JPH0992007A - Vehicular fog lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a pair of right and left fog lamps placed at the front end of a vehicle to have sufficient performance in distributing light as such if their reflectors are made of a resin and have reflecting surfaces asymmetrical with respect to their optical axes. SOLUTION: Of a plurality of lens steps formed on the portions of lens surfaces which are located in front of reflecting surfaces 18, lens steps 54A for forming hot zones are not formed at the same position (relative positions obtained through parallel translation) on right and left fog lamps 10R, 10L, but are formed ahead of a reflecting surface area (area with a larger projected area along the direction of an optical axis) inside its optical axis Ax along the direction of vehicle width, respectively. In that case, the lens steps are formed in symmetrical relative positions, each in front of a position that is on the side of the optical axis Ax and is approximately halfway between the optical axis Ax and the outer periphery of the reflecting surface 18, while avoiding some of projections molded integrally with the back of a reflector. Therefore, by means of light reflected from positions appropriate for hot zone formation, the hot zones can be formed in positions on the reflecting surfaces 18 where surface accuracy is excellent with no recesses formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pair of left and right fog lamps arranged at the front end of a vehicle, and in particular, the reflecting mirrors of each fog lamp are made of resin, and the reflecting surfaces thereof are asymmetrical with respect to the optical axis of the reflecting mirror. The present invention relates to a fog lamp for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vehicular lamps have been increasingly flash-surfaced with a vehicle body, and a pair of left and right fog lamps arranged at the front end of the vehicle are often formed in line with the vehicle body design line. In such a case, in each fog lamp, the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror has to be a left-right asymmetrical shape in which the projected area in the optical axis direction is different on the left and right of the reflecting mirror optical axis extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. You may not get it.

On the other hand, in the fog lamp, a lens step for horizontal diffusion and a lens step for forming a hot zone are formed on the lens surface, and the formation position of the lens step for forming the hot zone is on the light distribution design work. From the viewpoint of simplification, etc., generally, the left and right fog lamps are set to the same position (positional relationship of parallel movement).

[0004]

However, since the reflecting mirror of a fog lamp generally has a small reflecting surface area, when the reflecting mirror has a left-right asymmetrical reflecting surface as described above, it is hot on the lens surface. It is not easy to set the position suitable for zone formation to the same position with the left and right fog lamps. In particular, when the reflecting mirror is made of resin, the surface accuracy will be reduced at some points of the reflecting surface due to sink marks generated during molding, so in order to ensure the light distribution performance as a fog lamp When setting the hot zone formation position, it is necessary to avoid the position in front of the sink point of the reflecting surface, and therefore, it is possible to set the position suitable for hot zone formation on the lens surface to the same position with the left and right fog lamps. There is a problem that it becomes more difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when the reflecting mirror is made of resin and its reflecting surface is asymmetrical with respect to the optical axis of the reflecting mirror, sufficient light distribution as a fog lamp is achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide a fog lamp for a vehicle that can obtain high performance.

[0006]

According to the invention of the present application, the formation positions on the lens surface of the hot zone forming lens step are not set to the same position by the left and right fog lamps.
Each fog lamp is designed to achieve the above-mentioned object by setting it in front of the reflection surface area having a larger projected area in the optical axis direction out of the reflection surface areas on both the left and right sides of the reflection mirror optical axis.

That is, the present invention provides a pair of left and right fog lamps arranged at the front end portion of a vehicle, as described in claim 1, wherein each fog lamp is a bulb and an optical axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. And a resin-made reflecting mirror having a reflecting surface having different projected areas in the optical axis direction on the left and right of the optical axis and reflecting the light from the bulb forward, and a lens surface arranged in front of the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror. And a lens having a horizontal diffusion lens step and a hot zone forming lens step formed on the lens surface, wherein the hot zone forming lens step is the optical axis It is characterized in that it is formed in front of the reflection surface area having the larger projected area in the optical axis direction out of the left and right reflection surface areas.

