Bracket member for vehicular lighting fixture

Abstract

To provide a bracket member provided with a bearing portion to which a shaft body can be easily fitted.SOLUTION: In a bracket member provided with a bearing portion for journaling a shaft body, on a side wall surface, the side wall surface is a double wall composed of an inner wall and an outer wall, a through hole penetrating through the inner wall and the outer wall is formed thereon, the inner wall has a recessed portion recessed toward a direction of the outer wall from an end face of the inner wall to the through hole, a tongue portion is formed in a manner of projecting toward the through hole from an end portion facing the through hole of the recessed portion, and a shaft fitting portion recessed in a circular arc shape, is formed on the tip of the tongue portion. The shaft body is inserted into the through hole only by inserting the shaft body from the recessed portion, and the tongue portion acts as a lock, so that the shaft body can be fitted to the bearing portion by a single operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bracket member for a vehicle lamp. [Background technology]

[0002] In vehicle lighting devices, a bracket member that supports at least a portion of a lighting device (lamp unit) disposed in a lamp chamber may be provided with a bearing that supports a shaft (for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a shaft portion integrated with a portion of the lighting device (reflector) is rotatably fitted into a bearing portion provided in the bracket member, and the reflector is supported rotatably around a horizontal axis. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2013-134980 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, the bearing portion is merely formed as an engagement hole provided horizontally on the inside of the side surface of the bracket member, and in order to fit the shaft portion to the bearing portion, it is necessary to elastically deform the bracket member or the shaft portion, or to forcibly fit the shaft portion into the shaft hole by using backlash. This makes it difficult to achieve a good fit when the shaft portion has high rigidity and is difficult to elastically deform, for example, when it is made of a metal material rather than a resin material, or when the shaft diameter is large. In order to solve this problem, another part is used to fit the shaft portion into the bearing, but this makes the fitting work time-consuming.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and provides a bracket member provided with a bearing portion into which a shaft body can be easily fitted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the bracket member is configured so that a bearing portion for supporting a shaft is provided on a side wall surface, the side wall surface is a double wall consisting of an inner wall and an outer wall, and a through hole is formed through the inner wall and the outer wall, a recess is formed in the inner wall from the end face of the inner wall to the through hole toward the outer wall, and the end of the recess facing the through hole has a tongue portion protruding toward the through hole, and the tip of the tongue portion is formed with an axis fitting portion that is recessed in an arc shape.

[0007] In one embodiment, the bracket member is configured so that the double walls are sandwiched between the double walls, and a branch wall that is integrated with the inner wall and the outer wall is provided between the recess of the inner wall and the outer wall.

[0008] In one aspect, the double wall has front and rear openings and is configured as part of a circular circumferential side wall extending in the front-to-rear direction, and the double wall is sandwiched between the double walls and a bracket member is configured to have an inner wall at an intermediate portion spaced apart from both the front and rear openings, the inner wall extending circumferentially of the peripheral side wall. Effect of the Invention

[0009] As is clear from the above description, it is possible to provide a bracket member provided with a bearing portion into which a shaft body can be easily fitted. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic front view of a vehicle lamp including a bracket member according to a preferred embodiment; [Diagram 2] The bracket member and the shaft body are fitted together. Figure 2(A) shows the state before the shaft body is fitted to the bracket member. Figure 2(B) shows the state after the shaft body has been fitted to the bracket member. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5]FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] 7A and 7B are end views of the bracket member, a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4, and a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 8] This shows the bearing portion of the bracket member, portion D in Fig. 3. Fig. 8(A) is a side view of the bearing portion. Fig. 8(B) shows an inner perspective view of the bearing portion as viewed from the inner peripheral wall side. Fig. 8(C) shows an outer perspective view of the bearing portion as viewed from the outer peripheral wall side. [Figure 9] 4 shows the shaft fitting process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all the features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

