Vehicle lamp fitting

Abstract

To provide a vehicle lamp fitting having an extension made of a polypropylene resin.SOLUTION: In a vehicle lamp fitting 10, a lamp unit 40 and an extension 50 which encloses the lamp unit 40 are disposed in a lamp chamber 11 formed by a lamp cover 30 and a lamp body 20. The extension 50 comprises: a main part 52 made of polypropylene containing a filler 54; and a surface part 53 forming at least a part of a surface of the main part 52 and formed by a layer of polypropylene which does not contain a filler.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an extension provided inside a vehicle lamp. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, from the perspective of carbon neutrality, there has been a demand for further weight reduction in vehicle lighting fixtures, with the aim of improving fuel efficiency by reducing vehicle weight. In particular, extensions are becoming more and more prominent in vehicle lighting fixtures as decorative parts with a high level of design. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-169115 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-135732 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, extensions, which are design components of vehicle lamps, have been made of polycarbonate resin, as shown in Patent Document 1, from the viewpoints of dimensional stability during molding, lightness, transparency, and the like.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a housing member for a vehicle lamp made of polypropylene resin, which has a specific gravity lighter than that of polycarbonate resin.

[0006] However, polypropylene resin itself has low rigidity, and while the rigidity can be increased by adding additives such as fillers, this impairs the surface smoothness, meaning that the resin cannot be used as is for extension members used as exterior components.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an extension that combines rigidity and surface smoothness by using polypropylene resin, which has a lower specific gravity than polycarbonate resin, for the extension in order to further reduce the weight of vehicle lighting fixtures. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle lamp of the present disclosure is a vehicle lamp in which a lamp unit and an extension surrounding the lamp unit are arranged within a lamp chamber formed by a lamp cover and a lamp body, and the extension is configured so that it has a main body made of polypropylene containing a filler, and at least a portion of the surface of the main body is covered with a surface made of a layer of polypropylene that does not contain a filler.

[0009] The surface portion is made of an opaque polypropylene film, and the main body portion is laminated thereon.

[0010] The lamp body is made of polypropylene, and the extension is welded and fixed to the lamp body.

[0011] By integrating the main body and surface of the extension with polypropylene resin, it is possible to provide a lightweight vehicle lamp with a lower specific gravity than an extension made of polycarbonate resin.

[0012] Furthermore, the extension has at least a portion of the surface of the main body, which is made of polypropylene resin containing filler, covered with a polypropylene resin layer that does not contain filler. This ensures the rigidity of the extension in the main body and the surface smoothness of the extension in the surface, ensuring the quality of the extension, which requires aesthetic design.

[0013] Furthermore, the surface of the extension is made of an opaque polypropylene film and is laminated to the main body, so that the main body and the surface can be tightly attached to each other without increasing the thickness of the extension.

[0014] In particular, if the surface is made of an opaque polypropylene film, it is possible to provide an extension with a wide variety of designs and colors, and with a high level of designability.

[0015] Furthermore, the extension can be welded when attached to the lamp body made of polypropylene, eliminating the need for fastening means such as screws or lances. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an extension member that is lightweight, has high rigidity, and has high surface smoothness. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a vehicle lamp showing an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the cross section of the extension in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of an extension in a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Example]

[0019]

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle lamp 10 is provided with lamp units 40 constituting a high beam unit and a low beam unit in a lamp chamber space defined by a lamp body 20 and a lamp cover 30, and extensions 50 having openings 51 surrounding each lamp unit 40.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, this extension 50 is composed of a main body 52 made of polypropylene as the base resin and having filler 54 dispersed therein to increase the rigidity of the base resin, and a surface 53 that covers the surface of the main body 52 and is made of a layer of polypropylene that does not contain filler.

[0022] The main body 52, which uses polypropylene as the base resin, has a lower specific gravity (0.9) than polycarbonate (1.2), making it lightweight, but it is easily deformed. Therefore, by blending such fillers, the rigidity of the entire extension 50 can be ensured.

[0023] The filler 54 is not particularly limited, but is preferably made of, for example, talc, glass fiber, carbon fiber, or the like, which can ensure a deflection temperature under load of 130° C. or more.

