Vehicle lighting

Abstract

To provide a vehicular lighting fixture comprising a bracket having sufficient strength even if being thin and lightweight, in a lamp body.SOLUTION: A vehicular lighting fixture 1 comprises: a lamp body 2 comprising an opening part; a front cover 4 attached to the opening part of the lamp body 2, and forming a lighting chamber S inside the lamp body 2; and a bracket 5 provided in the lamp body 2 as a fitting part for a vehicle body. The bracket 5 comprises a main body part 6 connected to the lamp body 2, and a fitting part 7 engaged with the vehicle body. The main body part 6 is constituted of semicylindrical parts 8a, 8b, and 9 each including a curved part in at least a portion, and having a semicylindrical shape in a transverse section. Base end parts 8a3, 8b3, and 9b of the semicylindrical parts 8a, 8b, and 9 are formed integrally with a curved surface 2a of the lamp body 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] A technology related to a vehicular lamp having a bracket that is thin-walled, lightweight, and has sufficient strength on a lamp body.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In recent years, along with the demand for weight reduction of vehicular lamps from the perspective of carbon neutrality, weight reduction of various parts of the lamp body on which components are mounted has been required. On the other hand, in recent vehicular lamps, the number of components mounted on the lamp body, such as sensors installed from the perspective of improving safety, has increased, and in particular, enhanced rigidity of the bracket that serves as the mounting portion to the vehicle body is required.

[0003] Figures 4 and 5 of Patent Document 1 disclose a lamp body having a vehicle body mounting portion (bracket) with enhanced rigidity by adding ribs.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

PATENT DOCUMENTS

[0004]

PATENT DOCUMENT 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0005] Adding ribs to each vehicle body mounting portion (bracket) increases the rigidity of the bracket, but on the other hand, it contradicts the demand for weight reduction in that it increases the self-weight of the lamp body. In addition, simply reducing the wall thickness of the bracket promotes weight reduction, but is undesirable in that it lowers the strength of the bracket.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present application provides a vehicular lamp that achieves weight reduction by providing a bracket with sufficient strength even if it is thin-walled and lightweight on the lamp body.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0007] A vehicle lamp comprising a lamp body having a front end opening, a front cover attached to the front end opening of the lamp body and forming a lamp chamber inside the lamp body, and a bracket provided on the lamp body as a mounting portion to the vehicle body, wherein the bracket has a main body connected to the lamp body and a mounting portion engaged with the vehicle body, the main body is composed of a semi-cylindrical portion having a semi-cylindrical cross-section that includes at least a curved portion, and the base end of the semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the curved surface of the lamp body.

[0008] (Function) By constructing the main body of the bracket, which is the part integrated with the lamp body, from a semi-cylindrical section, the bracket has a larger second moment of area compared to a main body formed in the shape of a flat plate, and thus has high rigidity against bending.

[0009] Furthermore, it is desirable that a sealing portion be provided at the front end opening of the lamp body, and that the semi-cylindrical portion be integrally formed with the sealing portion.

[0010] (Function) Because the semi-cylindrical portion of the bracket is integrally formed with the sealing portion of the lamp body, the bending stress generated in the bracket acts not only on the bracket but also on the lamp body via the sealing portion.

[0011] Furthermore, the semi-cylindrical portion is configured as a plurality of continuous semi-cylindrical portions formed by alternately creating convex semi-cylindrical portions and concave semi-cylindrical portions, and it is desirable that the front end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the sealing portion.

[0012] (Effect) A box-shaped bottomed section is formed in the region surrounded by the concave semi-cylindrical section, the sealing section, and the curved surface of the lamp body, thereby further improving the rigidity of the bracket via the box section.

[0013] Furthermore, it is desirable to configure the base end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion to have a drainage hole.

[0014] (Effect) By defining the box section, the rigidity of the concave semi-cylindrical section is further improved. As a result, even if drainage holes are formed in the concave semi-cylindrical section to discharge water from inside the box section due to condensation, etc., a decrease in rigidity is less likely to occur.

[0015] It is desirable that the base end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the inclined curved surface of the lamp body, and that the drainage hole is formed to be continuous with the lowest part of the inclined curved surface.

