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EP-4741706-A1 - LAMP FOR VEHICLE

EP4741706A1EP 4741706 A1EP4741706 A1EP 4741706A1EP-4741706-A1

Abstract

A lamp for the vehicle includes at least one lamp module (1000,2000,3000) that is configured to form a beam pattern. The at least one lamp module includes: at least one light source (1100,2100,3100) for emitting light in a forward direction; a light guide (1200,2200,3200) including at least one light-receiving portion (1210,2210) and a light-emitting portion (1220,2220) that are vertically spaced apart, wherein the light guide is configured to guide the light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion (1201,2210) from the at least one light source to be emitted through the light-emitting portion (1220,2220) in the forward direction; and an optical portion (1300,2300) that is configured to transmit the light emitted in the forward direction from the light guide to therethrough for forming the beam pattern.

Inventors

  • CHOI, BYUNG DONG
  • JEONG, EUN CHUL
  • HONG, JI HO
  • CHOI, IN HO
  • JUNG, JIN YOUNG

Assignees

  • SL Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251022

Claims (15)

  1. A lamp (1) for a vehicle including at least one lamp module (1000, 2000, 3000) configured to form a beam pattern, wherein the at least one lamp module (1000, 2000, 3000) comprises: at least one light source (1100, 2100, 3100) for emitting light in a forward direction; a light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) including at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210) and a light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) that are vertically spaced apart, wherein the light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) is configured to guide light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210) from the at least one light source (1100, 2100, 3100) to be emitted through the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) in the forward direction; and an optical portion (1300, 2300) configured to transmit the light emitted from the light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) in the forward direction therethrough for forming the beam pattern.
  2. The lamp (1) of claim 1, wherein (i) the light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) is configured to cause the light, which is incident onto the at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210) to travel in a rearward direction at least one time before being emitted in the forward direction through the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220), and/or (ii) the light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) further includes a light-transfer portion (1230, 2230) configured to transmit the light between the at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210) and the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220), wherein the light-transfer portion (1230, 2230) includes a plurality of reflective portions (1231, 1232, 1233, 1234, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) configured to reflect the light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210) toward the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220).
  3. The lamp (1) of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of reflective portions (1231, 1232, 1233, 1234, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) includes a plurality of reflective areas (1231a, 2231a, 2232a).
  4. The lamp (1) of claim 3, wherein at least one of a formation angle and/or a curvature of one of the plurality of reflective areas (1231a, 2231a, 2232a) is different from at least another of the plurality of reflective areas (1231a, 2231a, 2232a).
  5. The lamp (1) of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a reflective portion (1231, 1232, 1233, 1234, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) among the plurality of reflective portions (1231, 1232, 1233, 1234, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234), which is disposed upstream of the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) along a light transfer path within the light-transfer portion (1230, 2230), consists of a single reflective area.
  6. The lamp (1) of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the plurality of reflective portions (1231, 1232, 1233, 1234, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) includes: a first reflective portion (1231, 2231) disposed in front of the at least one light-receiving portion (1210, 2210); a second reflective portion (1232, 2232) arranged at a vertical distance from the first reflective portion (1231, 2231) and disposed more proximate to the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) than the first reflective portion (1231, 2231); a third reflective portion (1233, 2233) disposed behind the second reflective portion (1232, 2232) in the rearward direction; and a fourth reflective portion (1234, 2234) arranged vertically offset from the third reflective portion (1233, 2233) and disposed more proximate to the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) than the third reflective portion (1233, 2233).
  7. The lamp (1) of claim 6, wherein the first reflective portion (1231) is configured to reflect light toward the second reflective portion (1232, 2232), wherein the second reflective portion (1232, 2232) is configured to reflect the light reflected from the first reflective portion (1231, 2231) toward the third reflective portion (1233, 2233), wherein the third reflective portion (1233, 2233) is configured to reflect the light reflected from the second reflective portion (1232, 2232) toward the fourth reflective portion (1234, 2234), and wherein the fourth reflective portion (1234, 2234) is configured to reflect the light reflected from the third reflective portion (1233, 2233) toward the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220).
  8. The lamp (1) of claim 6 or 7, wherein at least one of the first to third reflective portions (1231, 1232, 1233, 2231, 2232, 2233) includes a plurality of reflective areas (1231a, 1232a, 2231a, 2232a), and/or wherein the fourth reflective portion (1234, 2234) consists of a single reflective area.
  9. The lamp (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one end of the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) is arranged closer to an optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (1300, 2300) than another end of the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220), and wherein the one end is disposed at or near a rear focus (F) of the optical portion (1300, 2300), and/or wherein the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) has a concave shape, such that a distance between the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) and the optical portion (1300, 2300) decreases with increasing distance from a center of the light-emitting portion (1220, 2220) toward a side thereof.
  10. The lamp (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the optical portion (1300, 2300) includes: a light-receiving surface (1310, 2310) on which the light emitted from the light guide (1200, 2200, 3200) is incident, and a light-emitting surface (1320, 2320) through which the light incident on the light-receiving surface (1310, 2310) is emitted, wherein the light-receiving surface (1310, 2310) is formed to be convex in the rearward direction, wherein the light-emitting surface (1320, 2320) is formed to be convex in the forward direction, and wherein a curvature of the light-emitting surface (1320, 2320) is greater than a curvature of the light-receiving surface (1310, 2310).