The "hot zone forming lens step" in each of the fog lamps is formed in front of the reflection surface area having a larger projected area in the optical axis direction out of the reflection surface areas on the left and right sides of the reflection mirror optical axis. If so, the formation position is not particularly limited, and the formation position may be set so as to be bilaterally symmetrical between the pair of left and right fog lamps, or they are in a positional relationship independent of each other. May be set as follows.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, in each of the pair of left and right fog lamps, the lens step for forming the hot zone on the lens surface is the optical axis in the reflection surface area on both the left and right sides of the optical axis. Since it is formed in front of the reflecting surface area with the larger directional projection area, even if the reflecting mirror has a reflecting surface with a left-right asymmetrical shape with respect to its optical axis, It is possible to easily find a position suitable for forming a hot zone in either the left or right fog lamp. In particular, since the reflector is generally a left-right symmetrical fog lamp,
Since the shape of the reflective surface and the sink mark on the resin reflector are also symmetrical between the left and right fog lamps, it is easy to set the position suitable for hot zone formation on the lens surface to the symmetrical position with the left and right fog lamps. .

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a sufficient light distribution performance as a fog lamp even when the reflecting mirror is made of resin and its reflecting surface is asymmetric with respect to the optical axis of the reflecting mirror.

By the way, in the resin reflecting mirror, the valve mounting portion is often formed integrally with the reflecting mirror around the valve insertion hole formed in the rear top portion of the reflecting mirror. As described above, if the cylindrical wall surrounding the valve mounting portion is integrally formed with the reflecting mirror around the valve mounting portion, the socket that covers the valve and the valve mounting portion on the cylindrical wall is provided. Although it is easy to attach a cover or the like, on the other hand, when the valve mounting portion and the tubular wall are integrally formed with the reflecting mirror in this way, sink marks are likely to occur in the front reflecting surface area. Therefore, it is more effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention.

When the projection is formed integrally with the reflecting mirror on the back surface of the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror, a sink mark is generated in the reflecting surface area in front of the projecting portion. Since it becomes easier, it becomes more effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention. The “protrusion” mentioned here includes the valve mounting portion and the tubular wall according to claim 2, but other specific examples include a reflector supporting boss, an aiming bracket, a ventilation hole boss, and the like. .

When the projection is formed integrally with the reflection mirror on the back surface of the reflection surface of the reflection mirror, as described in claim 4, a meat-thief hole is formed in the front portion of the projection on the reflection surface. If the structure is formed, it is possible to make the thickness of the projection forming portion of the reflecting mirror uniform, so that the portion of the reflecting surface where the meat stealing hole is formed becomes a loss as a reflecting surface,
Since a reflection surface with relatively high surface accuracy in which sink marks are suppressed can be obtained in the peripheral portion of the meat theft hole, it is possible to widen the selectable range when selecting a position suitable for forming the hot zone on the lens surface.

Since the radiant heat from the bulb causes the temperature in the vicinity of the bulb insertion hole, which is a short distance from the bulb, in the reflecting mirror to be high, thermal deformation may occur depending on the type of resin constituting the reflecting mirror. As described in item 5, if a shade is attached to the reflecting mirror to prevent light from entering the region of the reflecting surface in the vicinity of the bulb insertion hole, even if the resin has a relatively low heat resistance, It becomes possible to configure.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a vehicle fog lamp according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a II-I of FIG.
1 is a sectional view taken along line I, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1, and FIG.
IV direction arrow view of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a V direction arrow view of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fog lamp according to this embodiment is a pair of left and right fog lamps 10L and 10R arranged at the front end of the vehicle. These fog lights 1
0L and 10R have a bilaterally symmetrical structure except for a part of the lens steps of the lens 12, as described later. Therefore, first, the configuration of the fog lamp 10R on the right side will be described by taking it.

As shown in FIGS. 2-6, the fog lamp 10
R is a lamp equipped with a so-called unit-moving type aiming mechanism, and includes a lens 12, a reflecting mirror 14, and a bulb 16.
And is provided.

The lens 12 is made of resin (polycarbonate) and its base end is ultrasonically welded to the reflecting mirror 14 over the entire circumference.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lens surface of the lens 12 is inclined vertically (inclined downward) so that the upper portion is located in front of the lower portion, and as shown in FIG. The vehicle width direction outer end (right end) is inclined rearward so that the vehicle width direction outer end (right end) is located rearward of the vehicle width direction inner end (left end). 2 and 3, the thick member 102 surrounding the fog lamp 10R is a bumper cover, and the thin member 1 disposed below and inside the vehicle width direction.
Reference numeral 04 denotes a vehicle body side panel, and a structure 106 shown in the upper rear portion thereof is a washer tank.

