Vehicle lighting fixtures

Abstract

To provide a vehicle lamp which includes the combination of an aiming mechanism and a leveling mechanism in which a displacement amount of a bracket for aiming / leveling is reduced.SOLUTION: A vertical aiming mechanism 8 and leveling mechanism 9 include a bracket 10 for aiming / leveling that is integrally molded with a resin. In the bracket 10 for aiming / leveling, a rectangular recess 11 that stores an aiming nut 82 as a vertical aiming action point and an actuator output shaft 92 as a power point is arranged on a centerline axis Ax of the aiming nut 82 in the substantially front-rear direction of a vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp having a combination of an aiming mechanism and a leveling mechanism. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, in vehicle lamps, a vertical aiming mechanism and a horizontal aiming mechanism are provided for adjusting the optical axis of the lamp unit in the vertical and horizontal ranges in order to irradiate the road surface in a desired direction. In addition to the vertical aiming mechanism, a leveling mechanism is also known. Here, the aiming mechanism adjusts the optical axis of the lamp unit initially when the vehicle is completed or during vehicle inspection, and the leveling mechanism adjusts the optical axis of the lamp unit using a built-in motor as needed depending on the weight of the vehicle or the operating means.

[0003] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a vehicle lamp having a combination of a conventional up / down aiming mechanism and a leveling mechanism (see Patent Document 1). The vehicle lamp in Fig. 6 is, for example, a right-side low beam headlamp.

[0004] In Fig. 6, 100 is a housing, 200 is a leveling mechanism, and 300 is an aiming / leveling bracket composed of a cross-shaped plate member that is an integral injection molded product made of resin. The leveling mechanism 200 is composed of a leveling actuator 201 fixed to a lamp bracket (not shown) and an actuator output shaft 202 that protrudes from the leveling actuator 201 and is movable. In the aiming / leveling bracket 300, an aiming nut 302 for the upper and lower aiming mechanism is provided at a first end for screwing in an aiming bolt 301 rotatably provided on the housing 100, a rectangular recess 303 and a stepped portion 304 for accommodating the actuator output shaft 202 are provided at a second end perpendicular to the first end, an elastic piece 305 for elastically pressing the aiming nut 302 in the left and right directions is provided at a third end opposite to the first end, and a stopper 306 is provided at a fourth end opposite to the second end. The actuator output shaft 202 is offset in the left-right direction from the central axis Ax when the aiming nut 302 rotates, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the leveling mechanism 200. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-61810 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the aiming / leveling shared bracket 300 of the conventional vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 6, the aiming nut 302 acting as the fulcrum and the rectangular recess 303 of the actuator output shaft 202 acting as the force point are separated in the left-right direction. In other words, the fulcrum and the force point are not on the same axis but are separated by a certain distance. As a result, when a force is applied to the rectangular recess 303 of the actuator output shaft 202 in the forward and backward directions, a rotation moment is generated in the rectangular recess 303 (force point) of the actuator output shaft 202 with respect to the central axis Ax of the aiming nut 302 (fulcrum), and it is presumed that the displacement amount of the rectangular recess 303 of the aiming / leveling shared bracket 300 becomes large and the aiming / leveling shared bracket 300 becomes easily deformed. At this time, if the aiming / leveling shared bracket 300 is deformed, there is a problem that the force of the actuator output shaft 202 cannot be transmitted 100% to the lamp bracket (not shown). In order to suppress this deformation, elastic piece 305 is provided, but since the force acting on elastic piece 305 becomes large, elastic piece 305 is made of metal, and the left side portion of elastic piece 305 is made of resin to abut against housing 100 (sliding portion) (see FIG. 9 of Patent Document 1). As a result, deformation of aiming / leveling bracket 300 can be reduced, but elastic piece 305, which is made of metal, cannot be integrated with aiming / leveling bracket 300 and is a separate part, which increases manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle lamp according to the present invention comprises a housing, an aiming mechanism accommodated in the housing and enabling aiming in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle, and a lamp unit supported by a leveling mechanism that performs leveling in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle independently of the aiming mechanism, the aiming mechanism has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut for screwing into the aiming bolt, the leveling mechanism has a leveling actuator and an actuator output shaft protruding from the leveling actuator and movable by the leveling actuator, the aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined by a shared aiming / leveling bracket integrally molded from resin, the aiming nut is formed on the aiming / leveling bracket, and a recess for accommodating the actuator output shaft is disposed on the central axis of the aiming nut of the aiming / leveling bracket, The aiming / leveling bracket extends in a triangular shape from the aiming nut to the recess. It is something. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the rotational moment of the actuator output shaft relative to the central axis of the aiming nut is reduced, so the displacement of the aiming / leveling bracket can be reduced. Furthermore, the elastic piece for suppressing this reduced displacement can be made of resin, and therefore the elastic piece can be integrated with the aiming / leveling bracket, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B show a vehicle lamp according to the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in (A). [Diagram 2] 2 is a bottom view of the leveling mechanism showing the relationship between the leveling actuator and the actuator output shaft in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B show details of the vehicle lamp of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A is a top view and FIG. [Figure 4]2 shows the details of the aiming / leveling bracket of FIG. 1, where (A) is an overall plan view and (B) is an enlarged view of the elastic piece. [Diagram 5] 5 is a diagram showing a result of a simulation of the amount of displacement of the aiming / leveling bracket of FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a vehicle lamp having a combination of a conventional vertical aiming mechanism and a leveling mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Fig. 1 shows a vehicle lamp according to the present invention, where (A) is a front view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in (A). The vehicle lamp in Fig. 1 is, for example, a low beam headlamp provided on the left front side.