[0016] (Function) By continuously forming drainage holes at the base end of the concave semi-cylindrical section at the lowest point of the inclined curved surface of the lamp body, highly efficient water drainage holes are formed without compromising the rigidity of the bracket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] In the case of vehicle lighting fixtures, by constructing the main body of the bracket from a semi-cylindrical section, the main body is given high rigidity against bending stress. Therefore, even if the main body is made thinner, high rigidity against bending can be obtained, and sufficient rigidity against bending can be obtained in the bracket without the need for reinforcing ribs, thus enabling further weight reduction of the vehicle lighting fixture via the lamp body.

[0018] In the case of vehicle lighting fixtures, the bending stress generated in the bracket is also received by the sealing portion of the lamp body, thereby achieving rigidity in both the sealing portion and the semi-cylindrical portion of the bracket. As a result, the bracket is made lighter by thinning its walls while its rigidity is further improved, leading to further weight reduction of both the lamp body and the vehicle lighting fixture.

[0019] In the case of vehicle lighting fixtures, the rigidity of the bracket is further improved by the box section, enabling both weight reduction and increased rigidity of the bracket through thinning, and further weight reduction of the lamp body and vehicle lighting fixtures.

[0020] In the case of vehicle lighting fixtures, even if drainage holes for water droplets that form inside the box are created, the bracket can still have sufficient rigidity, thus enabling further weight reduction of the lamp body and vehicle lighting fixtures.

[0021] According to the vehicular lamp, the bracket having the water drop holes with high drainage performance is formed without impairing rigidity, and further weight reduction of the lamp body and the vehicular lamp can be achieved. [Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] A front view of the vehicular lamp according to the embodiment (the detailed configuration of the bracket 5 is omitted). [Figure 2] A perspective view of the bracket of the vehicular lamp in Figure 1, viewed from the diagonally front right side. [Figure 3] A perspective view of the bracket in Figure 1, viewed from the diagonally rear right side. [Figure 4] (a) A rear view of the bracket in Figure 1. (b) An end view of the main body portion of the bracket, horizontally cut at the position I-I [Figure 5] (a) A plan view of the bracket in Figure 1. (b) An end view of the main body portion of the bracket, vertically cut at the position II-II. (c) An end view of the main body portion of the bracket, vertically cut at the position III-III. [Figure 6] (a) A perspective view showing a modified example of the bracket. (b) An end view of the bracket main body portion in Figure 6(a), horizontally cut. [Description of Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0023] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the vehicular lamp of the present invention will be described based on Figure 1 to Figure 6. In each drawing, each direction of the vehicular lamp is defined as (front: rear: left: right: upper: lower) for description.

[0024] Figure 1 shows a front view of a vehicle lamp 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle lamp 1 in Figure 1 comprises a lamp body 2 and a front cover 4. The lamp body 2 has a container shape in a vertical cross-section along the front-rear direction, with a rear wall extending vertically and a bottom wall extending front-rear, and has an opening at its front end. A groove-shaped sealing portion 3 that is recessed to the rear, as shown by reference numeral 3 in Figures 3 and 5(b)(c), is provided around the entire circumference of the front end opening of the lamp body 2. The front cover 4 is made of a translucent resin, glass, or the like. The front cover 4 engages with the sealing portion 3 from the front via an elastic sealing member (not shown), defining a sealed lamp chamber S inside the lamp body 2.

[0025] The defined lamp chamber S shown in Figure 1 houses a high-beam lamp unit Hi and a low-beam lamp unit Lo, which project headlight light forward (towards the viewer). The high-beam lamp unit Hi and the low-beam lamp unit Lo are optical units configured to project light emitted from a light source forward to the vehicle, forming a high-beam light distribution and a low-beam light distribution. Each lamp unit (Hi, Lo) uses a conventionally known configuration, such as a reflective type or a projector type lamp unit, and the type is not limited.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, multiple brackets 5, as shown in Figures 2 to 5, are integrally formed on the upper end of the lamp body 2. While the detailed form of the brackets 5 is omitted in Figure 1, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the bracket 5 from the diagonal front side of the lamp body 2 in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the bracket 5 from the diagonal rear right side of the lamp body 2 in Figure 1.

[0027] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the bracket 5 consists of a main body 6 and a mounting portion 7. The main body 6 is integrally formed with the lamp body 2 and extends upward. The mounting portion 7 is integrated with the main body 6, bent diagonally backward and upward from the tip 6a of the main body 6. The mounting portion 7 is engaged and fixed to a vehicle body (not shown) via a mounting hole 7a.