The reflecting mirror 14 is a resin (polycarbonate) reflecting mirror and has a paraboloid of revolution whose axis extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is an optical axis Ax so as to reflect the light from the bulb 16 forward. It has a reflecting surface 18 made of. As shown in FIG. 1A, the reflecting surface 18 has a circular contour when viewed from the front of the lamp, but the optical axis Ax is obliquely lower right with respect to the center O of the circle (when viewed from the front of the lamp). It is deviated to the left diagonally downward). Therefore, the reflecting surface 18 has an optical axis Ax.
The projection areas in the optical axis direction are different on the top, bottom, left and right. That is, the projected area in the optical axis direction is wider above the lower side of the optical axis Ax and inside the vehicle width direction than outside the optical axis Ax.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reflector 1
A valve insertion hole 14a is formed at the rear top of the valve 4, and a valve mounting portion 20 is integrally formed with the reflecting mirror 14 around the valve insertion hole 14a. Further, a cylindrical wall 22 surrounding the bulb mounting portion 20 is formed integrally with the reflecting mirror 14 around the bulb mounting portion 20.

The bulb 16 is a so-called C-6 type halogen bulb, and its filament is positioned at the focal point F of the reflecting mirror 14, and the reflecting mirror 14 of the reflecting mirror 14 is inserted through the bulb base 24 and the adapter 26. It is attached to the valve attachment portion 20. In addition, the reflecting mirror 14
On the cylindrical wall 22 of the valve 16 and the valve mounting portion 20
A socket cover 52 for covering is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, on the rear surface of the reflecting surface 18 of the reflecting mirror 14, some projections are integrated with the reflecting mirror 14 in addition to the valve mounting portion 20 and the cylindrical wall 22. Has been formed.

That is, the reflecting mirror support bosses 28 and 30 are formed on the upper left and right two places of the reflecting mirror 14, and the aiming bracket 32 is formed on the lower one place of the reflecting mirror 14. Just below the support boss 28,
Ventilation hole bosses 34 are formed.

Each of the reflecting mirror support bosses 28, 30 has upper bulging portions 28a, 30a formed at the tips of legs extending in all directions. The upper bulging portions 28a, 30a have pivot bearings 36, 38 is inset. The pivot bearings 36 and 38 are fixed to the bumper cover 102, whereby the fog lamp 10R is attached to the bumper cover 102 so as to be vertically tiltable.

Further, the aiming bracket 32 is
It is formed in a box shape with one side open, and a self-locking nut 40 is fitted in an opening formed at the tip of the box. An aiming screw 42 is screwed into the self-locking nut 40, a spherical bearing of the aiming screw 42 is fitted with a pivot bearing 46, and an aiming gear 44 is fixed near the spherical tip. Has been done. The pivot bearing 46 is attached to the bumper cover 102.
Is to be fixed. The aiming gear 4
By rotating 4 with a driver 108, the reflecting mirror 1
4 can be tilted vertically about a horizontal axis connecting the reflecting mirror support bosses 28 and 30.

The ventilation hole boss 34 is formed with a small diameter on the front end side, and a tube 50 is fitted to the front end with the membrane filter 48 covered. The ventilation hole boss 34 is formed with a ventilation hole 34 a that communicates with the space in front of the reflecting surface 18 of the reflecting mirror 14.

FIG. 7A shows the right fog lamp 10R.
It is a front view which shows the reflecting mirror 14 of this as a single item.

