LIGHT GUIDING BODY AND VEHICLE LIGHTING FIXTURE USING SAME

• US 20170038024A1
• Filed: 08/01/2016
• Published: 02/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Imazeki, Norifumi
• Granted Patent: US 10,066,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/14 Light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/145 Surface emitters, e.g. organic light emitting diodes [OLED]
• 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 43/249 with two or more light sources being coupled into the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/006 Systems in which light light is reflected on a plurality of parallel surfaces, e.g. louvre mirrors, total internal reflection [TIR] lenses Fresnel mirrors G02B5/09, Fresnel lenses G02B3/08

Abstract

A lighting fixture projects light sideward and has no restriction in design. The lighting fixture can include an LED; a primary lens disposed in an optical axis of the LED, the primary lens being configured to form a main light distribution; an auxiliary lens disposed on an outer peripheral side of the primary lens around the optical axis of the LED; and a reflecting portion configured to reflect part of light emitted from the LED to substantially an entire area of the auxiliary lens on an inner peripheral surface side thereof. The reflecting portion can be formed integrally with the primary lens and include an incident surface on which part of light emitted from the LED can be incident, a reflecting surface configured to reflect light having entered through the incident surface, and a light-exiting surface configured to allow the light reflected by the reflecting surface to exit.

Claims

1. A light guiding body comprising:

an incident surface configured to face to a light source on one end side;

an inverting portion provided on the other end side opposite to the incident surface, the light entering the light guiding body through the incident surface being guided through the light guiding body toward the inverting portion;

the inverting portion configured to invert a travelling direction of light guided from the incident surface; and

a rear surface and a front surface connecting the incident surface and the inverting portion, the rear surface having reflecting portions formed therein so that the reflecting portions can totally reflect the light toward the front surface, which serves as a light exiting surface, wherein

the light guiding body is formed to be stepwisely thickened from a side of the incident surface to a side of the inverting portion, so that the rear surface has the reflecting portions at respective boundary portions where a thickness of the light guiding body is stepwisely changed, and

the light emitted from the light source enters the light guiding body through the incident surface and travels through the light guiding body to the inverting portion, and is returned to the side of the incident surface by the inverting portion, and part of the returned light is reflected by each of the reflecting portions of the rear surface to be projected forward through the front surface.

2. The light guiding body according to claim 1, wherein the inverting portion is subjected to a light diffusion treatment.

3. The light guiding body according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting portions are subjected to light diffusion treatment.

4. The light guiding body according to claim 2, wherein the reflecting portions are subjected to light diffusion treatment.

5. A vehicle lighting fixture comprising:

a housing having an opening;

an outer lens configured to cover the opening of the housing to define a light chamber together with the housing; and

a light source and a light guiding body, which are housed in the lighting chamber, wherein

the light guiding body comprises;

an incident surface configured to face to the light source on one end side;

an inverting portion provided on the other end side opposite to the incident surface, the light entering the light guiding body through the incident surface being guided through the light guiding body toward the inverting portion, the inverting portion configured to invert a travelling direction of light guided from the incident surface; and

a rear surface and a front surface connecting the incident surface and the inverting portion, the rear surface having reflecting portions formed therein so that the reflecting portions can totally reflect the light toward the front surface, which serves as a light exiting surface,

wherein the light guiding body is formed to be stepwisely thickened from a side of the incident surface to a side of the inverting portion, so that the rear surface has the reflecting portions at respective boundary portions where a thickness of the light guiding body is stepwisely changed, and

wherein the light emitted from the light source enters the light guiding body through the incident surface and travels through the light guiding body to the inverting portion, and is returned to the side of the incident surface by the inverting portion, and part of the returned light is reflected by each of the reflecting portions of the rear surface to be projected forward through the front surface.

6. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 5, wherein the inverting portion is subjected to a light diffusion treatment.

7. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 5, wherein the reflecting portions are subjected to light diffusion treatment.

8. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 6, wherein the reflecting portions are subjected to light diffusion treatment.

9. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 5, wherein an inner surface of the housing opposed to the light guiding body is subjected to reflection treatment.

10. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 6, wherein an inner surface of the housing opposed to the light guiding body is subjected to reflection treatment.

11. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 7, wherein an inner surface of the housing opposed to the light guiding body is subjected to reflection treatment.

12. The vehicle lighting fixture according to claim 8, wherein an inner surface of the housing opposed to the light guiding body is subjected to reflection treatment.