[0012] (Vehicle lighting fixtures) FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a vehicle lamp 1 including a bracket member 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the configuration of the present disclosure. The vehicle lamp 1 is a headlamp, and is mounted on both the left and right sides of the front of the vehicle. The vehicle lamp 1 includes a lamp body 2 and a front cover 3 as lamp housings. The lamp body 2 is a housing with an opening at the front, and the front cover 3 is attached to the opening to form a lamp chamber S inside. The front cover 3 is a so-called outer cover, and is a substantially transparent lens made of a translucent resin such as polycarbonate. However, the front cover 3 may be formed with an optical step for dispersing and diffusing the light emitted from the light source when each lamp is turned on.

[0013] A lamp unit LU journaled by a shaft 90 on a bracket member 4 is housed within the defined lamp chamber S. The lamp unit LU is an optical unit configured to radiate light forward and form a predetermined light distribution such as a high beam distribution or a low beam distribution. The light emitted from the lamp unit LU is radiated toward a front cover 3 disposed in front, passes through the front cover 3, and forms a predetermined light distribution in front of the vehicle. The lamp unit LU may be a lighting unit of a conventionally known configuration, such as a reflector type or projector type, and the type is not limited.

[0014] (Shaft body fitting) The lamp unit LU is integrated with a horizontally disposed shaft body 90, and is supported by the bracket member 4 at the shaft body 90 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. Fig. 2 shows the fitted state of the bracket member 4 and the shaft body 90. Fig. 2(A) shows the state before the shaft body 90 is fitted to the bracket member 4. Fig. 2(B) shows the state after the shaft body 90 has been fitted to the bracket member 4.

[0015] 2, the shaft body 90 is inserted into a horizontal through hole (not shown) provided in the lamp unit LU to be integrated with the lamp unit LU, with ends of the shaft body 90 protruding from the left and right side surfaces of the lamp unit LU. In this embodiment, the shaft body 90 and the lamp unit LU are configured as separate bodies and are combined to be integrated, but this is not limiting, and a pair of shaft parts protruding in the left and right directions from the sides of the lamp unit LU may be provided as part of the lamp unit LU.

[0016] The bracket member 4 is composed of a peripheral side wall having a circular shape. A pair of opposing wall surfaces of the peripheral side wall having a circular shape are provided with bearing portions 80. In this embodiment, the bearing portions 80 are provided on the left and right side wall surfaces. The shaft body 90 integrated with the lamp unit LU is inserted and fitted into the bearing portions 80 in a horizontal state from the front of the bracket member 4, and is supported by the bearing portions 80 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. In this manner, the bearing portions 80 of the bracket member 4 are configured so that the shaft body 90 can be fitted in a single touch.

[0017] (Bracket material) First, the shape of the bracket member 4 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 6. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bracket member 4. Fig. 4 is a front view of the bracket member 4. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the bracket member 4. Fig. 6 is a side view of the bracket member 4. Fig. 7 is an end view of the bracket member 4. Fig. 7(A) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 4. Fig. 7(B) is an end view taken along line BB in Fig. 4.

[0018] The bracket member 4 is composed of a peripheral side wall 6 having a circular shape. The peripheral side wall 6 is formed in a circular shape by a top wall 7, a bottom wall 8, a left side wall 9, and a right side wall 10. The peripheral side wall 6 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction and has a front end opening 17 and a rear end opening 18.

[0019] At least a portion of the peripheral side wall 6 is formed as a double wall 21 consisting of an outer peripheral wall 19 and an inner peripheral wall 20. Specifically, as shown in Figs. 3 to 6, in the peripheral side wall 6 of this embodiment, except for the thick wall 12 of the top wall 7, the top wall 7, the bottom wall 8, the left side wall 9 and the right side wall 10 are all formed as double walls 21 consisting of an outer peripheral wall 19 and an inner peripheral wall 20. The peripheral side wall 6 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction, and the space inside the portion that becomes the double wall is also formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

[0020] The double wall 21 has an inner wall 13 on the inside. The inner wall 13 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 at a position (middle portion) spaced apart from both the front end opening 17 and the rear end opening 18.

