Stanley Electric Co., Ltd

Other

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Takashi Akutagawa

Yoshifumi Kawaguchi

Hiroo Oyama

Go Adachi

Shinji Yamagata

Mitsunori Harada

Hitoshi Taniuchi

Yoshiaki Akiyama

Yasuaki Kaizumi

Yoshihiro Fujiyama

Motoyuki Ichihara

Hideyasu Shoji

Yosuke Tokoro

Tadanobu Abe

Junnichi Hasegawa

Tadashi Sakamoto

Tooru Ehara

A vehicle headlamp includes a light source, a reflector, a projection lens, and a shade. The shade has an upper end edge portion and a raised portion. The upper end edge portion has a projection. The reflector reflects light output from the light source in the front direction. The projection lens in front of the light source projects the light. The shade between the reflector and the projection shields a portion of the light. The upper end edge portion contributes to form the upper end line of the low beam as a cut-off line. The projection contributes to form a recession of the cut-off line recessed below a specific point in the low beam. The raised portion reflects the light having passed above the projection to illuminate an inner region of the recession.

Vehicular headlamp having particular structure of the shade

A vehicle headlight can include a projector lens, a bulb disposed in a back direction from the projector lens, and having an axis in a right-left direction, a reflector disposed to cover the bulb from behind, a shade disposed between the projector lens and the bulb, a first additional reflection surface disposed in the front direction from the bulb, and reflecting light from the bulb toward a space lying ahead of the bulb end in a bulb-axis direction. A second additional reflection surface can be disposed in the space, and reflect light from the first additional reflection surface toward the projector lens. A top end portion of the shade can be bent in the back direction to form a low-beam cutoff line with back end edge. The first additional reflection surface can be disposed lower than the top end portion and in the front direction from the back end edge.

Vehicle headlight

A projector headlight for a low beam can include a light source, an ellipsoidal reflector, a projector lens and a shade. Light emitted from the light source can form a fundamental light distribution pattern from the projector lens via the ellipsoidal reflector by shielding an upward portion of the light with the shade. The shade can form a blurred part on a horizontal cut-off line using a radiused R surface between a top and front edge lines of the shade. Therefore, a contrasting difference between the upper and lower sides of the horizontal cut-off line can be reduced so as to be able to conform to a light distribution standard for a headlight. The R surface can be configured with a reflex surface or a non-reflex surface to match the light source. Thus, the projector headlight can perform a favorable light distribution pattern utilizing a simple structure.

A vehicle light and a road illumination device can include a semiconductor light emitting device capable of forming a luminance distribution where the light with a maximum value can be arranged at or near a light distribution cutoff line, thereby improving its light utilization efficiency. The vehicle light can include a semiconductor light emitting device including a semiconductor light emitting element and a wavelength conversion layer having a thickness-decreased portion that is formed substantially at a center line of the semiconductor light emitting element and extending to one end thereof so that the thickness is reduced from the center portion toward the one end. A projection optical system for forming a cutoff line can be configured to project a plurality of light source images each including an image portion corresponding to the thickness-decreased portion at its upper area, and to arrange the image portions in at least one of a horizontal direction and an oblique direction.

Vehicle light and road illumination device

A conventional projector headlamp has low efficiency because an amount of light is shaded almost half by a shutter for a low-beam light distribution. In addition, only a projection lens is seen in the installed condition, inviting old-fashioned designs disadvantageously. In a projector headlamp ( ) of the invention, a vertical section passing through the center of a projection lens ( ) includes a convex front surface and a flat rear surface ( ). A line connecting the upper end to the lower end on the rear surface ( ) is tilted to the vertical. Thus, the projection lens ( ) has a prismatic action for directing the entire light downward. This is effective to reduce an amount of light to be shaded by a shutter ( ) and provide improved brightness and novel designed appearances.

Projector headlamp

A vehicle light can include a multi-reflex optical system having a light source, a first reflecting surface system and a second reflecting surface system. The first reflecting surface system can include a parabolic group reflecting surface, an ellipse group reflecting surface or combination thereof. The second reflecting surface system can include an ellipse group reflecting surface having a first focus located approximately on the light source and a second focus. The ellipse group reflecting surface can be located such that it covers the front of the light source and collects light rays emitted from the light source directed to its second focus. The second reflecting surface system can include a parabolic group reflecting surface having a focus in the vicinity of the second focus of the ellipse group reflecting surface, and an adjusting reflecting plate located in the vicinity of the second focus of the ellipse group reflecting surface. The second focus of the ellipse group reflecting surface of the second reflecting surface system can be located away from and either above or below the first reflecting surface system. The overall shape of the vehicle light can be substantially T-shaped or L-shaped.

Vehicle lamp

A vehicle lamp can include a tube-like lamp element that has an aperture, a reflector having a focus located approximately at the aperture, and a front lens. The lamp can be disposed in a vehicle body space that has a small width from the front view and a small depth from a side view of the vehicle body. A blind or shade is not necessary to cover non-aesthetic portions of the lamp. The lamp can be tube-like in shape and can include an optical system that has at least two ellipse group reflecting surfaces that are combined to form a multi-reflex optical system. An aperture can be formed by the reflecting surfaces to allow light rays to be guided outside of the lamp. A light source is preferably located on a common first focus of the at least two ellipse group reflecting surfaces. One of the ellipse group reflecting surfaces can have a longer focal distance than, and a different longitudinal direction from, those of other ellipse group reflecting surface(s). An inner reflecting surface portion can be provided on a first of the ellipse group reflecting surfaces for directing light rays, which were traveling towards a second focus of a second of the ellipse group reflecting surfaces, towards the second focus of the first ellipse group reflecting surface(s), thereby forming a complex second focus of the lamp. The aperture is preferably located around the complex second focus.

A lamp having a multi-reflex optical system can include a first ellipse group reflector and a third ellipse group reflector each sharing one light source at a first focal point, with a second focal point of the first reflector being above its first focal point and a second focal point of the third reflector being positioned below its first focal point. A parabolic group second reflector can be positioned above the first reflector and can have a focal point located at the second focal point of the first reflector. A parabolic group fourth reflector can be positioned below the third reflector and can have a focus at the second focal point of the third reflector. Light from the light source that is converged by the ellipse group first reflector and third reflector is then supplied to the parabolic group second and fourth reflectors to provide a bright oblong headlamp.

Vehicle headlamp having multi-reflex optical system

A vehicle light can include a light source, at least one first elliptic group reflecting surface shaped as half of an elliptical surface (after either an upper or lower substantial half of the substantial ellipse is cut-off). The first elliptic group reflecting surface can have its longitudinal axis on an optical axis of the vehicle light, and a first focus located in the vicinity of the light source. Two second elliptic group reflecting surfaces can be provided that are shaped as substantial halves of elliptical surfaces (after either upper or lower substantial halves of substantial ellipses are cut-off). The second elliptic group reflecting surfaces can have longitudinal axes that are substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the vehicle light, and their first foci can be located in the vicinity of the light source. Two third parabolic group reflecting surfaces can each have its optical axis oriented in a direction that is substantially the same as the direction of the optical axis of the vehicle lamp, and can have foci located in the vicinity of the second focus of each of the second elliptic group reflecting surfaces.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Takashi Akutagawa