JP2002133920A - Lighting or display device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting device or a display device for an automobile, wherein the device has an appearance where optical members, in particular a reflector and a mask in case of reflective coating, do not affect quality of beam and luminous intensity when the light source is lighted, for instance the device colored by given color. SOLUTION: This lighting device or display device for the automobile is equipped with a casing 10 having a front opening 12, at least one light source 16 that generates beam by cooperating with the reflector and a protective lens 20 shielding the front opening 12. According to this invention, in at least one optically neutral zone of the lighting device, at least one decorative part 24 is set, where the beam is seen from the outside of the lighting device after reflected at the reflector 14 at least one time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for an automobile, that is, a lighting device such as a headlight, and a display or warning device for notifying another driver of a driver's intention. The term “car” refers to four-wheeled vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles,
Includes but is not limited to light and heavy vehicles.

[0002] In this specification, for the sake of simplicity, the above-mentioned device is referred to as a lighting device or a display device. They usually comprise, in a front-opening casing, at least one light source adapted to generate a beam in cooperation with a reflector, and a protective lens for blocking the front opening of the casing.

2. Description of the Related Art Flat protective lenses for lighting devices,
That is, a lens that does not deflect the beam can be used. Many parts of the lighting device can be seen through the flat protective lens.

[0003] Also, the external shape has become important,
It is a major factor in the design of automotive devices, i.e., lighting devices such as headlights and indicator lights. Designers are constantly looking for new ways to aesthetically attach lighting devices to cars. Therefore, a mask is used as a decorative member in order to shield discontinuity between different members such as a reflector and a protective lens and a member having no optical function such as a casing. For example, the mask is colored, reflectively coated, specially shaped, embossed, or provided with a motif to enhance the beauty of the mask.

On the other hand, various members of an illumination or display device for generating a beam, that is, optical members have no degree of freedom in shape and appearance. In this context, the current regulations require that the beam illuminated by the illuminating device conforms to the provisions relating to geometric spread, optical properties, beam intensity and color. Therefore, it is only possible to tint the optical members fairly lightly so as not to be noticeable, so as not to significantly affect the beam generated by the lighting device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention that, when the light source is turned on, the optical components, especially the reflector, and the mask if reflectively coated, do not affect the beam quality or luminous intensity. To have a look like
For example, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting or display device for a vehicle which is colored in a predetermined color.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to modify the appearance easily and with high reliability.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a front opening, at least one light source for forming a beam in cooperation with a reflector, and a protective lens for shielding the front opening are provided in a casing. An automotive lighting or display device provided with at least one decoration in at least one optically neutral region of the lighting or display device, said decoration only after reflecting the reflector at least once. It is characterized in that the part is visible from the outside.

[0008] Preferred optional, single or technically feasible combinable features of the present invention are as follows. The decorative part is provided in the optically neutral region of the protective lens. Gluing the decorative part to the protective lens with an adhesive or an adhesive motif; The decorative part comprises at least one layer deposited on the protective lens; -The material of the adhesion layer is paint, ink, screen printing ink, or metal. The decorative part comprises an insert inserted between the front and the rear of the protective lens; The decor has different motifs or different colored front and rear faces. If the device comprises a mask between the reflector and the protective lens, the decor is provided in the optically neutral area of the mask. Forming the decorative part by bonding an adhesive or an adhesive motif to the mask; The decorative part comprises a layer of material deposited on the mask; The decorative part is of the same color as the color of the material of the mask itself;

[0009] The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following non-limiting and illustrative examples, described with reference to the drawings.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment, the output side of a lighting device, that is, the side on which a beam is irradiated is referred to as "forward".
The light source side of the lighting device is referred to as “rear”.

