Patent Application
20180079357
This invention relates to an illumination device for a vehicle and a cup holder.
Interior parts such as a cup holder are provided inside an interior of a vehicle such as an automobile (see, Patent Literature 1, for example).
An illumination device (illumination device for vehicle) is attached to the interior part such as the cup holder to illuminate an inside of the interior part. This illumination device includes a light guide body that guides light from a light source. It has been considered to set and adjust an illumination condition and an illumination effect with a light shielding member provided in an upper portion (outer surface) of the light guide body to cover the light guide body.
Patent Literature 1: JP2002-120630A
When the light shielding member is provided above the light guide body, the light from the light source entering the light guide body may be disturbed by the light shielding member. For this reason, it is necessary to well design a light entrance portion.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problem.
To achieve the above object, the present disclosure provide an illumination device for a vehicle, including a light guide body having a light entrance hole from which light from a light source enters and an emission portion that emits the light entered from the light entrance hole toward an outer surface from a position of an outer rim part, a light shielding member that covers the outer surface of the light guide body except the emission portion, and a light entrance member disposed in the light entrance hole to reflect the light from the light source toward the emission portion.
According to the present invention, the light entering the light guide body can be prevented from being disturbed by the light shielding member.
Hereinafter, an embodiment is described with reference to the drawings.
A configuration of the embodiment is described below.
An interior part such as a cup holder 1 as illustrated in the perspective view of
The cup holder 1 includes two containers in which the two drink containers 4 are housed in parallel, respectively. This cup holder 1 is provided in a center console disposed between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat. A movable flap 7 capable of pressing and holding a side surface of the drink container 4 is attached to the side wall 3 of the cup holder main body 5 to be movable in the projection direction and a direction opposite to the projection direction. The movable flap 7 is biased in a projecting direction by a not-shown biasing device. However, the configuration of the cup holder 1 is not limited to the above configuration.
An illumination device 10 (illumination device for vehicle) is attached to the interior part such as the cup holder 1 to illuminate an inside of the cup holder 1. Although the interior part to which such an illumination device 10 is attached is not limited to the cup holder 1, this embodiment describes an example in which the illumination device 10 is attached to the cup holder 1.
(1) As illustrated in
The illumination device 10 is preferably attached to an illumination attachment portion (bottom part of cup holder main body 5) including two surfaces (for example, bottom 2 and side wall 3) each having a different angle to cover a first surface (bottom 2) with the light shielding member 19. With this configuration, indirect illumination (in this case, illumination from bottom) which forms a band of the light 13 (refer to illumination light 13a in
For example, an LED is used for the light source 12. It is preferable to provide the light source 12 in the center of the light guide body 11 or around the center of the light guide body 11 to equally disperse the light 13. The light source 12 is attached to a base plate 12a to be housed in a base plate casing 12b.
The light entrance hole 14 is positioned approximately above the light source 12. In this case, the light entrance hole 14 is provided inside the light guide body 11, for example, in the center of the light guide body 11. An opening 21 (refer to
The emission portion 17 is formed in the end part of the light guide body 11 which is not covered by the light shielding member 19 attached to the light guide body 11. In this case, the emission portion 17 projects upward from the end part of the outer surface of the light guide body 11 and the emission portion 17 is continuously provided along the end part of the outer surface of the light guide body 11. A reflection portion 16 that reflects light toward the emission portion 17 is formed in the light guide body 11. The reflection portion 16 is positioned under the emission portion 17 (end part of bottom of light guide body 11). The reflection portion 16 is formed by chamfering the end part of the light guide body 11. The chamfered reflection portion 16 is provided to reflect the light 13 from the light source 12 at an incident angle of 39° to 67.5°.
A light diffusion portion 18 that diffuses the emitting illumination light 13a to be equalized is provided on the surface of the emission portion 17. The light diffusion portion 18 includes fine asperities such as a grain pattern.
The light guide body 11 is an approximate flat plate made of transparent resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate. The light guide body 11 is formed in accordance with the shape of the illumination attachment portion (bottom part of cup holder main body 5). In this case, as illustrated in
The light shielding member 19 is made of, for example, dark elastomer and resin to be opaque. The light shielding member 19 has a predetermined thickness which is the same as the projection height of the emission portion 17 or a height slightly lower than that. The light shielding member 19 is slightly smaller than the light guide body 11 by the width of the emission portion 17. In addition, the light shielding member 19 does not exist inside the light entrance hole 14.
