US 2004/0070989 A1Published application

Vehicle lamp

AssigneeKoito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

InventorsYasuyuki Amano, Yasuo Teranishi, Hiroya Koizumi

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Abstract

A translucent member is arranged so as to cause light originating from an LED light source oriented toward the front of a lamp to enter the translucent member. Outgoing LED light that has entered the translucent member is reflected rearward by a front surface, and then the light is reflected forward by a rear surface, to thereby exit forward of the lamp from the translucent member. At that time, an area on the front surface located in the vicinity of an optical axis Ax is formed as a normal reflection section subjected to reflection surface treatment. The other area of the front surface is formed as an internal reflection section which causes the outgoing LED light to undergo internal reflection. A plurality of reflection elements are formed on the rear surface of the translucent member so as to cause the outgoing LED light reflected from the front surface to enter the internal reflection section at an incidence angle which is smaller than or equal to a critical angle.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A vehicle lamp comprising a light source oriented toward the front of the lamp, and a translucent member arranged so as to cause light leaving the light source to enter the translucent member and which is configured to reflect rearward the light that has originated from the light source and entered the translucent member by a front surface of the translucent member and then to reflect the light by a rear surface of the translucent member, to thereby exit the front of the lamp from the translucent member, wherein

an area on the front surface of the translucent member located in the vicinity of an optical axis of the light source is formed as a normal reflection section subjected to reflection surface treatment, and an area of the front surface of the translucent member other than the normal reflection section is formed as an internal reflection section which causes the outgoing light having entered the translucent member to undergo internal reflection;
and wherein
a plurality of reflection elements are formed on the rear surface of the translucent member for subjecting the outgoing light reflected from the front surface of the translucent member to reflection so as to enter the internal reflection section at an incidence angle which is smaller than or equal to a critical angle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/611,107Filed 2 Jul 2003
Priority: JP P.2002-1965954 Jul 2002
Published: 15 Apr 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

G02B 6/0036
Provided on the surface of the light guide or in the bulk of it: 2-D arrangement of prisms, protrusions, indentations or roughened surfaces
F21S 43/14
Characterised by the type of light source: light emitting diodes [LED]
F21S 43/239
Characterised by the shape of the light guide: plate-shaped
F21S 43/245
Characterised by the emission area: emitting light from one or more of its major surfaces