US-20260126159-A1 - LAMP FOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A lamp for the vehicle includes at least one lamp module that forms a beam pattern. The at least one lamp module includes: at least one light source for emitting light in a forward direction; a light guide including at least one light-receiving portion and a light-emitting portion that are vertically spaced apart, wherein the light guide guides 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; and an optical portion that allows the light emitted in the forward direction from the light guide to be transmitted therethrough and form the beam pattern.

Inventors

• Byung Dong CHOI
• Eun Chul JEONG
• Ji Ho Hong
• In Ho Choi
• Jin Young JUNG

Assignees

• SL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251021

Priority Date

20241107

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A lamp for a vehicle including at least one lamp module that forms a beam pattern, wherein the at least one lamp module comprises: at least one light source for emitting light in a forward direction; a light guide including at least one light-receiving portion and a light-emitting portion that are vertically spaced apart, wherein the light guide guides 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; and an optical portion that allows the light emitted in the forward direction from the light guide to be transmitted therethrough and form the beam pattern.
2. 2 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the light guide allows the light that is incident onto the at least one light-receiving portion and proceeds in the forward direction to travel in a rearward direction at least one time and subsequently to be emitted in the forward direction through the light-emitting portion.
3. 3 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the light guide further includes a light-transfer portion that transmits the light between the at least one light-receiving portion and the light-emitting portion, and wherein the light-transfer portion includes a plurality of reflective portions that reflect the light incident on the at least one light-receiving portion to allow the reflected light to proceed to the light-emitting portion.
4. 4 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the plurality of reflective portions includes a plurality of reflective areas.
5. 5 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 4 , wherein at least one of a formation angle or a curvature of one of the plurality of reflective areas is different from at least another of the plurality of reflective areas.
6. 6 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 3 , wherein a reflective portion among the plurality of reflective portions, which is disposed immediately upstream of the light-emitting portion along a light transfer path within the light-transfer portion, consists essentially of a single reflective area.
7. 7 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of reflective portions includes: a first reflective portion disposed in front of the at least one light-receiving portion; a second reflective portion arranged vertically with the first reflective portion and disposed more proximate to the light-emitting portion than the first reflective portion; a third reflective portion disposed longitudinally behind the second reflective portion; and a fourth reflective portion arranged vertically with the third reflective portion and disposed more proximate to the light-emitting portion than the third reflective portion.
8. 8 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the first reflective portion reflects the light so as to cause it to travel vertically and toward the second reflective portion, wherein the second reflective portion reflects the light reflected from the first reflective portion so as to cause it to travel in a rearward direction and toward the third reflective portion, wherein the third reflective portion reflects the light reflected from the second reflective portion so as to cause it to travel vertically and toward the fourth reflective portion, and wherein the fourth reflective portion reflects the light reflected from the third reflective portion so as to cause it to travel in the forward direction and toward the light-emitting portion.
9. 9 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the first to third reflective portions includes a plurality of reflective areas.
10. 10 . The lamp for a vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the fourth reflective portion consists essentially of a single reflective area.
11. 11 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 1 , wherein one end of both vertically opposing ends of the light-emitting portion that is closer to an optical axis of the optical portion is disposed at or near a rear focus of the optical portion.
12. 12 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting portion has a concave shape in which the light-emitting portion becomes closer to the optical portion as the light-emitting portion extends from a center thereof toward each of both opposing sides thereof.
13. 13 . The optical portion of claim 1 , wherein the optical portion includes: a light-receiving surface on which the light emitted from the light guide is incident, and a light-emitting surface through which the light incident on the light-receiving surface is emitted, wherein the light-receiving surface is formed to be convex in a rearward direction, wherein the light-emitting surface is formed to be convex in the forward direction, and wherein a curvature of the light-emitting surface is formed to be greater than a curvature of the light-receiving surface.