[0011] In Fig. 1, a lamp unit 4 having an inner lens 3 is housed in a housing 2 having an outer lens 1. The lamp unit 4 is supported by a lamp bracket 5. The lamp bracket 5 is fixed to the housing 2 via a fulcrum aiming mechanism 6, a left / right aiming mechanism 7, and a top / bottom aiming mechanism 8. Furthermore, a leveling mechanism 9 combined with the top / bottom aiming mechanism 8 is provided.

[0012] The lower end of the lamp bracket 5 is pivotally fixed to the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6. The left-right aiming mechanism 7 has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut (not shown) and is fixed to the right end of the lamp bracket 5, and adjusts the position of the lamp bracket 5, i.e., the optical axis of the lamp unit 4, left and right with respect to the aiming fulcrum of the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6. The up-down aiming mechanism 8 is fixed to the upper end of the lamp bracket 5 and adjusts the position of the lamp bracket 5, i.e., the optical axis of the lamp unit 4, up and down with respect to the aiming fulcrum of the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6. The leveling mechanism 9 is composed of a leveling actuator 91 with a built-in motor, and an actuator output shaft 92 that protrudes downward from a lower surface 91a (see FIG. 2) of the leveling actuator 91 toward the lamp unit 4 and the lamp bracket 5 and is provided so as to move within a movable area 91b (see FIG. 2) in the front-rear direction of the leveling actuator 91. The aiming / leveling bracket 10 is an integral injection-molded resin product, and has a rectangular recess 11 (see FIG. 4) that accommodates the aiming nut 82 (see FIG. 4) of the upper and lower aiming mechanism 8 and the actuator output shaft 92 of the leveling mechanism 9. The aiming / leveling bracket 10 is connected to the lamp bracket 5, and makes the optical axis of the lamp unit 4 variable.

[0013] First, the vertical aiming operation will be described with reference to Fig. 1B. When the aiming nut 82 of the vertical aiming mechanism 8 is rotated as the point of action, the actuator output shaft 92 of the leveling mechanism 9 is moved up and down with respect to the aiming fulcrum of the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6 as the point of force, thereby performing vertical aiming.

[0014] Next, the vertical leveling operation will be described with reference to Fig. 2 which shows the relationship between the leveling actuator 91 and the actuator output shaft 92 in Fig. 1. The vertical leveling operation is performed by a control unit (not shown) generating a vertical leveling signal in response to an output signal from a sensor (not shown) which detects the weight of the vehicle, etc., to drive a built-in motor of the leveling actuator 91.