[0021] The thickness of the inner wall 13 is uniform and approximately the same as that of the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20, the thickness direction is the front-to-rear direction, and both end faces are connected to and integrated with the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20. The inner wall 13 is provided so as to divide the space between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 in the front-to-rear direction. For this reason, when the bracket member 4 is viewed from the front or rear, the flat surface of the inner wall 13 can be seen between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 (see Figures 4 and 5).

[0022] In the bracket member 4 of this embodiment, the inner wall 13 is formed in the circumferential direction around the entire periphery of the double wall 21, except for the left end 12a to the right end 12b of the thick wall 12 that constitutes part of the top wall 7.

[0023] The bracket member 4 has a circular peripheral side wall 6 extending in the fore-and-aft direction with front and rear openings, and the portion except for the thick wall 12 is formed as a double wall. The bracket member 4 has an inner wall 13 along the circumferential direction that is sandwiched between the double walls 21. This makes the bracket member 4 lighter than if the entire peripheral side wall was made of a single thick wall, and the inner wall 13 extending along the circumferential direction provides the bracket member 4 with strong rigidity against bending stress generated around an axis extending in the fore-and-aft direction.

[0024] Moreover, the bracket member 4 of this embodiment has a plurality of branch walls 14 on the inside, sandwiched between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 that constitute the double wall 21. The branch walls 14 have a plate thickness that is approximately the same as that of the outer peripheral wall 19, the inner peripheral wall 20, and the internal wall 13, and are uniform, the plate thickness direction is the circumferential direction, and the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 are connected and integrated at both end faces. A plurality of branch walls 14 are provided all around the circumference in the circumferential direction so as to partition the space between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 in the circumferential direction. Therefore, when the bracket member 4 is viewed from the front or rear, the end faces of the branch walls 14 can be seen between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20 (see Figs. 3 and 4).

[0025] Some branch walls 14 are formed extending in the front-rear direction from the front end surface to the rear end surface of the bracket member 4 so as to penetrate the inner wall 13, and are connected to and integrated with the inner wall 13. However, without being limited thereto, the branch walls 14 may be formed extending from the inner wall 13 to either the front end surface or the rear end surface of the peripheral side wall 6.

[0026] The branch walls 14 provide the bracket member 4 with high rigidity against bending stress occurring around an axis extending along the circumferential direction of the peripheral side wall 6 .

[0027] Incidentally, the bracket member 4 of this embodiment has the inner wall 13 over the entire circumferential area of ​​the double wall 21, excluding the thick wall 12 that is not a double wall, but is not limited to this, and the inner wall 13 may be formed only on a part of the inside of the double wall. That is, the space inside the double wall 21 is divided into several parts in the circumferential direction by the branch walls 14 provided in the circumferential direction, and the inner wall 13 is provided so as to close these divided spaces, but some of the spaces divided in the circumferential direction may not have the inner wall 13 and may be formed as spaces penetrating from front to back.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 7(A), it is preferable that the inner wall 13 is provided so as to connect openings provided in the peripheral side wall 6 for attaching parts, such as the through hole of the bearing portion 80 described later, since this can suppress a decrease in rigidity of the bracket member 4 caused by providing openings in the peripheral side wall 6.

[0029] The bracket member 4 thus formed by extending in the front-rear direction can be produced by injection molding using a mold by making the front-rear direction, which is the extension direction of the peripheral side wall 6, the mold separation direction. The inner wall 13 is provided corresponding to the parting line of the movable mold and the fixed mold, and the front side is molded by the molding surface of one mold, and the back side is molded by the molding surface of the other mold. In this way, the bracket member 4 has a shape suitable for injection molding.

