JP2698505B2 - Automotive headlamp - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a headlamp for automobiles provided with a measuring device for confirming whether or not the irradiation direction of the headlamp in the left-right direction, that is, the irradiation angle in the left-right direction of the lamp is at a proper position. In particular, the present invention relates to an automobile headlamp that can easily be adjusted so that the irradiation angle in the left-right direction of the headlamp is at the normal position when the headlamp is not at the normal position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A headlamp for an automobile will be described by taking a reflector movable headlamp in which a reflector is tiltably supported in a lamp body as an example. As shown in FIG. The back side of b is supported by three aiming screws c and d extending forward and backward and one swing fulcrum e. FIG. 7 is a front view of the reflector, and the aiming screws c and d each extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The aiming screws c and d are rotatably supported on the rear wall of the lamp body a, and the reflector b by the aiming screws c and d is used.
Are arranged, for example, orthogonally to the swing fulcrum d when viewed from the front of the lamp. The turning operation of the aiming screws c and d moves the reflector b to the horizontal axis L.
The illumination angle of the lamp is adjusted by tilting around the x and vertical axes Ly. Reference numeral f denotes a bulb which is a light source mounted on the reflector b.

Further, although not shown, a unit movable type headlamp in which a lamp body / reflector unit having a reflector integrally formed on an inner peripheral surface of a lamp body is supported so as to be tiltable with respect to a lamp housing is shown in FIG.
As in the case of the reflector movable type headlamp shown in FIG. 1, the lamp body / reflector unit is supported by the lamp housing by one swing fulcrum and two aiming screws. The turning angle of the aiming screw tilts the lamp body / reflector unit to adjust the irradiation angle of the lamp.

As described above, in a headlamp for an automobile,
By rotating the two aiming screws, a tilting member having a light reflecting surface for setting the irradiation direction of the lamp (a reflector for a movable headlamp, a lamp body / reflector unit for a movable headlamp. The same) is tilted in the vertical direction (around the horizontal axis) and the horizontal direction (around the vertical axis) with respect to the reference member (the lamp body for the movable reflector headlamp, the lamp housing for the movable unit headlamp; the same applies hereinafter). The irradiation angle of the lamp is adjusted.

In recent years, various proposals have been made as means for simply measuring the irradiation angle in the left-right direction of the lamp, and Japanese Patent Application No. 63-154630 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 63-983.
No. 97, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 63-121576, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-43
No. 979 is a previous proposal already filed by the same applicant as the present application. However, a series of proposals so far have a structure in which a measuring device for measuring the inclination of the tilting member in the left-right direction is installed mainly between the tilting member and the reference member, which is convenient for reading the scale of the measuring device. Thus, there is a tendency to install a measuring device at the upper position of the lamp. For this reason, there is a problem that the vertical height of the lamp becomes large and does not meet the recent demand for a lamp having a small vertical height. In particular, in a reflector movable headlamp, since the measuring device is arranged in the lamp body, there is also a problem that it is inconvenient to read the scale.

FIG. 8 shows a tilt measuring instrument disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-6726, in which a transparent case g extends rearward from a lamp body a, and penetrates the lamp body a into the case g. urging abutting slider h on the back (the side bracket) of the reflector b is housed, relative scale is attached between the rear end portion h ₁ and the case g of the slider h, the slider h case The structure is such that the amount of inclination of the reflector b in the left-right direction can be measured from the amount of displacement with respect to g. The symbol i is a compression coil spring.

However, in the structure of the measuring instrument shown in FIG. 8, a hole for inserting the slider h into the lamp body a as a reference member must be formed, and the processing is troublesome. There is also a problem that adjustment when attaching is troublesome.