The light entrance member 15 is made of transparent resin, and is formed separately from the light guide body 11. The light entrance member 15 is inserted into the light entrance hole 14 from the downside or the side. A concave reflection portion 15a having an inversed conical shape is formed in the center part of the light entrance member 15. The reflection portion 15a of the inversed conical shape has a tapered surface which radially diffuses the light 13 along the surface of the light guide body 11. The reflection portion 15a is formed such that the axis line thereof is aligned with the optical axis of the light source 12.
(2) The light entrance member 15 is integrally formed with a light source protection cover 15b covering the surface of the light source 12.
The light source protection cover 15b is attached to the top surface of the base plate casing 12b. In this case, the light source protection cover 15b is made of transparent resin. The light entrance member 15 is integrally formed with the outer surface of the light source protection cover 15b. The light entrance member 15 projects upward from the light source protection cover 15b to the light entrance hole 14. The projection light entrance member 15 has an approximate cylindrical shape concentric to the light entrance reflection portion 15a of the inversed conical shape. The cylindrical light entrance member 15 may have a tapered shape.
(3) The light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 are integrally formed (integrated member 51).
The light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 are integrally formed by two-color molding or insert molding. In this case, the two-color molding is to mold the light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 in turn with one molding machine. The insert molding is to mold the light shielding member 19 integrally with the light guide body 11 by inserting the previously manufactured light guide body 11 into a molding die. The insert molding is also to mold the light shielding member 19 integrally with the light guide body 11 by attaching a molding die for molding the light shielding member 19 to a molding die for molding the light guide body 11. In addition, the light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 can be integrated by bonding them.
(4) As described above, the illumination device 10 is provided in the cup holder main body 5 of a container having the bottom 2 and the side wall 3 and capable of housing the drink container 4 such that the bottom 2 is covered by the light shielding member 19. The cup holder 1 is thereby configured.
As described above, the illumination device 10 is provided in the bottom 2 of the cup holder main body 5 to illuminate the side wall 3. However, the illumination device 10 may be provided in the side wall 3 of the cup holder main body 5 to illuminate the bottom 2.
(5) As illustrated in
In this case, the anti-dust height 31 is defined based on a relationship with the thickness of the light shielding member 19. More specifically, the anti-dust proof height 31 is set to a height which is the same as the thickness of the light shielding member 19 or a projection height slightly higher than that. In this case, the anti-dust proof height 31 is set to a height higher than the surface of the light shielding member 19 by 0 to 1 mm, preferably, about 0.5 mm. The end portion of the emission portion 17 on the side close to the light shielding member 19 may be chamfered (chamfered portion 32) if necessary.
(6) The emission portion 17 has an emission width 41 for illuminating the side wall, such that the emitted light 13 illuminates the side wall 3 of the cup holder main body 5 from the bottom.
In this case, as illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.
(1) The light entrance member 15 is provided separately from the light guide body 11. As the light entrance member 15 is thereby separated from the light shielding member 19, the light entrance to the light guide body 11 by the light entrance member 15 is prevented from being disturbed by the light shielding member 19. The light entrance member 15 which is the most important for the light entrance is thereby most appropriately formed, and the light can be effectively guided to the emission portion 17 of the light guide body 11 by the light entrance member 15.
(2) The light entrance member 15 is integrally formed with the light source protection cover 15b. The condensation of the light source 12 can be prevented by covering the surface of the light source 12 with the light source protection cover 15b. The light source protection cover 15b can be used as the light entrance member 15 by integrating the light entrance member 15 and the light source protection cover 15b. Thus, the number of components can be reduced to rationalize the structure.
(3) The light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 are integrally molded.
The number of components and the number of assembling steps can be thereby reduced, so that the costs for the components and the manufacturing costs can be also reduced. The accuracy of the combination of the light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 and the accuracy of the emission portion 17 (width) can be improved to further equally illuminate with high quality.
When the light guide body 11 and the light shielding member 19 are integrally molded, the light shielding member 19 is molded after the light guide body 11 is molded. In this case, the surface of the light guide body 11 is roughed by melting resin of the light shielding member 19 to be molded after the light guide body 11. When the light entrance member 15 is integrally provided in the light guide body 11, the light 13 from the light source 12 is diffusely reflected by the roughness of the surface of the light entrance member 15 which is the most important for the light entrance, and may not be effectively reflected to the emission portion 17. On the other hand, as described above, the light guide body 11 and the light entrance member 15 are separately provided, and the light guide body 11 is only integrally molded with the light shielding member 19, so that the light entrance member 15 is prevented from being roughed, and the light 13 from the light source 12 toward the emission portion 17 can be effectively reflected.