[0015] 1 and 2, the actuator output shaft 92 can move in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Next, in a light vehicle state in which no passengers or luggage are loaded on the vehicle, as shown in (A) of Fig. 2, the actuator output shaft 92 moves to the rear end 91b-1 side, and a force acts on the lamp bracket 5, supporting the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6, so that the lamp unit 4 lowers and the optical axis can be directed downward. On the other hand, in a heavy vehicle state in which passengers or luggage are loaded on the vehicle, as shown in (B) of Fig. 2, the actuator output shaft 92 moves to the front end 91b-2 side, and a force acts on the lamp bracket 5, supporting the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6, so that the lamp unit 4 rises and the optical axis can be directed upward.

[0016] If it is desired to make the aiming / leveling bracket 10 smaller, it is advisable to orient the actuator output shaft 92 downward and place the leveling mechanism 9 and the aiming / leveling bracket 10 above the lighting unit 4 and lighting bracket 5, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0017] In addition, as a modified example, there is a configuration in which the leveling mechanism 9 and the aiming / leveling shared bracket 10 are disposed below the lamp unit 4 and the lamp bracket 5. In this case, when the vehicle is in a light vehicle state in which no people or luggage are loaded on the vehicle, it is necessary to position the actuator output shaft 92 at the front end side of the movable range to raise the optical axis of the lamp unit 4, and on the other hand, when the vehicle is in a heavy vehicle state in which people or luggage are loaded on the vehicle, it is necessary to position the actuator output shaft 92 at the rear end side of the movable range to lower the optical axis of the lamp unit 4. As a result, since it is necessary to position the aiming nut 82 rearward by the movable range 91b of the actuator output shaft 92, the length of the aiming / leveling shared bracket 10 in the modified example in the front-rear direction must be greater than that in the cases of FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0018] In the modified example, the fulcrum aiming mechanism 6 and the left and right aiming mechanisms 7 are disposed above the light body unit 4 by changing the positions of the leveling mechanism 9 and the aiming / leveling common bracket 10 .

[0019] In this way, by arranging the leveling mechanism 9 above the lighting unit 4 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the fore-and-aft length of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 can be shortened, making it possible to provide a compact leveling mechanism 9.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows details of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 1, where (A) is a top view and (B) is a front view.

[0021] 3, the aiming nut 82 that acts as the vertical aiming point of action and the actuator output shaft 92 that acts as the leveling force point are disposed on the central axis Ax of the aiming nut 82 on the left and right, top and bottom. As a result, when the actuator output shaft 92 is moved back and forth as shown by the arrow, the rotational moment about the central axis Ax including the vertical aiming point of action as the rotation axis can be reduced. Note that the central axis Ax is slightly inclined with respect to the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows the details of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 of FIG. 1, where (A) is an overall plan view and (B) is an enlarged view of the elastic piece.

[0023] 4A, the rectangular recess 11 that houses the aiming nut 82 as the upper and lower aiming point and the actuator output shaft 92 as the force point is disposed on the central axis Ax of the aiming nut 82, which is approximately in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of displacement of the rectangular recess 11 of the actuator output shaft 92.

[0024] Furthermore, the aiming nut 82 is provided at the rear end of the aiming / leveling bracket 10, and the rectangular recess 11 is provided at the front end of the aiming / leveling bracket 10. This is to ensure a space for arranging the leveling actuator 91 and a length of a movable area 91b in which the actuator output shaft 92 moves back and forth when an up-down leveling signal is transmitted to the leveling actuator 91. As long as this space and the movable area 91b can be ensured, the positions of the aiming nut 82 and the rectangular recess 11 do not have to be at the end of the aiming / leveling bracket 10. In other words, the aiming nut 82 may be provided near the rear end of the aiming / leveling bracket 10, not at the rear end, and the rectangular recess 11 may be provided near the front end of the aiming / leveling bracket 10, not at the front end.

