Back to results
US 2003/0198060 A1Published application
Light source unit for vehicular lamp
AssigneeKoito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
InventorsHiroyuki Ishida, Masashi Tatsukawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeKoito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
InventorsHiroyuki Ishida, Masashi Tatsukawa
Estimating the term…
A light source unit capable of considerably reducing the size of a vehicular lamp. An LED is mounted on an optical axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle with its light output directed upward, and a reflector is provided above the LED having a first reflecting surface for collecting the light emitted by the LED and reflecting the light generally in the direction of the optical axis Ax. The first reflecting surface is formed in such a manner that a distance L in a vertical direction from the LED to the first reflecting surface is approximately 10 mm in a preferred embodiment. Consequently, the size of the reflector can be considerably reduced as compared with reflectors employed in conventional vehicular lamps. Moreover, the LED used as a light source emits little heat, the reflector can be designed without having to take into account the influence of heat generated by the light source. Furthermore, the LED can be treated substantially as a point light source so that proper reflection control can be carried out even if the size of the reflector is reduced. By mounting the LED so that its light output is directed substantially orthogonal to the optical axis Ax, moreover, it is possible to effectively utilize most of the light emitted by the LED and reflected by the first reflecting surface.
A light source unit for a vehicular lamp, comprising:
A light source unit for a vehicular lamp, comprising:
A light source unit for a vehicular lamp, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
The reflector consisting of patch like sectors: with continuity at the junction between adjacent areas
The main emission direction of the LED being angled to the optical axis of the illuminating device: the main emission direction of the LED being…
Multi-surface reflectors, e.g. reflectors with facets or reflectors with portions of different curvature: the reflector having surface portions…
Combinations of two or more separate reflectors: successively reflecting the light
Term end not estimated
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first example of a vehicular lamp which includes plural light source units constructed according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a light source unit included in the vehicular lamp of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view showing the light source unit of FIG. 1;
Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicular lamp 100 which incorporates a light source unit 10 constructed according to a first embodiment of the invention.
The lighting unit 100 is a low-beam headlamp incorporating ten light source units 10 arranged in a substantially horizontal line in a lamp housing formed by a transparent cover 102 and a lamp body 104.