(4) The illumination device 10 is provided in the cup holder. The illumination device 10 can therefore illuminate the cup holder. Hereinafter, the specific effect of the illumination device 10 provided in the cup holder is described.
At first, the drink container 4 is placed in the cup holder main body 5 having the bottom 2 and the side wall 3 from the above, so that the cup holder 1 houses the drink container 4.
The transparent light guide body 11 is provided in the cup holder main body 5 to cover the bottom 2. With this configuration, the light 13 from the light source 12 passes through the light entrance member 15 when the light source 12 lights up. Then, the light is reflected by the reflection portion 15a, and enters the light guide body 11 from the light entrance hole 14. After that, the light is reflected, in the light guide body 11, toward the outer circumference of the bottom 2 of the cup holder main body 5, and is reflected upward by the reflection portion 16 in the outer circumference part. Then, the light is emitted upward along the outer rim part of the bottom 2 of the cup holder main body 5 from the emission portion 17.
The inside of the cup holder 1 can be thereby illuminated. Therefore, the border between the side wall 3 and the bottom 2 and the shape of the side wall 3 can be easily recognized. As the position of the cup holder main body 5 can be easily recognized, the drink container 4 can be easily placed in the cup holder main body 5 and also can be easily taken out from the cup holder main body 5. When the drink container 4 and drink are transparent, these can be illuminated.
In this case, the light diffusion portion 18 is provided on the surface of the emission portion 17. The illumination light 13a emitted from the emission portion 17 is diffused to equalize the illumination. As a result, the illumination can be improved.
The light shielding member 19 that covers the light guide body 11 except the emission portion 17 is provided above the light guide body 11. With this configuration, the illumination can be performed along the border between the side wall 3 and the bottom 2 without illuminating the entire surface of the bottom 2. As a result, the illumination effect can be improved.
As the drink container 4 usually has a tapered shape, the drink container 4 is placed on the light shielding member 19, and the emission portion 17 and the light diffusion portion 18 are disposed along the border (corner portion) between the side wall 3 and the bottom 2 of the cup holder main body 5 to avoid the bottom of the drink container 4. Therefore, the abrasion of the light diffusion portion 18 due to the friction of the drink container 4 can be reduced or prevented.
(5) The emission portion 17 includes the anti-dust height 31 that is the same height as the surface of the light shielding member 19 or higher than that. For example, when the emission portion 17 is lower than the surface of the light shielding member 19, foreign matters such as dust dropped from the bottom of the drink container 4 move above the emission portion 17 which may disturb the effect of the equalization of the illumination light 13a. On the other hand, when the emission portion 17 is higher than the surface of the light shielding member 19, the foreign maters such as dust do not move above the emission portion 17 even when the foreign matters such as dust dropped from the bottom of the drink container 4 remain on the light shielding member 19. As a result, the equalization effect of the illumination light 13a can be maintained for a long period of time.
(6) The emission portion 17 is set to the emission width 41 for illuminating the side wall. The side wall 3 of the cup holder main body 5 is illuminated from the bottom by the light 13 emitted from the emission portion 17. As the side wall 3 is thereby illuminated by the surface, the illumination can be easily recognized from the outside, and three-dimensional illumination can be achieved. As the coating of the light 13 in which the light volume gradually reduces upward, a mysterious and high-class illumination effect such as aurora can be achieved. In addition, when the emission portion 17 is set to be wider than the emission width 41, the illumination to the side wall 3 is weakened, and the illumination is changed to the planar illumination in which the contour of the bottom 2 is only highlighted. For this reason, the effect of positively illuminating a wider area of the side wall 3 with the surface cannot be achieved. The three-dimensional illumination and high-class illumination cannot be obtained. In addition, the emission width 41 is set to about 1 mm.
While the embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the embodiment is only illustrative and exemplary of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the configurations of the embodiment. It will be appreciated that any design change and the like that do not depart from the gist should be included in the invention. It is to be understood that, when multiple configurations are incorporated in each of the embodiment, for example, possible combinations of these configurations are included in the invention without any particular description. It should further be understood that, when multiple embodiments and modifications are disclosed as those of the invention, any possible combinations of configurations among these embodiments and modifications are considered to be included in the invention without any particular description. Moreover, configurations disclosed in the drawings are naturally considered to be included in the invention without any particular description. Further, the term “and/or the like (such as)” is used to indicate that any equivalent is also included. Also, when such a term as “substantially”, “about”, or “approximately” is used, this means that a value or the like within a range or accuracy which is reasonably acceptable is also included.
The present application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-083481, filed on Apr. 15, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-083481 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/061010 | 4/4/2016 | WO | 00 |