The conventional lighting device shown in FIG. 1 is a headlight of an automobile, and has a casing (1) attached to a vehicle such that a front opening (12) faces forward of the vehicle.
0). A light source (1) is provided in the casing (10).
6) at least one reflector (14) for cooperating with (16 ') to generate a beam illuminating the road ahead of the vehicle;
(In FIG. 1, two reflectors (14) (14 ')) are provided. For example, one reflector can generate a low beam and the other reflector can generate a traveling beam. A protective lens (20) is fixed to the casing (10) to isolate the inside of the headlight and protect the optical member.

The headlight includes a mask (18) for eliminating discontinuity between the reflector (14) and the protective lens (20). The mask (18)
For example, they may be colored black, have embossed motifs, or be reflective without them. The headlights may be provided with other devices, such as side lights or blinking direction indicators (22).

The light sources (16) (16 '), the reflector (1)
4) Optical members such as (14 ') and the protective lens (20) act to generate and irradiate a beam, and when the illuminating device is for illumination, the optical member is uncolored, and a warning or In the case of display, it is colored in a color determined by rules.

When the light source is turned on, such an illuminating device may be colored so that it does not interfere with the luminous intensity characteristics and color characteristics of the beam so as to be completely visible from the outside so as to conform to the rules. is there.

FIG. 2 shows a front opening (1) facing the outside of the vehicle.
Casing (10) having 2) and attached to a vehicle
1 is a sectional view of a lighting device according to the invention comprising The lighting device is fixed to a casing (10) and a reflector (14) for generating a beam in cooperation with a light source (16),
A protective lens (20) for isolating the inside of the headlight and protecting the optical member, and a mask (18) for shielding between the reflector (14) and the protective lens (20) are provided.

The beam reflected by the reflector (14) passes through the central area (F) of the protective lens (20). In an embodiment, the reflector (14), the protective lens (20) and other members remote from the light source (16) include:
An "optically neutral position", i.e., a position which does not directly affect the beam generated by the illuminator. The peripheral region of the protective lens (20) at the edge of the central region (F) is an optically neutral region that hardly affects the generation of a beam.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the optically neutral region of the protective lens (20), a decorative portion (2) on which a decorative element is formed.
4) is provided.

Next, various forms of the decorative portion (24) will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4E.

In FIG. 4A, the decorative portion (24) is adhered to the rear surface of the protective lens (20) by an adhesive or an adhesive motif.

In FIG. 4B, the decorative portion (24) consists of an adhesive layer attached to the rear surface of the protective lens (20).
The material of the adhesion layer is, for example, paint, ink, screen printing ink, or metal.

In FIG. 4C, the decorative portion (24) consists of an insert buried between the front and rear surfaces of the protective lens (20).

In FIG. 4D, the decoration part (24) consists of an adhesion layer attached to the front surface of the protective lens (20).
As in the case of FIG. 4B, the material of the adhesion layer is, for example, a paint, an ink, a screen printing ink, or a metal.

In FIG. 4E, the decorative portion (24) is adhered to the rear surface of the protective lens (20) by an adhesive or an adhesive motif.

In all the cases described above, the protective lens (20) is a transparent member, and as shown in FIG. 3, the decorative portion (24) is visible from outside the protective lens (20). .

The lighting device of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 is provided with a decorative portion (24) above a protective lens (20).
It is different from that of FIG.

More specifically, the decorative part (24) has a front surface (26) visible from the outside and a rear surface (28) facing the inside of the lighting device and not visible from the outside. That is, the front surface (26) and the rear surface (28) are different from each other and function completely independently.

The front (26) and rear (28) are, for example, of different motifs and colors. In the example of FIGS. 4B and 4D, the front surface (26) and the rear surface (28) are formed by successively depositing two different materials, for example, ink, screen printing ink, or metal. It goes without saying that the combination of these materials is optional.

The front surface (2) directly seen from the outside in the direction (E)
6) is the appearance of the lighting device or the vehicle itself, and may be marked with the type of the lighting device or the manufacturer of the vehicle or the lighting device. For example, the front (2
6) may be made of metal and used as a reflection surface.