[0028] Figure 4(a) is a rear view of the bracket 5, and Figure 4(b) is an end view obtained by cutting Figure 4(a) at the position of the cutting line II of the main body 6. The main body 6 shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4(a) is composed of a plurality of semi-cylindrical sections with a semi-cylindrical cross-section as shown in the end view of Figure 4(b). In this embodiment, the main body 6 is composed of a convex semi-cylindrical section 9 that is convex toward the front, and a pair of concave semi-cylindrical sections 8a and 8b that are integrally molded to be smoothly continuous to the left and right of the convex semi-cylindrical section 9 and concave semi-cylindrical section 8b, which are concave toward the front. The main body 6 is configured as a continuous semi-cylindrical section in which concave and convex semi-cylindrical sections are formed alternately in the order of concave semi-cylindrical section 8a - convex semi-cylindrical section 9 - concave semi-cylindrical section 8b, thereby forming a wave shape as shown in Figure 4(b).

[0029] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the base ends 8a3, 8b3, and 9b, which are the lowest parts of the concave semi-cylindrical sections 8a and 8b and the convex semi-cylindrical section 9, are all integrally formed with the curved surface 2a of the lamp body 2.

[0030] In this way, by constructing the main body portion 6 of the bracket 5, which is the part integrated with the lamp body 2, from one or more semi-cylindrical portions, the bracket gains a larger second moment of area compared to conventional main body portions formed in a flat plate shape, and thus gains high rigidity against bending. Conventional main body portions formed in a flat plate shape required the installation of ribs or increased plate thickness to enhance bending rigidity. However, the main body portion of this embodiment does not require ribs and has a corrugated shape even with a thin plate thickness, thus providing sufficient rigidity against bending. This configuration contributes to the weight reduction of the bracket and lamp body required from a carbon neutrality perspective. The multiple semi-cylindrical portions forming the main body portion 6 are not limited to three as in this embodiment; there can be two, four or more, as long as the semi-cylindrical portions with concave and convex shapes are alternately repeated.

[0031] Furthermore, the base ends 8a3, 8b3, and 9b of the main body portion 6 of the bracket 5 shown in Figure 3 are integrated with the lamp body 2 on a curved surface 2a, which has a larger second moment of area than a plane, and therefore have even higher rigidity than if they were integrated on the plane of the lamp body 2.

[0032] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the front ends 8a1 and 8a2 of the concave semi-cylindrical portion 8a and the front ends 8b1 and 8b2 of the concave semi-cylindrical portion 8b of the main body 6 are integrally formed with the rear end 3a of the seal portion 3. The front end 9a of the convex semi-cylindrical portion 9 is also formed to protrude forward from the front ends 8a2 and 8b1 of the concave semi-cylindrical portions, and is therefore integrally formed with the rear end 3a of the seal portion 3.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, the lamp body 2 has its front cover 4 fixed to the seal portion 3. As shown in Figure 2, when the concave semi-cylindrical portions 8a, 8b and convex semi-cylindrical portion 9 of the main body portion 6 of the bracket 5 are integrally formed with the seal portion 3 of the lamp body 2, the bending stress generated in the bracket 5 acts not only on the bracket 5 but also on the lamp body 2 via the seal portion 3. According to the vehicle lighting fixture 1 of this embodiment, since the bending stress generated in the bracket 5 is also received by the seal portion 3 of the lamp body 2, the rigidity of the bracket 5 can be achieved in both the seal portion 3, which is part of the lamp body 2, and the main body portion 6 having a corrugated semi-cylindrical portion. As a result, the rigidity of the bracket 5 is further improved while the weight of the bracket 5 is reduced by thinning, and further weight reduction of the lamp body 2 and the vehicle lighting fixture 1 can be achieved.

[0034] As shown in Figure 2, the region consisting of the concave semi-cylindrical portion 8a on the left (8b on the right), the seal portion 3, and the curved surface 2a of the lamp body 2 has greater rigidity than other regions by defining the box portions 12, 12. Bosses 11, 11 for attachment to the vehicle body are provided on the bottom surfaces of the box portions 12, 12 (part of the curved surface 2a of the lamp body 2).

[0035] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5(c), 2, and 3, the base ends 8a3 and 8b3 of the concave semi-cylindrical sections 8a and 8b are provided with drainage holes 10 and 10 that penetrate from the inside to the outside of the box sections 12 and 12. The drainage holes 10 and 10 are formed to penetrate from the box sections 12 and 12 to the outside of the lamp chamber S, and discharge water caused by condensation that occurs inside the box sections 12 and 12 to the outside of the lamp body 2, i.e., to the outside of the lamp chamber S.

