CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefits of Japanese application no. 2020-166974, filed on Oct. 1, 2020. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a vehicular lamp body.

Description of Related Art

In the related art, regarding vehicular lamp bodies mounted in a vehicle, a structure, in which a light source and a light guide member causing light emitted from the light source to be incident on the inside through an incident surface on one end side and guiding the light toward an emission surface on the other end side while repeating reflection inside thereof are combined, is known. In these vehicular lamp bodies, generally, it is difficult to perform positioning of an outer lens with respect to the light source. For this reason, as illustrated inFIG. 9, various technologies for causing an inner lens120to emit light and emitting the light to the outside through an outer lens110by employing a structure in which light is guided by the inner lens120provided on an inner side of the outer lens110have been proposed.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a constitution of a clearance lamp having a light source, an inner lens which guides light from the light source, a housing which surrounds the inner lens, and an inner lens cover (outer lens). The inner lens has a first light guide part that includes an incident part in which light emitted from the light source is incident on the inside thereof; and a second light guide part that includes a first reflection surface which reflects light incident from the incident part, a second reflection surface which reflects light reflected by the first reflection surface, and an emission surface which emits light reflected by the second reflection surface to the outside. According to the technology described in Patent Document 1, since the inner lens includes a light diffusion part which diffuses at least a part of light incident on any surface of the first reflection surface, the second reflection surface, and the emission surface, the inner lens can emit light while light is diffused by the inner lens.

PATENT DOCUMENTS

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2019-50132

However, as in the technology described in Patent Document 1 and the technology in the related art inFIG. 9, in a structure in which a light emission structure is provided in an inner lens disposed on an inner side of an outer lens, inner lenses serving as a plurality of light guide members are disposed inside the outer lens. Therefore, there is concern that the number of components may increase. In addition, since there is a need to dispose light guide members inside a closed space surrounded by the outer lens and a housing, the degree of freedom in design deteriorates, and therefore there is concern that it may be difficult to ensure a sufficient light emission area in a vehicular lamp body.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides a vehicular lamp body in which the degree of freedom in design can be improved and a light emission area having a sufficient size can be ensured while the number of components is reduced.

In order to resolve the foregoing problems, a vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim1(for example, a vehicular lamp body1according to a first embodiment) includes a light source (for example, a light source2according to the first embodiment) which is mounted in a vehicle, an outer lens (for example, an outer lens3according to the first embodiment) which guides light from the light source and emits the light, and a housing (for example, a housing4according to the first embodiment) which holds the outer lens. The outer lens has a lens part (for example, a lens part14according to the first embodiment) which is exposed on an outer surface of the vehicle, guides light from the light source, and emits the light to the outside; and a reflection part (for example, a reflection part13according to the first embodiment) which is integrally formed with the lens part, reflects light from the light source, and guides the light to the lens part. A light diffusion part (for example, a light diffusion part10according to the first embodiment) is formed on an inner surface (for example, an inner surface14aaccording to the first embodiment) of the lens part.

In addition, in the vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim2, the housing has a first seal part (for example, a first seal part23according to the first embodiment) which seals a space between the housing and the outer lens.

In addition, the vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim3further includes a light source cover (for example, a light source cover5according to the first embodiment) which holds the light source. The light source cover has a second seal part (for example, a second seal part32according to the first embodiment) which seals a space between the light source cover and the outer lens.

In addition, in the vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim4, a closed cross section (for example, a closed cross section29according to the first embodiment) is formed by the outer lens and the housing. The light source is disposed outside the closed cross section.

A vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim5(for example, a vehicular lamp body801according to an eighth embodiment) includes a light source (for example, a light source802according to the eighth embodiment) which is mounted in a vehicle, a daytime running lamp lens for a daytime running lamp (for example, a daytime running lamp lens803according to the eighth embodiment) which guides light from the light source and emits the light, a movable mirror (for example, a movable mirror806according to the eighth embodiment) which is provided between the light source and the daytime running lamp lens, a control unit (for example, a control unit807according to the eighth embodiment) which controls operation of the movable mirror, and a headlamp lens (for example, the headlamp lens808according to the eighth embodiment) which guides light from the light source to irradiate a side in front of the vehicle and is different from the daytime running lamp lens. The daytime running lamp lens has a lens part (for example, a lens part14according to the eighth embodiment) which is exposed on an outer surface of the vehicle, guides light from the light source, and emits the light to the outside; a reflection part (for example, a reflection part13according to the eighth embodiment) which is integrally provided with the lens part, reflects light from the light source, and guides the light to the lens part; and a light guide part (for example, a light guide part11according to the eighth embodiment) which guides light from the light source and guides the light to the reflection part. The control unit switches the movable mirror in accordance with an external environment of the vehicle between a first state (for example, a first state ST1according to the eighth embodiment) in which light from the light source is reflected toward the light guide part of the daytime running lamp lens and a second state (for example, a second state ST2according to the eighth embodiment) in which light from the light source is reflected toward the headlamp lens.

In the vehicular lamp body according to the disclosure described in claim6, the control unit switches the movable mirror to the first state when the external environment has a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined brightness and switches the movable mirror to the second state when the external environment has a brightness lower than the predetermined brightness.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim1of the disclosure, the outer lens emits light by causing the outer lens to guide light from the light source. Accordingly, since there is no need to provide an inner lens as a light guide member, compared to a technology in the related art having both an inner lens and an outer lens, the number of components can be reduced. The outer lens has the lens part which guides light from the light source and emits the light to the outside, and the reflection part which reflects light from the light source and guides the light to the lens part. Since the lens part and the reflection part are integrally formed, light can be guided and emitted by one outer lens. Thus, increase in the number of components can be better curbed. In addition, the light diffusion part is formed on the inner surface of the lens part. Accordingly, light guided to the lens part is emitted from the lens part while being diffused by the light diffusion part, and the outer lens emits light. Thus, efficiency of utilization of light can be enhanced and light can be brightly emitted over an extensive range.