[0008]

Although it has not been disclosed yet, the same applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2-334383.
No. has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 9, this inclination measuring device extends a guide member 101 on the back surface of a lamp body a, and assembles a slide case 102 which can slide back and forth in the guide member extending direction in the guide member 101. A nut 103 screwed into the aiming screw c and slidable back and forth in the slide case 102 is provided. Further, a screw 104 for zero point adjustment is interposed between the nut 103 and the slide case 102. Zero point 1 of scale 105 between 102
By matching the index 05a and the index 106 in advance, the amount of tilt of the reflector in the left-right direction is indicated as a scale indicated by the index. Zero point adjustment screw 104
Is rotated to adjust the position of the index 106 to the position of the scale zero point 105a. According to this technique, a measuring device for measuring the inclination of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction is attached to the rear projecting portion of the aiming screw from the reference member, so that a special device for disposing the measuring device is provided on the reference member. No processing is required, and the head lamp can be made thinner in the vertical direction.

However, in the inclination measuring device shown in FIG. 9 described above, since the rod-shaped guide member 101 on which the scale is formed is thin, it is necessary to fix the headlamp to the vehicle body, or to adjust the aiming or zero point. There is a risk that the guide member 101 may be damaged or broken by a driver or a spanner to be used hitting the guide member 101. Furthermore, the inclination measuring device is composed of four members, a guide member 101, a slide case 102, a nut 103, and a zero-point adjusting screw 104, and has a problem that the number of parts is large and the cost is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a head for an automobile equipped with a tilt measuring instrument having a small vertical height and a small number of components, and which is not easily damaged. It is to provide a lamp.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automobile headlamp comprising:
A tilting member having a light reflecting surface for setting the irradiation direction of the lamp, one swing fulcrum portion supported by the reference member, a left-right aiming screw that penetrates the reference member back and forth, and is supported by the reference member; A tilting member movable type that is supported at three points of the vertical aiming screw, and tilts the tilting member vertically and horizontally with respect to the reference member by rotating the aiming screw to adjust the irradiation angle of the headlamp. In the automotive headlamp, a tilt measuring device for measuring the tilt of the tilting member in the left-right direction is interposed between the reference member and the protrusion of the left-right aiming screw backward of the reference member. A nut holder fixed to the reference member and surrounding the protrusion of the left-right direction aiming screw toward the rear of the reference member; A nut member that is assembled to the holder and is slidable along front and rear grooves extending in parallel with the aiming screw extension direction formed on the nut holder, and is screwed into a protrusion of the aiming screw toward the rear of the reference member. A nut member is fixed to an upper protruding portion of the nut member from the front and rear grooves, and is formed at a predetermined position between the nut holder and the slide case for a zero point adjustment which can be slid in the front and rear direction by releasing the fixation. And a scale indicating the relative displacement between the two.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the means of the first aspect is applied to a reflector movable head lamp in which the reference member is a lamp body and the tilting member is a reflector that can tilt in the lamp body. . In the third aspect, the means of the first aspect is applied to a unit movable type headlamp in which the reference member is a lamp housing, and the tilting member is a lamp body / reflector unit in which a reflector is integrally formed on an inner peripheral surface. It is.

[0013]

[Function] When the left-right aiming screw is turned,
The tilting member tilts with respect to the reference member (tilts around the vertical axis), and the nut member slides in the front-rear direction along the nut holder. And the amount of tilt of the tilting member with respect to the reference member due to the rotation of the left / right direction aiming screw (the amount of movement of the point at which the tilting member is supported by the aiming screw along the aiming screw) is proportional to the amount of movement of the nut member with respect to the nut holder, The tilting amount of the tilting member with respect to the reference member, that is, the amount of deviation of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction is fixed to the zero-point adjustment slide case fixed to the nut member screwed to the aiming screw, and fixed to the reference member. It appears as a change in the scale between the nut holders extending rearward. Therefore, from the change in the scale, it is possible to know whether or not the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction is appropriate, and, if not, the amount of deviation. If there is a deviation, the irradiation angle may be adjusted in the left-right direction by rotating the left-right aiming screw so as to eliminate the deviation in the scale. Further, the zero point position of the scale can be easily adjusted by sliding the zero point adjusting slide case back and forth with respect to the nut member.

The inclination measuring device has a structure interposed between the reference member and a rearwardly projecting portion of the left-right aiming screw, and it is not possible to perform a drilling process for inserting the slider into the reference member. Not required at all. In addition, since the inclination measuring device is disposed behind the reference member, the height of the headlamp in the vertical direction is reduced. The tilt measuring device is composed of three members, a nut holder, a nut member, and a slide case for zero adjustment, and has a smaller number of parts than the structure proposed previously (see FIG. 9).