As shown in this figure, the valve mounting portion 20
Is formed in a ring shape on the peripheral portion of the valve insertion hole 14a, and two upper and lower portions thereof are formed in a block shape and are connected to the cylindrical wall 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the adapter 2 is formed in the block-shaped portion.
6 is fixed to the valve mounting portion 20 with screws. In order to fix this with screws, holes 2 are provided in the block-shaped part.
Although a hole 0a is formed, a hole 20b for thinning the thickness of the block-shaped portion is formed in the vicinity of the hole 20a from the reflecting surface 18 side so as to make the thickness uniform.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the fog lamp 1
The lens 12 of 0R is formed with a plurality of lens steps divided into strip-shaped segments in four rows above and below. Among these plural lens steps, the lens step formed in the shaded segment is the hot zone forming lens step 54A, and the other lens steps are all horizontal diffusion lens steps 54B.
It is. The horizontal cross-sectional shape of these lens steps 54A and 54B is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
As shown in (a), the lens step 54A for forming the hot zone is set to have a thick prism shape on the left side, and the horizontal diffusion lens step 54B is set to have a concave lens shape.

Lens 5 for forming the hot zone
4A shows a reflection surface 1 as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG.
It is formed in front of the reflection surface area having a larger projected area in the optical axis direction (that is, the reflection surface area on the inner side in the vehicle width direction) of the reflection surface areas on the left and right sides of the optical axis Ax in FIG. Lens 5 for forming a hot zone in this reflection surface area
Regarding the formation position of 4A, a substantially central position between the optical axis Ax on the side of the optical axis Ax and the outer peripheral edge of the reflecting surface 18 is preferable as a portion suitable for forming a hot zone on the reflecting surface 18, and is formed on the back surface portion. The positions avoiding the front portions of some of the protrusions (shown by broken lines in the figure) are preferable as the portions having no sink mark on the reflecting surface 18 and excellent in surface accuracy, and thus are set to the positions shown in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the lens 12 of the left fog lamp 10L is also segmented similarly to the lens 12 of the right fog lamp 10R, and its hot zone forming lens step 54 is performed.
The segment in which A is formed is also set at a position symmetrical to that of the right fog lamp 10R, as shown by hatching. As a matter of course, this position is shown in FIG.
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.

However, regarding the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the hot zone forming lens step 54A, in the case of the left light distribution fog lamp, the reflected light from the reflecting mirror 14 is moved slightly to the left (right distribution) with respect to the optical axis Ax direction. In the case of the light fog lamp, it is necessary to turn the hot zone toward the right to form the hot zone. Therefore, in the present embodiment employing the left light fog lamp, as shown in FIG. Lens step 54A for forming hot zone of fog lamp 10L
Is not symmetrical to the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the hot-zone forming lens step 54A of the right fog lamp 10R, but is a cross-sectional shape obtained by translating the same.

FIG. 9 shows left and right fog lamps 10L, 1
It is a figure which shows the light distribution pattern formed by 0R.

A light distribution pattern P shown by hatching in the figure
(A) is a light distribution pattern formed by the light transmitted through the hot zone forming lens step 54A, and the light distribution pattern P (B) is a horizontal diffusion lens step 54B.
3 is a light distribution pattern formed by light that has passed through. Further, the light distribution patterns P (A) ′, P shown by the broken lines in the figure
(B) ′ is a light distribution pattern in a state where the lens 12 is not attached, and the light distribution pattern by the reflected light from the portion 54A indicated by the chain double-dashed line on the reflecting surface 18 of the reflecting mirror 14 shown in FIG. ) ', And the light distribution pattern due to the reflected light from other portions is P (B)'.

As described above in detail, the pair of right and left fog lamps 10L, 10R according to the present embodiment each have the resin-made reflecting mirror 14, and the reflecting surface 18 thereof is the reflecting mirror 1.
The shape of the hot zone forming lens step 54A on the lens surface of each fog lamp 10L, 10R is asymmetric with respect to the optical axis Ax of FIG. Since it is set in front of the reflecting surface area having the larger directional projection area, it is possible to easily find a position suitable for forming the hot zone on the lens surface in either the left or right fog lamp. Then, actually, the hot zone forming lens step 54A is formed at such a position.