Moreover, since there is no need to provide an inner lens, an extensive space on the inner side of the outer lens can be ensured. Accordingly, for example, the outer lens can be equipped with various functions by disposing other components in a space on the inner side of the outer lens, or the like. In addition, for example, the size of a light emission area in the outer lens can be easily changed by changing the area of the light diffusion part formed in the outer lens. Accordingly, compared to a technology in the related art in which the light emission area is restricted depending on the size of the inner lens, the size of the light emission area in the outer lens can be set to a desired size. Thus, while the degree of freedom in design is improved, a light emission area larger than that of a technology in the related art can be obtained.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a vehicular lamp body in which the degree of freedom in design can be improved and a light emission area having a sufficient size can be ensured while the number of components is reduced.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim2of the disclosure, the housing has the first seal part which seals a space between the housing and the outer lens. Accordingly, the housing for holding the outer lens can also have a function of sealing a space between the housing and the outer lens. Thus, compared to when a seal member is separately provided between the housing and the outer lens, the number of components can be reduced.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim3of the disclosure, the light source cover has the second seal part which seals a space between the light source cover and the outer lens. Accordingly, the light source cover for holding the light source can also have a function of sealing a space between the light source cover and the outer lens. Thus, compared to when a seal member is separately provided between the light source cover and the outer lens, the number of components can be reduced. In addition, since the light source can be reliably fixed to the outer lens serving as a light guide member, light emission defects or deterioration in brightness due to misalignment of the light source can be curbed. Therefore, the brightness can be ensured as designed, and a vehicular lamp body allowing improved visibility can be achieved.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim4of the disclosure, the closed cross section is formed by the outer lens and the housing. The light source is disposed outside the closed cross section. Accordingly, compared to when the light source is disposed inside the narrow closed cross section, the sizes and the shapes of the light source, the reflection part of the outer lens, and the like can be designed with a relatively high degree of freedom. Thus, the degree of freedom in design of the vehicular lamp body can be improved. In addition, since light can enter the outer lens from the outside, the vehicular lamp body can also be applied to a case in which one light source installed outside the closed cross section is shared, for example, by a plurality of lenses, or the like. Thus, versatility of the vehicular lamp body can be improved.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim5of the disclosure, the daytime running lamp lens includes the lens part, the reflection part, and the light guide part. Light from the light source reaches the reflection part through the light guide part, is reflected by the reflection part, and then reaches the lens part. Light guided to the lens part is emitted to the outside from the lens part. In this manner, the daytime running lamp lens emits light by causing the daytime running lamp lens to guide light from the light source. Accordingly, since there is no need to provide an inner lens inside the daytime running lamp lens, compared to a technology in the related art in which an inner lens is separately provided as a light guide member inside the daytime running lamp lens, the number of components can be reduced. In addition, since the lens part and the reflection part are integrally formed, increase in the number of components can be better curbed.

Since there is no need to provide an inner lens, an extensive space on the inner side of the daytime running lamp lens can be ensured. Accordingly, for example, the daytime running lamp lens can be equipped with various functions by disposing other components in a space on the inner side of the daytime running lamp lens, or the like. In addition, since the daytime running lamp lens exposed on the outer surface of the vehicle can serve as a light emission surface, compared to when an inner lens serves as the light emission surface, the size of the light emission surface can be increased. Thus, while the degree of freedom in design is improved, a light emission area larger than that of a technology in the related art can be obtained.

Moreover, the vehicular lamp body includes the movable mirror which is provided between the light source and the daytime running lamp lens, the control unit which controls operation of the movable mirror, and the headlamp lens. The control unit switches the movable mirror between the first state in which light from the light source is reflected toward the light guide part of the daytime running lamp lens and the second state in which light from the light source is reflected toward the headlamp lens. In the first state, the daytime running lamp comes on when light from the light source is incident on the daytime running lamp lens and the daytime running lamp lens emits light. On the other hand, in the second state, the headlight comes on, for example, when light from the light source is emitted toward the headlamp lens. The daytime running lamp is used mainly during the daytime, and the headlight is used mainly at night. For this reason, one light source can be used as both a light source for a daytime running lamp and a light source for a headlight by switching the movable mirror in accordance with the external environment of the vehicle. Accordingly, the light source can be efficiently utilized, and the number of components can be reduced compared to when a light source is individually provided for each of the lights. Particularly, since a bright light source for a headlight can be used, a sufficient brightness can be ensured even if the light source is shared. In addition, due to a structure in which light from the light source is guided and emitted by the daytime running lamp lens, compared to a technology in the related art in which an inner lens is provided as a light guide member on the inner side of the daytime running lamp lens, a constitution using the shared light source described above can be easily realized. Thus, the degree of freedom in design and versatility can be improved.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a vehicular lamp body in which the degree of freedom in design can be improved and a light emission area having a sufficient size can be ensured while the number of components is reduced.

According to the vehicular lamp body described in claim6of the disclosure, the control unit switches the movable mirror to the first state when the external environment has a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined brightness and switches the movable mirror to the second state when the external environment has a brightness lower than the predetermined brightness. In this manner, the movable mirror can be switched to the first state during the daytime, that is, the daytime running lamp can come on by switching the movable mirror in accordance with the brightness outside the vehicle. In addition, the movable mirror can be switched to the second state, that is, the headlight can come on at night. Thus, the kind of a light used automatically switches in accordance with the external environment, and it is possible to achieve a vehicular lamp body which is easy for a driver to use.