[0036] The concave semi-cylindrical sections 8a and 8b shown in Figure 5(b) have their rigidity enhanced by forming the box sections 12 and 12, so that even if drainage holes 10 and 10 are formed, a decrease in rigidity is unlikely to occur. Therefore, the bracket 5 can maintain sufficient rigidity even when drainage holes 10 and 10 are provided.

[0037] Furthermore, as shown in the enlarged section of the part labeled K in Figure 5(c) (enlarged section of the part enclosed by the dashed line), the bottom surface (curved surface 2a) of the box sections 12, 12 is provided with an inclined curved surface 12a that gently descends from the vicinity of the lowest end 11a of the boss section 11 to the base ends 8a3, 8b3 of the concave semi-cylindrical sections 8a, 8b. The inclined curved surface 12a is formed to be continuous with the drainage holes 10, 10 located at the very bottom of the box sections 12, 12. As a result, water caused by condensation etc. that occurs inside the box sections 12, 12 is facilitated to be discharged to the outside of the box sections 12, 12 via the descending inclined curved surface 12a.

[0038] Furthermore, Figure 6(a) shows a modified example of bracket 5' shown in Figures 1 to 5, and Figure 6(b) shows an end view of bracket 5' cut horizontally. Bracket 5' has the same configuration as bracket 5 shown in Figures 1 to 5, except for the shape of the main body 6'. The mounting portion 7 of bracket 5' is integrated with the main body 6' in a state where it is bent diagonally backward and upward from the tip 6a' of the main body 6'.

[0039] The main body 6' shown in Figures 6(a) and 6(b) is composed of a continuous semi-cylindrical section with repeated convex and concave shapes, consisting of convex semi-cylindrical sections 13a and 13b that protrude forward and concave semi-cylindrical section 14 that concave forward. As shown in Figure 6(b), the main body 6' has a crank-shaped cross-section. The convex semi-cylindrical sections 13a and 13b are composed of a pair of plate-like sections 13a2 and 13b2 and curved sections 13a3 and 13b3, while the concave semi-cylindrical section 14 is composed of a plate-like section 14a, plate-like sections 13a2 and 13b2 and a curved section 14b. The main body 6' has a crank shape with a curved section in part, giving it a large second moment of area and high rigidity. Furthermore, since the front ends 13a1 and 13b1 of the convex semi-cylindrical portions 13a and 13b are integrally formed with the seal portion 3, the main body portion 6' also has even higher rigidity, similar to the main body portion 6. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 1. Vehicle lighting fixtures 2 Lamp Body 2a Curved surface of the lamp body 3. Sealing part 4 Front cover 5, 5' bracket 6, 6' Main body 7 Mounting part 8a,8b Concave half cylinder part 8a1,8a2,8b1,8b2 Front end 8a3,8b3 Base end 9 Convex semi-cylindrical section 9a Front end 9b Proximal end 10 drainage holes 12a Inclined curved surface 13a, 13b Convex semi-cylindrical section 13a1,13b1 Front end 14 Concave semi-cylindrical section 14 13a3, 13b3, 14b Curved section

Claims

1. A vehicle lighting device comprising a lamp body having a front end opening, a front cover attached to the front end opening of the lamp body and forming a light chamber inside the lamp body, and a bracket provided on the lamp body as a mounting portion to the vehicle body, The bracket has a main body that is connected to the lamp body and a mounting portion that engages with the vehicle body. The main body is composed of a semi-cylindrical section having a semi-cylindrical cross-section, which includes at least a curved section. The base end of the semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the curved surface of the lamp body. A sealing portion is provided at the front end opening of the lamp body. The aforementioned semi-cylindrical portion is configured as a plurality of continuous semi-cylindrical portions formed by alternately creating convex semi-cylindrical portions and concave semi-cylindrical portions. A vehicle light fixture characterized in that the front end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the sealing portion.

2. The vehicle light fixture according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a drain hole at the base end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion.

3. The base end of the concave semi-cylindrical portion is integrally formed with the inclined curved surface of the lamp body, The vehicle light fixture according to claim 2, characterized in that the drain hole is formed to be continuous with the lowest part of the inclined curved surface.

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