[0024] On the other hand, the surface portion 53 covering the main body portion 52 constitutes the design surface of the extension 50, and since adding filler to it, as with the main body portion 52, would impair the surface smoothness and result in inferior appearance quality, it is formed from a filler-free polypropylene resin layer with a surface roughness adjusted to 15 nm or less.

[0025] In this way, since the main body portion 52 and the surface portion 53 are made of the same polypropylene resin, they can be easily integrated. In this case, it is preferable to adjust the thickness of the main body portion 52 to 1.2 to 2 mm, and the thickness of the surface portion 53 to 0.8 to 2 mm.

[0026] If the thickness of the main body 52 is 1.2 mm or less, the rigidity of the extension 50 itself will decrease, and if it exceeds 2 mm, the weight of the molded product will be too large. On the other hand, if the thickness of the surface portion 53 is 0.8 mm or less, defects such as underfill will be more likely to occur, and if it exceeds 2 mm, the weight of the molded product will be too large.

[0027] Furthermore, the method for integrating the two components is not particularly limited, but for example, the main body portion 52 and the surface portion 53 can be two-color molded, or the surface portion 53 can be insert molded as a thin film, or the two can be integrated by heat sealing.

[0028] In particular, if the surface portion 53 is insert-molded as an opaque thin film, the thickness and weight of the surface portion 53 are not increased, and an extension with a wide variety of surface designs can be provided.

[0029] In this way, the extension 50 is made up of two layers of polypropylene resin material, maintaining surface smoothness in the surface portion 53, while maintaining the rigidity of the extension by blending filler into the main body portion 52, thereby achieving both lightweight and rigidity for the extension as a whole.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, this extension 50 can be attached to the lamp body 20 at a welding portion 55 by utilizing the seal groove 21 of the lamp body 20 made of polypropylene resin.

[0031] In this case, crystalline polypropylene resin has poor adhesion to amorphous polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin, making it difficult to integrally mold or weld these resin parts together. Therefore, the lamp cover 30 made of polycarbonate resin is adhered and fixed to the lamp body 20 made of polypropylene resin via a sealing material 60 such as hot melt.

[0032] On the other hand, it is possible to weld an extension 50 made of polypropylene resin to the front end of the inner seal wall of the seal groove 21 into which the seal material 60 is inserted, so that it is closed by the end of the main body 52, and no means of fixing the extension 50 to the lamp body 20, such as a screw, is required.

[0033] Furthermore, if the entire lamp chamber 11 is concealed with a black extension 50, the lighting components inside the lamp can be prevented from being seen through the lamp cover 30, and compared to a vapor-deposited metallic extension, the lamp unit can be made less noticeable when the lamp is not lit.

[0034] In this way, the vehicle lamp 10 is covered with an extension 50 having a black surface portion 53 except for the opening where the lamp units 40, 40 that emit high beams and low beams are located, thereby improving the external design of the lamp and concealing the inside of the lamp.

[0035] Furthermore, by making the extension 50, which accounts for a large proportion of the lamp components, out of polypropylene resin, which has a light specific gravity, it is possible to contribute to reducing the weight of the vehicle lamp.

[0036] Furthermore, if many of the components of the lamp are made of the same polypropylene resin, it becomes possible to weld the two together, eliminating the need for a fastening structure, simplifying the component structure and reducing the number of components. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 10 Vehicle lighting fixtures 11 Light room 20 Lamp body 30 Lamp cover 40 Lamp unit 50 Extension 52 Main body 53 Surface part 60 Sealing material

Claims

1. A vehicle lamp in which a lamp unit and an extension surrounding the lamp unit are disposed within a lamp chamber formed by a lamp cover and a lamp body, The extension is a vehicle lamp, wherein the extension has a main body made of polypropylene containing a filler, and at least a portion of the surface of the main body is covered with a surface made of a layer of polypropylene not containing a filler.

2. 2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein said surface portion is made of an opaque polypropylene film and said main body portion is laminated thereon.

3. 2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein said lamp body is made of polypropylene, and said extension is fixed to said lamp body by welding.

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