[0025] 4B, the elastic piece 12a is disposed on the rectangular recess 11 side near the aiming nut 82, and is formed on one side, for example, the right side, along the central axis Ax. That is, when the aiming / leveling bracket 10 is pulled in by the aiming bolt 81, the elastic piece 12a and the contact portion (sliding portion) 12b on the opposite side of the elastic piece 12a are applied to the housing 2 side, so that the rotation and deformation of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 due to the rotational force of the aiming bolt 81 can be suppressed. In addition, since the elastic piece 12a is provided on the right side to reduce the resistance of the contact portion (sliding portion) 12b, the deformation of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 including the aiming nut 82 can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the force applied to the elastic piece 12a can be reduced by the amount of displacement of the rectangular recess 11 of the actuator output shaft 92 being reduced, the elastic piece 12a can be manufactured from resin, and therefore the elastic piece 12a can be integrally molded with the aiming / leveling bracket 10, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0026] Furthermore, the aiming / leveling bracket 10 is formed in a shape that flares out from the aiming nut 82 toward the rectangular recess 11. This reinforces the aiming / leveling bracket 10, so that the amount of displacement of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 can be reduced.

[0027] Furthermore, on the sides of the aiming nut 82, there are provided rotation prevention portions 13a, 13b extending to the left and right for preventing the aiming / leveling bracket 10 from rotating as a whole when the aiming nut 82 is manually rotated.

[0028] Furthermore, spring-embedded slit structures 14a, 14b are provided on the left and right sides of the front side of the aiming / leveling bracket 10, alongside the rectangular recess 11. The spring-embedded slit structures 14a, 14b set the depth of the recess of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 and the amount of vertical flutter with the housing 2 so that the lamp bracket 5 is not subjected to the force caused by the vertical vibration of the lamp unit 4 (see FIG. 1(A)). This prevents the lamp unit 4 from being subjected to a load in the vertical direction.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the results of a simulation of the amount of displacement of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 of FIG.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5, the aiming nut 82 acting as the fulcrum and the rectangular recess 11 of the actuator output shaft 92 acting as the force point have a horizontal offset of approximately 0 with respect to the central axis Ax. In other words, the fulcrum and the force point are on the same axis. As a result, when a displacement simulation is performed, when a forward force F1=10N and a rearward force F2=10N are applied to the rectangular recess 11 of the actuator output shaft 92, almost no rotation moment is generated in the rectangular recess 11 of the actuator output shaft 92 (force point) with respect to the aiming nut 82 (fulcrum) and the central axis Ax, the displacement of the rectangular recess 11 of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 is small at approximately 0.03 mm, and the actuator output shaft 92 is hardly deformed. At this time, the forces P1 and P2 applied to the sliding portion 12b and the elastic piece 12a are very small at 1.97N and 1.90N. Therefore, the elastic piece 12a can be made of resin and integrated with the aiming / leveling bracket 10, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the shape of the rectangular recess 11 does not have to be rectangular, and the corners of the rectangle may be rounded, or the recess may be elliptical or circular. However, if the recess is circular, it is better to provide a gap so that the actuator output shaft 92 and the end face of the recess do not come into contact with each other.

[0032] Also, in the above embodiment, the rectangular recess 11 is disposed on the central axis Ax of the aiming nut 82, but it is not necessary to match the center of the rectangular recess 11, and it is sufficient that the central axis Ax passes within the range of the rectangular recess 11. Furthermore, although the amount of displacement of the aiming / leveling bracket 10 increases slightly, if the rectangular recess 11 is disposed in the vicinity of the central axis Ax of the aiming nut, the amount of displacement can be reduced compared to the conventional case.

[0033] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the vertical aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined, but the horizontal aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism can also be combined. In this case, the horizontal leveling operation of the horizontal leveling mechanism is performed by receiving a signal, such as a steering signal, from a predetermined operating means of the vehicle and driving a built-in motor of the leveling actuator. For example, it can be used for AFS (Adaptive Front-Light System) control.