On the other hand, the rear surface (28) is not visible from the outside and functions completely differently from the front surface (26).
That is, when the light source (16) is turned off, the rear surface (28)
Is illuminated by ambient light from the lighting device, which passes through the protective lens (20) and spreads outside. Thereby, the rear side (2
8) diffuses the beam in all directions (I) in the illumination device.

As shown in FIG. 2, most of the beam reaches the reflector (14) and, if reflectively coated, the mask (18) and is reflected at least once. After one or more reflections, the beam again passes through the protective lens (20) and is diffused out of the lighting device. From the outside, an image of the reflector (14) and the mask (18) reflected on the rear surface (28) of the decorative portion (24) can be seen.

For example, if the back surface (28) is uniformly blue, it looks as if all or a part of the reflector (14) and the mask (18) are blue. Rear (28)
Is preferably the same as the color of the body frame of the vehicle, so that the front of the vehicle is visible as if the lighting device were the same color as the surrounding body frame.

On the other hand, when the light source (16) is turned on and a beam is generated, the light source (16) cooperates with the reflector (14) to form a beam for irradiating the road in front of the vehicle as usual. I do. The decoration (24) is located in the optically neutral region of the protective lens (20) and has no or little effect on the illumination beam, since it has no or little relevance to the beam formation. Nothing. Therefore, the lighting device
It is possible to emit a beam that completely conforms to the luminous intensity, light distribution and spectral distribution specified in the regulations.

When the light source (16) is turned on to generate a beam, the light source (16) irradiates the rear surface (28) of the decorative portion (24) strongly. As in the case described above, the rear surface (28) is omnidirectional (I) towards the interior of the lighting device.
Diffuse the beam to The beam reaches the reflector (14) and the mask (18) and is reflected at least once,
The light passes through the protective lens (20) and is diffused outside the lighting device.

The decoration part (24) is located in the optically neutral region of the protective lens (20), and the beam diffused by the rear surface (28) transmits the light source (16), the reflector (14) and the protective lens (20). Are emitted to the outside of the beams (30) (30 ') (30'') as shown in FIG.

When the light source of the lighting device is turned on and located outside the beam, an outside person who looks at the lighting device will notice that most of the beam is reflected by the rear surface (28) of the decoration portion (24). You will see. Thus, contrary to the example described above, the beam is only white light, but it appears as if the illuminator is generating a blue beam, and the beam has the luminous intensity and light defined by the rules. Perfectly matches the colors.

Further, when the lighting device has a plurality of headlights as shown in FIG. 3, the back surface (28) of the decorative portion (24) has a different motif or color for each headlight. be able to. In FIG. 3, the reflectors (14) (14 ') can be of distinctly different colors, giving an overall novel appearance of the lighting device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lighting device showing another embodiment of the present invention. The decorative part (24 ') has a mask (1
8) Above, in the optically neutral area of the lighting device. As in the above-described embodiment, the decorative portion (24 ') may be bonded with an adhesive or an adhesive motif, or may be formed on a mask with a layer of paint, ink, screen printing ink, or metal. . In that case, the color of the decorative portion (24 ') is the color of the material of the mask (18) itself.

When the light source (16) is turned off, the decorative portion (24 ')
Is illuminated by ambient light that extends outside the illumination device and passes through the protective lens (20), and diffuses the beam in all directions inside the illumination device. The diffused beam is
Reaching the reflector (14) and the mask (18), it is reflected at least once, passes through the protective lens (20) again and diffuses out of the lighting device.

An outside person can see the image of the reflector (14) and the mask (18) on which the decorative portion (24 ') is reflected. For example, if the decoration part (24 ') is uniformly blue, the images of the reflector (14) and the mask (18) appear as if all or a part of them were blue.

When the light source (16) is generating a beam, the decoration (24 ') is located in the optically neutral region, so that it does not affect the beam generated by the illuminator and the beam is , Which is a perfect match with the rules.