The inclination measuring instrument does not have a thin guide member as in the structure proposed previously (see FIG. 9), and the inclination measuring instrument may be damaged or broken by a driver or a spanner. Absent.

[0016]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a reflector movable head lamp in which a reference member is a lamp body and an inclined member is a reflector. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a reflector movable type headlamp provided with an inclination measuring device for measuring an inclination. FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the headlamp (line II-II shown in FIG. 1).
3 is a perspective view of a tilt measuring instrument for measuring the inclination of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the tilt measuring instrument, and FIG. 5 is a cross section of the tilt measuring instrument. FIG. 3 is a plan view (view from the back side of the headlamp).

In these figures, reference numeral 10 denotes a container-shaped lamp body in which a parabolic reflector 12 has two aiming screws 14 and 16 (lateral aiming screw 14, vertical aiming screw 14). Screw 16) and one ball joint 18
It is supported so that it can tilt. Screw 14,1
Numeral 6 penetrates the rear wall of the lamp body 10 and is rotatably supported at the penetrating portions. The front end of the screw is screwed to brackets 15 and 17 fitted to the back side of the reflector 12. The ball joint 18 has a structure in which a ball portion 18a projecting forward from the rear wall of the lamp body 10 is supported by a ball receiving portion 18b fitted on the back side of the reflector 12, and the nuts 15, 17 moves back and forth along the screws 14 and 16, and the reflector 12 is tilted around the horizontal axis Lx and the vertical axis Ly. Reference numeral 11 denotes a front lens, and reference numeral 13 denotes a bulb which is a light source inserted into a bulb insertion hole of the reflector 12. The left-right aiming screw 14 is disposed so as to penetrate the lamp body 10 back and forth, and a snap ring 14d attached to a constricted portion 14c of the screw shaft and a flange portion 14e formed on the shaft are cooperated. The lamp body 10 is positioned by being clamped to clamp the lamp body thick portion 10a.
It is supported by A male screw portion 14b having a pitch larger than the pitch of the screw front end male screw portion 14a is formed at the projecting portion of the aiming screw 14 rearward of the lamp body.

Reference numeral 30 is interposed between the lamp body 10 and a protrusion of the left-right aiming screw 14 rearward of the lamp body 10 to tilt the reflector 12 in the left-right direction, that is, the right and left of the irradiation angle of the headlamp. It is a first inclination measuring device for measuring inclination in a direction. Reference numeral 50 denotes a bubble tube tilt measuring device attached to the upper wall of the reflector 12, for measuring the vertical tilt of the reflector 12, that is, the vertical tilt of the irradiation angle of the headlamp. . This measuring device 50 is a device in which a straight bubble tube 52 is housed and integrated in a container-like case 51, and a vertical screw 5
By rotating the knob 3, the bubble position can be adjusted, that is, the zero point can be adjusted.

Next, details of the tilt measuring device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. A U-shaped synthetic resin nut 36 is screwed into the male screw portion 14b of the left-right direction aiming screw 14, and the nut 36 is connected to the front end flange portion 33a.
Is screw-fixed to the lamp body 10 and is slidably mounted in a nut holder 33 made of a synthetic resin having a cross section and surrounding the aiming screw 14.
An opening 3 extending forward and backward is provided on the upper surface wall of the nut holder 33.
4, a constricted portion 36 a at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of the nut 36 is engaged with a peripheral edge of the opening 34 of the nut holder 33. At the lower ends of both sides of the screw engaging recess 37 formed at the lower end of the nut 36, a pair of inner flanges 33 b extending forward and backward at the lower end of the side wall of the nut holder 33 are engaged, and along the inner flange 33 b. In order to obtain smooth sliding, the arc-shaped slide projection 38
A front and rear arm 38 having a is extended.