[0034] Furthermore, the present invention can apply any modifications within the obvious scope of the above-mentioned embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1: Outer lens 2: Housing 3: Inner lens 4: Light unit 5: Light body bracket 6: Fulcrum aiming mechanism 7: Left and right aiming mechanism 8: Up and down aiming mechanism 81: Aiming Bolt 82: Aiming Nut 9: Leveling mechanism 91: Leveling actuator 91a: Bottom surface 91b: Actuator output shaft movable area 91b-1: Rear end 91b-2: Front end 92: Actuator output shaft 10: Aiming / leveling bracket 11: Rectangular recess 12a: Elastic piece 12b: Contact part (sliding part) 13a, 13b: Anti-rotation part 14a, 14b: Spring-embedded slit structure 100: Housing 200: Leveling mechanism 201: Leveling actuator 202: Actuator output shaft 300: Aiming / Leveling Common Bracket 301: Aiming Bolt 302: Aiming Nut 303: Rectangular recess 304: Step Down Section 305a: Elastic piece 305b: Contact part (sliding part) 306: Stopper Ax: Central axis line

Claims

1. Housing and a lamp unit supported by an aiming mechanism that is accommodated in the housing and enables aiming in the vertical or horizontal direction of a vehicle, and a leveling mechanism that performs leveling in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle independently of the aiming mechanism; Equipped with the aiming mechanism has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut for screwing with the aiming bolt, the leveling mechanism includes a leveling actuator and an actuator output shaft that projects from the leveling actuator and is movable by the leveling actuator; the aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined by a common aiming / leveling bracket integrally molded from resin, The aiming nut is formed on the aiming / leveling bracket, a recess for accommodating the actuator output shaft is disposed on a central axis of the aiming nut of the aiming / leveling bracket; The aiming / leveling bracket extends in a triangular shape from the aiming nut toward the recess.

2. Housing and a lamp unit supported by an aiming mechanism that is accommodated in the housing and enables aiming in the vertical or horizontal direction of a vehicle, and a leveling mechanism that performs leveling in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle independently of the aiming mechanism; Equipped with the aiming mechanism has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut for screwing with the aiming bolt, the leveling mechanism includes a leveling actuator and an actuator output shaft that projects from the leveling actuator and is movable by the leveling actuator; the aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined by a common aiming / leveling bracket integrally molded from resin, The aiming nut is formed on the aiming / leveling bracket, a recess for accommodating the actuator output shaft is disposed on a central axis of the aiming nut of the aiming / leveling bracket; The aiming / leveling bracket has an elastic piece on one side along the central axis of the aiming nut and toward the recessed portion.

3. Housing and a lamp unit supported by an aiming mechanism that is accommodated in the housing and enables aiming in the vertical or horizontal direction of a vehicle, and a leveling mechanism that performs leveling in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle independently of the aiming mechanism; Equipped with the aiming mechanism has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut for screwing with the aiming bolt, the leveling mechanism includes a leveling actuator and an actuator output shaft that projects from the leveling actuator and is movable by the leveling actuator; the aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined by a common aiming / leveling bracket integrally molded from resin, The aiming nut is formed on the aiming / leveling bracket, a recess for accommodating the actuator output shaft is disposed on a central axis of the aiming nut of the aiming / leveling bracket; the recess is disposed at a forward end of the combined aiming / leveling bracket; The aiming nut is disposed at the rear end of the common aiming / leveling bracket.

4. Housing and a lamp unit supported by an aiming mechanism that is accommodated in the housing and enables aiming in the vertical or horizontal direction of a vehicle, and a leveling mechanism that performs leveling in the vertical or horizontal direction of the vehicle independently of the aiming mechanism; Equipped with the aiming mechanism has an aiming bolt and an aiming nut for screwing with the aiming bolt, the leveling mechanism includes a leveling actuator and an actuator output shaft that projects from the leveling actuator and is movable by the leveling actuator; the aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism are combined by a common aiming / leveling bracket integrally molded from resin, The aiming nut is formed on the aiming / leveling bracket, a recess for accommodating the actuator output shaft is disposed on a central axis of the aiming nut of the aiming / leveling bracket; The aiming / leveling brackets are provided on the left and right sides of the recess, and have a spring-incorporated slit structure fixed to the housing.

5. the leveling mechanism is a vertical leveling mechanism, the vertical leveling mechanism being disposed above the light body unit; 5. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the common aiming / leveling bracket is disposed between the leveling actuator and the lamp unit.

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