  11. The lamp (1) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a first lamp module (2000) and a second lamp module (3000) configured to form a first beam pattern and a second beam pattern, respectively, wherein the first lamp module (2000) comprises: at least one first light source (2100) for emitting light in the forward direction; a first light guide (2200) including at least one first light-receiving portion (2210) and a first light-emitting portion (2220) that are vertically spaced apart from each other, wherein the first light guide (2200) is configured to guide the light incident on the at least one first light-receiving portion (2210) from the at least one first light source (2100) to be emitted through the first light-emitting portion (2220) in the forward direction, wherein the optical portion (2300) is configured to transmit the light emitted from the first light guide (2200) therethrough for forming the first beam pattern, wherein the second lamp module (3000) is vertically offset from the first lamp module (2000) such that an optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (2300) is disposed therebetween in a vertical direction, and wherein the second lamp module (3000) comprises: at least one second light source (3100) for emitting light in the forward direction; and a second light guide (3200) configured to guide the light incident thereon from the at least one second light source (3100) to travel to the optical portion (2300) for forming the second beam pattern.
  12. The lamp (1) of claim 11, wherein (i) the first light guide (2200) includes a first light-transfer portion (2230) configured to transmit the light incident to the first light-receiving (2210) portion to the first light-emitting portion (2220), and the first light-transfer portion (2230) includes a plurality of reflective portions (2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) arranged along a traveling path of the light incident to the first light-receiving portion (2210), and/or (ii) a vertical spacing between the first light-emitting portion (2220) and the optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (2300) is smaller than a vertical spacing between the first light-receiving portion (2210) and the optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (2300).
  13. The lamp (1) of claim 12, wherein the plurality of reflective portions (2231, 2232, 2233, 2234) are configured to reflect the light, which is incident to the first light-receiving portion (2210) in the rearward direction at least once before being emitted in the forward direction through the first light-emitting portion (2220), and/or wherein a vertical spacing between the at least one first light source (2100) and the optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (2300) is greater than a vertical spacing between the at least one second light source (3100) and the optical axis (Ax) of the optical portion (2300).
  14. The lamp (1) of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the second light guide (3200) includes at least one guiding member (3210) having a front end (3212) and a rear end (3211), wherein the guiding member (3210) is configured to guide light incident on the rear end (3211) from the at least one second light source (3100) to be emitted through the front end (3212) and subsequently to proceed to the optical portion (2300), and wherein a vertical height of the front end (3212) of the at least one guiding member (3210) is smaller than a vertical height of the first light-emitting portion (2220).
  15. The lamp (1) of claim 14, wherein the at least one guiding member (3210) includes a light path adjustment portion (3210a), and wherein, when the second lamp module (3000) is turned off, the light path adjustment portion (3210a) is configured to reflect a portion of light transmitted from the first light guide (2200) in the forward direction to form a third beam pattern.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156692 filed on November 7, 2024. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lamp for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a lamp for a vehicle capable of forming optimal beam patterns while reducing an installation space. BACKGROUND In general, a vehicle is provided with various types of lamps having an illumination function for more easily identifying an object located around the vehicle during low-light conditions (e.g., night driving) and/or a signaling function for notifying surrounding vehicles or pedestrians of the driving state of the vehicle. For example, a headlamp and a fog lamp are mainly used for the illumination function, and a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp, and a brake lamp are mainly used for the signaling function. Each lamp is stipulated by law in its installation standards and specifications so that each lamp may fully perform each function. In such a lamp for a vehicle, an optical element such as a lens is disposed in a space positioned in a direction in which light is emitted from a light source, and a path or brightness of the light emitted from the light source is controlled by an optical element to satisfy required light distribution characteristics. In this regard, when a plurality of light sources is used according to light distribution characteristics, light beams respectively emitted from the plurality of light sources are required to be sufficiently mixed with one another in order for the beam pattern to have a uniform brightness. To this end, it is necessary to radiate light beams respectively emitted from the plurality of light sources such that the light beams travel by a sufficient distance so that the light beams are mixed with one another in the lamp for a vehicle. However, to implement such a feature, a size of the lamp for a vehicle along the direction in which the light is emitted from the plurality of light sources may increase, thereby increasing the required installation space. Therefore, there is a need for reducing the installation space while allowing the beam pattern to have a uniform brightness. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a lamp for a vehicle requiring less installation space and/or improving the uniformity of brightness of a beam pattern, e.g. by adjusting a path of light emitted from a light source as described in the following. However, the technical purposes of the present invention are not limited to the objects mentioned herein, and other technical purposes not explicitly mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, e.g. from description as set forth below. According to an aspect of the present invention, a lamp for a vehicle is provided. The lamp may include at least one lamp module configured to form a beam pattern. The at least one lamp module may include at least one light source for emitting light, e.g. in a forward direction (e.g. toward a front of the vehicle, in a driving direction). The at least one lamp module may include a light guide including at least one light-receiving portion and a light-emitting portion. The light-receiving portion and a light-emitting portion may be spaced apart, e.g. vertically spaced apart (e.g. spaced with an offset in a vertical direction (height direction), e.g. such that there is no overlap in the vertical direction). The light guide is configured to guide the light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion from the at least one light source to be emitted through the light-emitting portion in the forward direction, e.g. toward an optical portion of the lamp. The optical portion of the lamp may be configured to allow the light emitted in the forward direction from the light guide to be transmitted therethrough and form the beam pattern. The light guide may allow light, e.g. the light that is incident onto the at least one light-receiving portion, which may proceed in the forward direction, to travel in a rearward direction (backward direction, which may be opposite to the driving direction, e.g. toward a back of the vehicle) at least one time before being emitted in the forward direction. In other words, the light guide may be configured to guide the light in the rearward direction at least once before guiding the light to be emitted through the light-emitting portion, e.g. in the forward direction. The light guide may further include a light-transfer portion configured to transmit the light between the at least one light-receiving portion and the light-emitting portion. The light-transfer portion may include a plurality of reflective portions configured to reflect the light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion to allow the reflected light to proceed to the light-emitting portion. At least one of the plurality of reflective portions may include a plurality of reflective a