14. 14 . A lamp for a vehicle comprising a first lamp module and a second lamp module that form a first beam pattern and a second beam pattern, respectively, wherein the first lamp module comprises: at least one first light source for emitting light in a forward direction; a first light guide including at least one first light-receiving portion and a first light-emitting portion that are vertically spaced apart from each other, wherein the first light guide guides the light incident on the at least one first light-receiving portion from the at least one first light source to be emitted through the first light-emitting portion in the forward direction; and an optical portion that allows the light emitted in the forward direction from the first light guide to be transmitted therethrough and form the first beam pattern, wherein the second lamp module is vertically arranged with the first lamp module with an optical axis of the optical portion being disposed therebetween in a vertical direction, and wherein the second lamp module comprises: at least one second light source for emitting light in the forward direction; and a second light guide that guides the light incident thereon from the at least one second light source to travel to the optical portion and form the second beam pattern.
15. 15 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the first light guide includes a first light-transfer portion that transmits the light incident to the first light-receiving portion to the first light-emitting portion, and wherein the first light-transfer portion includes a plurality of reflective portions arranged along a traveling path of the light incident to the first light-receiving portion.
16. 16 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the first light-transfer portion allows the light that is incident to the first light-receiving portion and proceeds in the forward direction to be reflected from the plurality of reflective portions so as to travel in a rearward direction at least once and subsequently to be emitted in the forward direction through the first light-emitting portion.
17. 17 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 14 , wherein a vertical spacing between the first light-emitting portion and the optical axis of the optical portion is smaller than a vertical spacing between the first light-receiving portion and the optical axis of the optical portion.
18. 18 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 14 , wherein a vertical spacing between the at least one first light source and the optical axis of the light source portion is greater than a vertical spacing between the at least one second light source and the optical axis of the light source portion.
19. 19 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the second light guide includes at least one guiding member, each having a front end and a rear end, wherein the guiding member guides light incident on the rear end from the at least one second light source to be emitted through the front end and subsequently to proceed to the optical portion, and wherein a vertical height of the front end of each of the at least one guiding member is smaller than a vertical height of the first light-emitting portion.
20. 20 . The lamp for the vehicle of claim 19 , wherein the at least one guiding member includes a light path adjustment portion, and wherein, with the second lamp module being turned off, the light path adjustment portion reflects a portion of light transmitted from the first light guide so as to cause it to travel in the forward direction, thereby allowing a third beam pattern to be formed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156692 filed on Nov. 7, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure 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. 2. Description of Related Art 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 a signaling function for notifying surrounding vehicles or a pedestrian of the driving state of the vehicle. For example, a headlamp and a fog lamp are mainly used for the illumination functions, and a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp, and a brake lamp are mainly used for the signaling functions. 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 are 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 increases, thereby increasing an installation space. Therefore, there is a need for a scheme for reducing the installation space while allowing the beam pattern to have a uniform brightness. SUMMARY A technical purpose to be achieved by the present disclosure is to provide a lamp for a vehicle that reduces a required installation space and improves uniformity of brightness of a beam pattern by adjusting a path of light emitted from a light source. The technical purposes of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical purposes not mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from descriptions as set forth below. In order to achieve the above purpose, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a lamp for a vehicle may include at least one lamp module that forms a beam pattern. Each of the at least one lamp module may include at least one light source for emitting light in a forward direction; a light guide including at least one light-receiving portion and a light-emitting portion that are vertically spaced apart, wherein the light guide guides 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; and an optical portion that allows 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 the light that is incident onto the at least one light-receiving portion and proceeds in the forward direction to travel in a rearward direction at least one time and subsequently to be emitted in the forward direction through the light-emitting portion. The light guide may further include a light-transfer portion that transmits the light between the at least one light-receiving portion and the light-emitting portion, and the light-transfer portion may include a plurality of reflective portions that 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 areas. At least one of a formation angle or a curvature of one of the plurality of reflective areas may be different from at least another of the plurality of reflective areas. A reflective portion among the plurality of reflective portions, which is disposed immediately upstream of the light-emitting portion along a light transfer path within the light-transfer portion, may consist essentially of a single reflective area. The plurality of reflective portions may include a first reflective portion disposed in front of the at least one light-receiving portion; a second reflective portion arranged vertically with the first reflective portion and disposed more proximate to t