As described above, when the light source (16) is turned on, the decorative portion (24 ') is strongly irradiated. Decoration part (2
The beam diffused by 4 ′) is reflected by the reflector (14).
And reaches the mask (18), is reflected at least once, passes through the protective lens (20), and is diffused outside the lighting device. Therefore, the person outside can see the beam mostly reflected by the decoration part (24 ').

Thus, contrary to the above example, the beam is only white light, but the illuminator appears to be generating a blue beam, and the beam is defined by the rules. It perfectly matches the luminosity and color.

One of the advantages of the lighting device according to the present invention is that it has almost the same shape as the conventional lighting device shown in FIG. Same or different decorative parts (24) (2
4 ′) can be combined with the lighting device of FIGS. 2 to 5 to make the appearance of the lighting device desired.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the light source is turned on, the predetermined appearance, for example, the color of the body frame of the vehicle can be obtained without affecting the quality, luminous intensity and color of the beam emitted by the lighting device. Lighting or display (warning) device for vehicles having the following colors:

Based on the desired appearance of the lighting device,
The appearance can be easily changed only by providing an optically neutral region on a mask having a protective lens or a predetermined decorative portion. Changing the look like this is extremely easy,
It can be easily implemented.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications which can be considered by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

Although the above-described embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to an illuminating device exclusively for irradiation, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a display or warning device. The invention can also be applied to lighting or display devices in which the protective lens is flat or provided with a motif, such as a rib, associated with the formation of the beam itself. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a lighting device in which the reflector has a parabolic shape, a so-called composite surface, or an elliptical shape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional lighting and display (warning) device having a headlight and a blinking direction indicating device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting and display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

4 (A) to 4 (E) are enlarged cross-sectional views around a decorative portion shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing another embodiment of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Casing 12 Front opening part 14, 14 'Reflector 16, 16' Light source 18 Mask 20 Protective lens 22 Flashing direction indicator 24 Decoration part 26 Front surface 28 Back surface 30, 30 ', 30 "Beam

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Gislane Lefebvre, France 93012 Bobigny Cedex Rue Saint Tandre 34 (72) Inventor Didier Martin, France 93012 Bobigny Cedex Rue Saint Tandre 34 F-term (reference) 3K042 AA08 AA13 AC01 BA04 BA08 BB01 BB11 BB16 BC01 BC12

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A front opening (12) and a reflector (1).
4) cooperate with (14 ') to form at least one light source (16) (16') and a front opening (1);
2) A protective lens (20) for shielding the casing (1).
0) A lighting or display device for a motor vehicle provided in at least one optically neutral region of the lighting or display device, wherein at least one decorative part (24) (24 ') is provided, and the reflector (14) (14) Device, characterized in that said decorations (24), (24 ') are visible from the outside only after at least one reflection of said'). 2. The decoration part (24) is provided with a protective lens (20).
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is provided in an optically neutral region. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the decoration (24) is glued to the protective lens (20) by an adhesive or an adhesive motif. 4. The decoration part (24) is provided with a protective lens (20).
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said at least one adhesion layer is applied thereon.
An apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the material of the adhesion layer is paint, ink, screen printing ink, or metal. 6. The decorative part (24) is provided with a protective lens (20).
3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the device is an insert inserted between the front and rear surfaces of the device. 7. The device according to claim 2, wherein the decoration (24) has a front surface (26) and a rear surface (28) of different motifs or different colors. 8. A reflector (14) and a protective lens (2)
In a lighting or display device further comprising a mask (18) between the mask (1) and the mask (1).
The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is provided in the optically neutral region of (8). 9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the decoration (24 ′) is adhered to the mask (18) by an adhesive or an adhesive motif. 10. The decorative part (24 ′) is provided with a mask (18).
9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the device comprises a mask (18) formed by an adhesion layer of a metal.