A pair of flange portions 33c projecting outward in the width direction are formed on the upper surface wall of the nut holder 33, and a linear scale 40 is formed on each of the flange portions 33c. Reference numeral 41a indicates a zero point on the scale. The nut 3 protruding upward from the opening 34 of the nut holder 33
6 has a rectangular cap-shaped frame-shaped slide cursor 44 formed by cutting and raising a thin metal plate.
Are fixed with screws. Reference numeral 45 denotes a cursor portion serving as an index. By reading the scale 40 on the nut holder side indicated by the cursor portion 45, the reflector 12
, Ie, the inclination of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction. Reference numeral 46 denotes a slide cursor fixing screw which passes through a long hole 47 formed in the slide cursor 44 and is screwed to the upper end surface of the nut.
6 can slide along the side. Slide cursor 4
A slide guide portion 48 that is bent and extends outward in the width direction is provided below the side surface of the slide guide portion 4.
8 slides on the smooth opening peripheral area 33 d one step lower than the flange 33 c of the nut holder 33. At this time, the cursor portion 45 of the slide cursor 44 slides on the scale forming surface of the nut holder 33.

When the aiming screw 14 is turned, the nut 36 screwed with the male screw portion 14b of the screw slides back and forth with respect to the nut holder 33, that is, the cursor portion 45 slides along the scale 40. That is, the amount of tilt of the reflector 12 appears as the amount of movement of the scale 40 at the cursor 45, and
4 is set to the zero point 41 position of the scale 40 (referred to as zero point adjustment)
The scale 4 indicated by the cursor 45
From 0, the degree of inclination of the reflector 12 (the amount of tilt in the left-right direction of the irradiation direction of the headlamp) can be known. The amount of movement of the nut 36, i.e. the relative movement amount of the scale 40 and cursor part, the pitch P ₂ of the male screw portion 14b of the aiming screw for greater than the pitch P ₁ of the male screw portion 14a,
It is P ₂ / P ₁ times the amount of tilt of the reflector 12. For this reason, the tilt of the reflector 12 is enlarged and appears on the scale, and there is an advantage that the scale can be easily read and the measurement accuracy is high.

Next, an example of a procedure for assembling the inclination measuring device 30 to a headlamp will be described. First, the nut 36 is slid into the nut holder 33, and the slide cursor 44 is attached to the protrusion 39 of the nut 36 above the holder by using elasticity. The cursor part 45 is set to the zero point 40 of the scale.
, The slide cursor 44 is screwed to the nut 36 to assemble the inclination measuring unit. Next, this inclination measuring unit is assembled to a headlamp attached to the vehicle. The nut 36 is press-fitted from above into the rear protruding portions of the left and right aiming screws 14 to easily assemble and integrate. Can be If the right and left aiming screws 14 rotate freely and the zero point shifts when the inclination measuring unit is assembled to the headlamp, the screw 46 is loosened and the slide cursor 44 is moved to adjust the zero point.

FIG. 6 shows a lamp housing as a reference member and a lamp body / reflector unit (a structure in which a reflector is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface of the lamp body, hereinafter referred to as a lamp body unit). 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a head lamp of a movable unit type. A first inclination measuring device 30 for measuring the inclination of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction is interposed between the male screw portion 14b of the left-right aiming screw 14 protruding rearward of the lamp housing 62 and the lamp housing 62. ing. Also, the lamp body unit 64
A second tilt measuring device 50 for measuring the vertical tilt of the irradiation angle of the headlamp is provided on the upper wall of the device. These first tilt measuring device 30 and second tilt measuring device 50
Is the same as that of the tilt measuring device shown in the above-mentioned reflector movable headlamp, and the description thereof will be omitted by retaining the same reference numerals. 6, reference numeral 66 denotes a bulb, and reference numeral 65 denotes a locking cap for fixing the bulb 66 to the bulb insertion hole of the lamp body unit 64.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, the tilting member (reflector for the movable headlamp, the lamp body / reflector unit for the movable headlamp, in the automotive headlamp according to the present invention. The inclination in the left-right direction with respect to the reference member of the same (the lamp body in the case of the reflector movable headlamp, the lamp housing in the case of the unit movable headlamp; the same applies hereinafter) is the inclination measurement interposed between the horizontal aiming screw and the reference member. It appears as a change in the scale of the vessel, and from this change in the scale, the amount of inclination of the tilting member in the left-right direction, that is, the amount of inclination of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction can be read.

