Vehicular lamp

• US 20060146555A1
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Inaba, Tetsuaki
• Application Number:
  US11/297,069
• Publication Number:
  US 20060146555A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/494
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/2665 on rear-view mirrors lighting devices for vehicle interior on or for rear-view mirrors B60Q3/258
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/1207 with lamps; with turn indicators
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/237 rod-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/239 plate-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/245 emitting light from one or more of its major surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/247 with a single light source being coupled into the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/249 with two or more light sources being coupled into the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2107/10 for land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2111/00 Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/002 by shaping at least a portion of the light guide, e.g. with collimating, focussing or diverging surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0036 2-D arrangement of prisms, protrusions, indentations or roughened surfaces

Abstract

A vehicular lamp installed in a sideview mirror housing 10 that has a laterally extending opening 12. The vehicular lamp has a horizontally curved shape and is installed in the housing 10 such that the entirety of its front lens 24 is substantially flush with and exposed through the opening 12. An LED 26 and a light guide inner lens 27 are installed inside a curved and laterally elongated lamp chamber space S which is defined by the lamp body 22 and the front lens 24. The LED 26 for illuminating the entire light guide inner lens is disposed on a curved wrap-around side of the lamp chamber space S so as to face the vehicle forward direction, and another LED 29 is provided in the vehicle width outward direction so that it distributes emitted light in a predetermined direction directly or via a reflector 34.

Claims

1. A vehicular lamp adapted to be installed in a mirror housing of a vehicle, wherein

said mirror housing includes therein a sideview mirror main body and has a laterally extending opening formed on an end side, which wraps around toward a vehicle backward direction, of an outer wall of said mirror housing;

and

a lamp main body of said vehicular lamp is formed by a lamp body and a front lens, said lamp main body having a curved shape that generally follows the curved opening of the mirror housing, and said front lens being substantially flush with and exposed through the opening; and

wherein

said vehicular lamp has a curved, horizontally elongated lamp chamber space which is defined by the lamp body and front lens and is provided therein with;

a light guide inner lens disposed along the front lens which planarly emits light, and

a light source for said vehicular lamp;

wherein said light source comprises;

a first LED provided to face a vehicle forward direction on a curved wrap-around side of the lamp chamber space and to face an incident light end portion of the light guide inner lens, said wrap-around side corresponding to a vehicle width outward direction,; and

a second LED that is disposed adjacent to the first LED in the vehicle width outward direction for distributing light in a predetermined direction directly or via a reflector.

2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein said front lens emits light of different colors by a means selected from the group consisting of:

a plurality of LEDs that emit light of different colors,

a colored filter disposed in front of at least one of the first and second LEDs,

a light guide inner lens of a plurality of different colors, and

a front lens having a plurality of light emission areas of different colors.

3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 2, further comprising a partition provided between the first and second LEDs in the lamp chamber space for preventing mixing of colors of emitted light in the first and second light emission areas of the front lens.

4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 3, further comprising:

a vertical groove formed in the front lens, said vertical groove extending in a vertical direction with respect to the partition and being provided between the first and second light emission areas on the front lens; and

a vertical rib provided in the opening of the outer wall of the mirror housing, said vertical rib extending to vertically traverse the opening and engaging with the vertical groove of the front lens.