That is, as shown in FIG.
The left and right fog lamps 10L and 10R have a symmetrical structure, and the shape of the reflecting surface 18 and the location of the sink mark are also symmetrical between the left and right fog lamps 10L and 10R, but in the present embodiment, the reflecting surface 18 has a rear surface portion. The optical axis Ax is avoided while avoiding the front portions of some of the formed projections (the bulb mounting portion 20, the tubular wall 22, the reflector supporting bosses 28 and 30, the aiming bracket 32, and the ventilation hole boss 34).
Since the lens step 54A for forming a hot zone is formed in front of a substantially central position between the optical axis Ax on the side and the outer peripheral edge of the reflecting surface 18, it is possible to provide a position with excellent surface accuracy without sink marks on the reflecting surface 18. Moreover, the hot zone can be formed by the reflected light from the position suitable for forming the hot zone.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a sufficient light distribution performance as a fog lamp even when the reflecting mirror is made of resin and its reflecting surface is asymmetrical with respect to the optical axis of the reflecting mirror.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the reflecting mirror 1
In the front portion of the block-shaped portion of the valve mounting portion 20 where sink marks are likely to occur on the reflecting surface 18 of No. 4, the meat scavenging hole 20b is formed.
Since this is formed, the wall thickness of the block-shaped portion can be made uniform. For this reason, a portion of the reflection surface 18 where the meat scavenging hole 20b is formed is lost as the reflection surface 18, but a portion around the meat scavenging hole 20b is a reflection surface having a relatively high surface accuracy in which sink marks are suppressed. can get.

In the above embodiment, the fog lamp for left light distribution has been described, but in the fog lamp for right light distribution as well, the horizontal sectional shape of the lens step 54A for forming the hot zone is opposite to the sectional shape shown in FIG. However, other configurations can obtain the required light distribution performance by using the configurations of the above embodiment as they are.

Further, although polycarbonate resin having a relatively high heat resistance is adopted as the material of the reflecting mirror 14 in the above-mentioned embodiment, other resins may be adopted. However, since the radiant heat from the bulb 16 raises the temperature of the portion of the reflecting mirror 14 near the bulb insertion hole 14a where the distance from the bulb 16 is short, thermal deformation may occur depending on the type of resin constituting the reflecting mirror 14. is there. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 10, if a cylindrical shade 56 is attached to the valve base 24 so as to prevent light from entering the region of the reflecting surface in the vicinity of the valve insertion hole, it is relatively heat resistant. It is possible to form the reflecting mirror 14 even with a resin having a low temperature.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pair of left and right fog lamps showing an embodiment of a vehicle fog lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in the direction of arrow IV in FIG.

5 is a view in the direction V of FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a pair of left and right fog lamp reflecting mirrors according to the above embodiment as a single item.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a lens of a pair of left and right fog lamps according to the above embodiment (FIG. 8A is an enlarged view of a VIII portion in FIG. 3).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern formed by a pair of left and right fog lamps according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing a modification of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10L, 10R Fog lamp 12 Lens 14 Reflector 14a Valve insertion hole 16 Valve 18 Reflective surface 20 Valve mounting portion 20b Meat-throw hole 22 Cylindrical wall 28, 30 Reflector support boss 32 Aiming bracket 34 Ventilation hole boss 54A Hot zone forming lens Step 54B Horizontal diffusion lens Step 56 Shade Ax Optical axis

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of left and right fog lamps arranged at a front end portion of a vehicle, wherein each fog lamp has a bulb, an optical axis extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a projection area in the optical axis direction on the left and right of the optical axis. A resin-made reflecting mirror having different reflecting surfaces for reflecting the light from the bulb forward, and a lens surface arranged in front of the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror, and a horizontal diffusion lens step and a hot zone on the lens surface. A fog lamp for a vehicle, comprising: a lens having a forming lens step formed therein; and in each of the fog lamps, the hot zone forming lens step is a projection in the optical axis direction in the reflection surface area on the left and right sides of the optical axis. A fog lamp for a vehicle, wherein the fog lamp is formed in front of a reflection surface region having a larger area. 2. A valve mounting portion is integrally formed with the reflecting mirror around a valve insertion hole formed at a rear top portion of the reflecting mirror, and the valve mounting portion is surrounded by the valve mounting portion. The cylindrical wall is formed integrally with the reflecting mirror,
The fog lamp for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The fog lamp for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a projection is integrally formed with the reflecting mirror on the back surface of the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror. 4. A fog lamp for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein a light-throwing hole is formed in a portion of the reflecting surface in front of the protrusion. 5. A shade for preventing light from entering from the bulb to a region near the bulb insertion hole of the reflecting surface is attached to the reflecting mirror. The fog lights for vehicles described above.