To adjust the irradiation angle of the displaced headlamp in the left-right direction, the tilting member is tilted by rotating the left-right aiming screw so that the scale of the tilt measuring device is at a predetermined position. Adjustment can be made, and by adjusting the position of the slide case with respect to the nut, the zero point of the scale can be adjusted. Therefore, anyone can easily adjust the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left-right direction.

The tilt measuring device has a structure interposed between the reference member and a rearwardly projecting portion of the horizontal aiming screw from the reference member. Processing such as making a hole for inserting a certain slider is unnecessary. In addition, since the inclination measuring device is located behind the reference member, reading of the scale is easy, and the height of the head lamp in the vertical direction is low, so that the lamp can be made thinner. There is also an advantage that the size can be reduced.

Further, the number of components of the tilt measuring instrument is as small as three and the structure is very simple, so that the cost is low. In addition, the inclination measuring instrument has no weak parts that may be broken or damaged by a tool such as a screwdriver or a spanner, so that head lamp inspection, aiming, and other operations can be performed with confidence.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a reflector movable headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the headlamp (the line II shown in FIG. 1).
Sectional view along -II)

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a tilt measuring device for measuring a tilt of an irradiation angle in a horizontal direction of a headlamp.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the tilt measuring device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the tilt measuring instrument (view from the back of the headlamp).

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a cross section of a part of a movable head lamp according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of a reflector movable type headlamp.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional tilt measuring instrument.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lamp body which is a reference member 11 Front lens 12 Reflector which is a tilting member 14 Aiming screw for tilting and adjusting the reflector which is a tilting member in the left-right direction 16 Aiming screw for tilting and adjusting the reflector which is a tilting member in the vertical direction 18 Ball joint as a swinging fulcrum of the reflector as a tilting member 30 First tilt measuring device for measuring the tilt of the irradiation angle of the headlamp in the left and right direction 33 Slide case 40 Scale 41 Scale zero point position 44 Slide cursor as a slide case 45 Cursor part 46 Slide cursor fixing screw 50 Second inclination measuring device for measuring inclination of irradiation angle in the vertical direction of head lamp 62 Lamp housing as reference member 64 Lamp body reflector unit as tilting member L Head lamp Irradiation axis Lx horizontal axis Ly vertical axis

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-28102 (JP, A) JP-A-3-280302 (JP, A) JP-A-3-276502 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 6726 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model 4-24210 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 3-24203 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 4-96904 (JP, U)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tilting member having a light reflecting surface for setting an irradiation direction of a lamp penetrates one swinging fulcrum portion supported by a reference member and a reference member back and forth, and is supported by the reference member. It is supported at three points: the horizontal aiming screw and the vertical aiming screw. By rotating the aiming screw, the tilting member is tilted in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the reference member, and the irradiation angle of the headlamp is adjusted. A tilt measuring device for measuring the tilt of the tilting member in the left-right direction is interposed between the reference member and a protrusion of the left-right aiming screw backward of the reference member. The tilt measuring instrument is fixed to the reference member, and a nut surrounding the protrusion of the left-right direction aiming screw to the rear of the reference member is provided. A nut assembled to the nut holder, slidable along front and rear grooves formed in the nut holder and extending in parallel with the direction in which the aiming screw extends, and screwed into a projecting portion of the aiming screw toward the rear of the reference member. A member, a nut case fixed to an upper protruding portion of the nut member from the front-rear groove, and a slide case for zero-point adjustment which can be slid in the front-rear direction by releasing the fixation; and between the nut holder and the slide case. And a scale formed at a predetermined position and indicating a relative displacement between the two. 2. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the reference member is a lamp body, and the tilting member is a reflector that can tilt in the lamp body. 3. The headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the reference member is a lamp housing, and the tilting member is a lamp body / reflector unit having a reflector integrally formed on an inner peripheral surface.