[0030] (bearing part) A bearing portion 80 is provided on each of the left side wall 9 and the right side wall 10 of the bracket member 4. The bearing portion 80 is formed in a pair on the opposing left side wall 9 and right side wall 10. The pair of bearing portions 80 are formed symmetrically. The bearing portion 80 provided on the left side wall 9 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8.

[0031] FIG. 8 shows bearing portion 80 (part D in FIG. 4) provided on the left side wall 9. FIG. 8(A) is a side view of part D. FIG. 8(B) shows an oblique view of part D as seen from the inner circumferential wall side. It mainly shows the configuration of the inner circumferential wall 20 side of bearing portion 80. FIG. 8(C) shows an oblique view of part D as seen from the outer circumferential wall side. It mainly shows the configuration of the outer circumferential wall 19 side of bearing portion 80. See also the cross-sectional view of bearing portion 80 in FIG. 7(B) and part D in the front view of bracket member 4 in FIG. 4.

[0032] As described above, the left side wall 9 is the side wall surface of the bracket member 4, and the entire left side wall 9 is a double wall, having an inner peripheral wall 20 as an inner wall and an outer peripheral wall 19 as an outer wall. 8, a through hole 83 is formed in the left side wall 9, penetrating the inner peripheral wall 20 and the outer peripheral wall 19. The through hole 83 is generally rectangular in shape, with one side at the rear end of the rectangle bulging out in a semicircular shape.

[0033] A recess 81 recessed toward the outer peripheral wall 19 is formed in the inner peripheral wall 20 of the bearing portion 80 in a region from the front end face of the inner peripheral wall 20 to the through hole 83. The recess amount of the recess 81 (width W, which is the distance from the inner peripheral wall 20 toward the outer peripheral wall, see FIG. 4) is approximately half the thickness of the left side wall 9, i.e., approximately half the distance from the inner peripheral wall 20 to the outer peripheral wall 19.

[0034] The recess 81 is formed by bending the inner circumferential wall 20 toward the outer circumferential wall 19. Therefore, an upper surface 81a constituting the recess 81, a side surface 81b which is the bottom surface of the recess 81, and a lower surface 81c all constitute a part of the inner circumferential wall 20. The height H (see FIG. 4) of the recess 81 is equal to the height of the through hole 83, and the upper surface 81a and the lower surface 81c of the recess 81 are formed by extending rearward from the front end surface of the inner circumferential wall 20 to constitute the recess 81, and further extend continuously rearward to constitute a part of the wall surface that defines the through hole 83, and are connected to a curved surface 84 that defines the semicircular portion of the through hole 83.

[0035] A tongue portion 85 that protrudes toward the through hole 83 is provided at the end (rear end) of the recess 81 facing the through hole 83. The tip of the tongue portion 85 is formed with a shaft fitting portion 85a that is recessed forward in an arc shape.

[0036] More specifically, the rear end portion facing the through hole 83 of the recess 81 is the rear end surface of the side surface 81b, and a tongue portion 85 is protruded from the rear end surface of the side surface 81b. As shown in Fig. 7(B) , the thickness of the tongue portion 85 is the same as the thickness of the side surface 81b at the base end, and gradually increases toward the right side (inner side) where the inner circumferential wall 20 is located toward the tip portion, and is at its maximum thickness at the tip portion.

[0037] As shown in Figure 8(A), in the rear region of the through hole 83, the shaft body 90 is clamped between a curved surface 84 which is the wall surface of the through hole 83 and which is arc-shaped when viewed from the side, and a shaft fitting portion 85a at the tip of the tongue portion 85, and is held rotatably around a horizontal axis.

[0038] As described above, the peripheral side wall 6 is a double wall consisting of the inner peripheral wall 20 and the outer peripheral wall 19, and the internal space of the double wall is provided with the inner wall 13 and the branch wall 14. In the left side wall 9, the inner wall 13 is configured as a substantially vertical surface extending in the up-down direction, and the branch wall 14 is configured as a horizontal surface.

