) for controlling direct light from the plurality of first light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) and a second lens region (40B, 340B, 440B) for controlling direct light from the plurality of second light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B), and the projection lens (40, 340, 440) is configured such that a focal length of the second lens region (40B, 340B, 440B) is set to a value greater than a focal length of the first lens region (40A, 340A, 440A), wherein a back surface (40b, 340b, 440b) of the projection lens (40, 340, 440) is a curved surface in which the first lens region (40A, 340A, 440A) and the second lens region (40B, 340B, 440B) have convex surface shapes and curvatures different from each other wherein the first lens region (40A, 340A, 440A) is on a first side of the optical axis (Ax) of the projection lens (40, 340, 440) and the second lens region (40B, 340B, 440B) is on a second side of the optical axis (Ax) of the projection lens, wherein the first and second lens regions are connected to each other via a connection region (40bC, 340bC, 440bC) extending along a vertical plane including the optical axis (Ax), characterized in that a front surface (40a, 340a, 440a) of the projection lens (40, 340, 440) is a single convex surface centered on an optical axis (Ax) of the projection lens (40, 340, 440).
  2. The vehicle lamp (10) according to claim 1, wherein in the back surface (40b, 340b, 440b) of the projection lens (40, 340, 440), a surface shape of each of the first and second lens regions (40A, 340A, 440A, 40B, 340B, 440B) is set such that a first projection image (PaA, PaA-1, PaA-2, PaA-3, PaA-4) formed by the direct light from each of the plurality of first light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) and a second projection image (PaB, PaB-1, PaB-2, PaB-3, PaB-4) formed by the direct light from each of the plurality of second light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) alternately and partially overlap with each other in the horizontally-long light distribution pattern.
  3. The vehicle lamp (10) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) is configured to be individually turned on.
  4. The vehicle lamp (10) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, further comprising: a light shielding member (170, 270, 370, 470) that prevents incidence of the direct light from the plurality of first light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) on the second lens region (40B, 340B, 440B) and incidence of the direct light from the plurality of second light emitting elements (30, 30A, 30B) on the first lens region (40A, 340A, 440A).
  5. The vehicle lamp (10) according to claim 4, wherein the light shielding member (170, 270, 370, 470) includes a light shielding plate (170, 270, 370, 470) arranged between the substrate (50, 450) and the projection lens (40, 340, 440) along a vertical plane extending in the lamp front-back direction and including the optical axis (Ax), and both left and right surfaces (170b, 270b, 370b, 470a, 170a, 270a, 370a, 470a) of the light shielding plate (170, 270, 370, 470) are formed as reflection surfaces.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp including a projection lens. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as the configuration of a vehicle lamp, there has been known a configuration in which a horizontally-long light distribution pattern is formed by emitting light from a plurality of light emitting elements to a lamp front via a projection lens. "Patent Literature 1" describes, as the configuration of such a vehicle lamp, a configuration in which a plurality of light emitting elements is mounted on a common substrate in a state in which the plurality of light emitting elements is arranged in a left-right direction and light emitting surfaces thereof face a projection lens. JP 2017 212169 A discloses a vehicular lighting fixture including a projection lens having a plurality of focal points, a first array light source which is arranged behind the projection lens, and a second array light source which is arranged behind the projection lens. The first array light source and the second array light source are arranged vertically. Out of light distribution patterns projected on a vertical virtual screen in front of the lighting fixture, an additional light distribution pattern formed by each semiconductor light-emitting element of the first array light source and an additional light distribution pattern formed by each semiconductor light-emitting element of the second array light source are offset in the lighting fixture left and right direction. JP 2020 087685 A discloses a direct light projection type vehicular lighting comprising multiple pairs of light-emitting elements and projection lenses. Six projection lenses are formed integrally as components of a translucent member extending in a direction inclined to a vertical plane that is orthogonal with a longitudinal direction of the lighting. Six light-emitting elements are mounted on a common substrate extending in a direction inclined at the same side as the translucent member with respect to the vertical plane. CITATION LIST PATENT LITERATURE Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2019-75232 SUMMARY OF INVENTION PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY INVENTION In the vehicle lamp described in "Patent Literature 1" above, the substrate is arranged along a vertical plane perpendicular to a lamp front-back direction. However, there is a case where the substrate has to be arranged in a state of being inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the vertical plane due to a limitation on, e.g., a lamp arrangement space on a vehicle body side. In such a case, since the plurality of light emitting elements cannot be arranged in an appropriate positional relationship with respect to the back focal point of the projection lens, it is difficult to form a horizontally-long light distribution pattern as a clear light distribution pattern. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and is intended to provide a vehicle lamp configured to form a horizontally-long light distribution pattern by emitting light from a plurality of light emitting elements to a lamp front via a projection lens. In the vehicle lamp, the horizontally-long light distribution pattern can be formed as a clear light distribution pattern even in a case where a substrate is arranged in a state of being inclined in a left-right direction with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to a lamp front-back direction. SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS The present invention aims to achieve the above-described object by devising the configuration of the projection lens. That is, a vehicle lamp according to the invention with the features of claim 1. The "plurality of light emitting elements" is mounted on the common substrate in a state in which the light emitting elements are arranged in the left-right direction and the light emitting surfaces thereof face the projection lens, but specific arrangement and number of the plurality of first and second light emitting elements are not particularly limited. The "substrate" is arranged in a state of being inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the vertical plane perpendicular to the lamp front-back direction, but a specific value of the inclination angle is not particularly limited. As long as the "projection lens" is configured such that the focal length of the second lens region is set to the value greater than the focal length of the first lens region, a specific focal length value of each of the first and second lens regions is not particularly limited. EFFECTS OF INVENTION The vehicle lamp according to the invention is configured such that the plurality of light emitting elements is mounted on the common substrate in a state in which the plurality of light emitting elements is arranged in the left-right direction and the light emitting surfaces thereof face the projection lens, and therefore, the horizontally-long light distribution pattern can be formed by emitting the light from the plurality of light emitting elements to