[0039] As shown in Figures 8(B), 8(C) and 4, on the inside of the left side wall 9, which is a double wall, a first auxiliary wall 14a is provided as a horizontal surface between the recess 81 of the inner wall 20 and the outer peripheral wall 19, the first auxiliary wall 14a being connected to and integrated with the inner peripheral wall 20 and the outer peripheral wall 19.

[0040] The first auxiliary wall 14a is one of the branch walls 14, and like the other branch walls 14, connects the inner circumferential wall 20 and the outer circumferential wall 19 to improve the rigidity of the left side wall 9.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 7(A), the inner wall 13 provided on the inside of the left side wall 9 is connected to the wall surface that defines the through hole 83 in which the through hole 83 is provided, that is, the boundary point between the upper surface 81a, the lower surface 81c, and the curved surface 84. Since the through hole 83 reduces the rigidity of the left side wall 9, the inner wall 13 is connected to the wall surface of the through hole 83 and integrated with it to suppress the reduction in rigidity. In addition, a second auxiliary wall 14b is provided as a horizontal surface that is connected to the curved surface 84 of the through hole 83 and is sandwiched between the inner peripheral wall 20 and the outer peripheral wall 19. The second auxiliary wall 14b is a branch wall 14 that is connected to the wall surface of the through hole 83.

[0042] The bearing portion 80 is a portion that is particularly subjected to load among the bracket member 4, since it is provided with the through hole 83 and the shaft body 90 is inserted into the through hole 83 to be held therein. Providing the first auxiliary wall 14a, the second auxiliary wall 14b, the inner wall 13, and the like on the bearing portion 80 as in the present embodiment is preferable because it is possible to increase the rigidity of the bearing portion 80.

[0043] The tip of tongue portion 85 is configured to be particularly thick. By making shaft fitting portion 85a that comes into contact with shaft body 90 thick, the contact area with shaft body 90 can be increased, and shaft body 90 can be supported more stably.

[0044] 7(A) and 8, auxiliary through holes 88, 88 are provided above and below through hole 83 as through holes separate from through hole 83. As described above, bracket member 4 is molded by injection molding in a mold, with the mold separation direction (the mold removal direction of molded bracket member 4) aligned with the front-rear direction in which peripheral side wall 6 extends.

[0045] The through hole 83 and the tongue portion 85 are formed by a nest provided in the molding die. The sliding direction of this nest is the left-right direction, which is the extension direction of the through hole 83. By providing the auxiliary through hole 88, a third auxiliary wall 89 is provided as a vertical surface that defines the auxiliary through hole 88. The third auxiliary wall 89 is the same as the internal wall 13, and is formed by being sandwiched between the outer peripheral wall 19 and the inner peripheral wall 20, and is further connected to and integrated with the upper surface 81a and the lower surface 81c to improve the rigidity of the bearing portion 80.

[0046] Providing the auxiliary through-holes 88 can further reduce the weight of the bracket member 4 and improve the air permeability of the bracket member 4. This allows the heat generated from the lamp unit LU arranged inside the bracket member 4 to be dissipated efficiently.

[0047] (Shaft body fitting) The fitting of the shaft body 90 into the bearing portion 80 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 shows the process in which the shaft body 90 is fitted into the bearing portion 80. Fig. 9 is an end view corresponding to the line BB in Fig. 4. See also Fig. 2.

[0048] The shaft body 90 is a rod-like body having a circular cross-sectional shape, and is composed of a shaft body main body 92 and a reduced diameter portion 91 provided at the end of the shaft body main body 92. First, as shown in FIG. 9(A), recess 81 of bearing portion 80 is formed from the front end surface of inner circumferential wall 20 to through hole 83, and shaft body 90 is inserted from the front of recess 81 in a horizontal state with reduced diameter portion 91 aligned with recess 81 (white arrow in FIG. 9). Next, as shown in FIG. 9(B), when shaft body 90 is guided into recess 81 and pushed rearward, reduced diameter portion 91 comes into contact with tongue portion 85 which bulges inward, and as shaft body 90 is pushed further in, tongue portion 85 elastically deforms outward (toward outer peripheral wall 19) (black arrow in FIG. 9).

[0049] As shown in Figure 9 (C), when the shaft body 90 is pushed further rearward and reaches the through hole 83, the reduced diameter portion 91 fits into the through hole 83, the elastic deformation of the tongue portion 85 is released, and the shaft body 90 is rotatably supported in the through hole 83.

[0050] The reduced diameter portion 91 fits into the through hole 83, and the step between the reduced diameter portion 91 and the shaft body 92 engages with the opening peripheral edge of the inner peripheral wall 20 (the peripheral end of the through hole 83), so that the shaft body 90 is stably supported. The tongue portion 85 elastically deforms to fit the shaft body 90 into the through hole 83, so that when the shaft body 90 fits and the load on the tongue portion 85 is eliminated, the elastic deformation is released and the shaft body 90 returns to its original state, and the tongue portion 85 acts as a retainer for the shaft body 90. The shaft body 90 is sandwiched between the arc-shaped curved surface 84 and the shaft fitting portion 85a in a side view, and is supported in the through hole 83 so as to be rotatable around the horizontal axis. In this way, the shaft body 90 is fitted into the bearing portion 80 with one touch.

[0051] Because the wall surface on which bearing portion 80 is provided is a double wall surface, the surface area in contact with shaft body 90 can be made larger than in a single wall surface, and an area in which shaft body 90 is firmly supported can be sufficiently secured, and the rigidity is also high, allowing for stable support of shaft body 90. A recess 81 formed by recessing the double wall from the front end face acts as a guide to guide the movement of shaft body 90.

[0052] Because tongue portion 85 elastically deforms when shaft body 90 is fitted, there is no need for shaft body 90 to elastically deform, and even if shaft body 90 is highly rigid, such as when shaft body 90 is made of a metal member, has a large diameter, or is provided protruding from lamp unit LU, it can be fitted into bearing portion 80 without any problems. There is no need to use other parts for fitting, and bearing portion 80 is structured to allow shaft body 90 to be easily fitted into it.

[0053] The above describes preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and these can be combined based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and such forms are also included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1: Vehicle lighting fixtures 2: Lamp body 4: Bracket material 6: Peripheral wall 9: Left side wall (side wall) 10: Right side wall (side wall) 13: Internal wall 14: Branch Wall 14a, 14b: Auxiliary walls (branch walls) 19: Inner peripheral wall (inner wall) 20: Outer wall (outer wall) 21 :Double wall 80: Bearing part 81: Recess 83:Through hole 85: Tongue 85a: Shaft fitting part 90: Shaft

Claims

1. A bracket member having a bearing portion for supporting a shaft on a side wall surface, The side wall surface is a double wall consisting of an inner wall and an outer wall, and a through hole is formed through the inner wall and the outer wall, A recess is formed in the inner wall from an end surface of the inner wall to the through hole toward the outer wall, a tongue portion is formed from an end portion of the recess facing the through hole, the tongue portion protruding toward the through hole, A shaft fitting portion that is recessed in an arc shape is formed at the tip of the tongue portion. A bracket member comprising:

2. The double wall has a branch wall sandwiched between the double wall and integral with the inner wall and the outer wall, the branch wall being provided between the recess of the inner wall and the outer wall. The bracket member according to claim 1 .

3. The double wall has front and rear openings and is configured as a part of a circumferential side wall extending in the front-rear direction, The double wall has an inner wall sandwiched between the double wall and extending along the circumferential direction of the peripheral side wall, the inner wall being spaced apart from both the front and rear openings.

3. The bracket member according to claim 1 or 2.

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