Nut member and optical axis adjustment mechanism

Abstract

Provided is a nut member having a new shape which is hardly worn out. A nut member (22) is attached to a rectangular opening section formed in a component constituting a vehicle lighting fixture. The nut member (22) comprises: a flange section (22a) that comes into contact with the component from one side of the opening section; and a pair of protruding sections (22b) that protrude from the flange section toward the other side of the opening section and face each other. Each of the protruding sections (22b) has: a locking section (22c) that is inserted into the opening section in a bent state and is locked to the component after protruding from the opening section; and a planar section (22d) with which the inner peripheral surface of one side of the opening section in the vertical direction makes contact in a locked state. The flange section (22a) has a protruding surface (22e) that abuts the component.

Description

Nut member and optical axis adjustment mechanism

[0001] The present invention relates to a nut member used in a vehicle lamp.

[0002] Conventionally, automotive headlamps, fog lamps, and the like have been equipped with optical axis adjustment mechanisms for adjusting the optical axis. For example, an optical axis adjustment mechanism has been devised that is composed of two self-locking nuts, two adjusting screws, one pivot holder, and one pivot shaft (see Patent Document 1). The self-locking nut of this optical axis adjustment mechanism is supported while being inserted into a connecting hole and has a shape that allows it to tilt relative to the connecting part. Furthermore, a portion of the self-locking nut is supported so that it can move in the fore-and-aft direction of the lamp housing.

[0003] International Publication No. 2023 / 190498

[0004] In the optical axis adjustment mechanism described above, when one operating part is rotated and one adjusting screw is rotated about the axis, aiming adjustment is performed in the up-down direction, and when the other operating part is rotated and the other adjusting screw is rotated about the axis, aiming adjustment is performed in the left-right direction. For this reason, the self-locking nut has a shape that allows it to move somewhat freely while sliding relative to the connecting part, and there is a risk that the self-locking nut will be worn down depending on the load applied to the sliding part and the shape of the sliding part.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its exemplary objects is to provide a nut member having a new shape that is less likely to be worn off.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a nut member that is attached to a rectangular opening formed in a component that constitutes a vehicle lamp, and includes a flange portion that abuts against the component from one side of the opening, and a pair of opposing protrusions that protrude from the flange portion toward the other side of the opening. The protrusions have a locking portion that is inserted into the opening in a deflected state and locks with the component after protruding from the opening, and a flat portion that contacts the inner circumferential surface of one vertical side of the opening when locked. The flange portion has a convex surface that abuts against the component.

[0007] According to this embodiment, the portion of the protrusion that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the part when the protrusion is engaged is flat, which facilitates surface contact between the protrusion and the inner peripheral surface of the opening. This makes it less likely for the nut member to be worn down even when the part and the nut member slide against each other due to vibration. In addition, the convex surface of the flange allows the nut member to tilt relative to the part.

[0008] The optical axis adjusting device may further include a funnel-shaped guide portion that guides the tip of the male screw member for adjusting the optical axis, and a through hole that is formed from the bottom of the guide portion toward the gap between the pair of protrusions. This makes it easier to guide the tip of the male screw member into the through hole when assembling the male screw member to the nut member attached to the opening of the component.

[0009] The guide portion may have a pair of flat surfaces along the long sides of the opening and a pair of inclined surfaces along the short sides of the opening, thereby simplifying the shape of the guide portion and realizing vertical guidance of the tip of the male screw member.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is an optical axis adjustment mechanism. This optical axis adjustment mechanism includes the nut member described above, an optical member that has an opening into which the nut member is attached and contributes to forming a light distribution pattern, a male screw member that is inserted into the through hole of the nut member, and a lamp body that rotatably holds the male screw member. In the optical axis adjustment mechanism, the nut member moves in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle due to rotation of the male screw member, thereby tilting the optical member.

[0011] According to this aspect, it is possible to realize an optical axis adjusting mechanism that includes a nut member that is less susceptible to scraping.

[0012] The optical member may further include a pair of fulcrums provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle lamp. The optical member may be configured to be tiltable in the up and down direction around a straight line connecting the pair of fulcrums as a rotation axis, and the pair of protrusions may be provided side by side in the left and right direction, with the convex surfaces provided on both left and right sides of the opening. In this way, the pair of protrusions can suppress left and right vibration of the nut member due to vehicle vibrations.

[0013] Any combination of the above components, and conversion of the present invention between a manufacturing method, a lighting fixture or lighting device, a light emitting module, a light source, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention.

[0014] According to the present invention, a nut member having a new shape that is less susceptible to wear can be realized.

[0015] 7 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment; FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a reflector constituting the vehicle lamp, viewed from behind the lamp; FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a lamp body constituting the vehicle lamp, viewed from in front of the lamp; FIG. 10 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp, cut along a horizontal plane including a fulcrum portion; FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp, cut along a vertical plane including a nut member; FIG. 12 is a front view of a nut member according to the present embodiment; FIG. 13 is a side view of the nut member shown in FIG. 6, viewed from direction A; FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the nut member of FIG. 6, viewed from direction B; FIG. 15 is a top view of the nut member of FIG. 6, viewed from direction C; FIG. 16 is a D-D cross-sectional view of the nut member of FIG.

[0016] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted where appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

[0017] (Vehicle Lamp) Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle lamp according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a reflector constituting the vehicle lamp, viewed from behind the lamp. Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a lamp body constituting the vehicle lamp, viewed from in front of the lamp. The vehicle lamp 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a vehicle headlamp for two-wheeled vehicles. The vehicle lamp according to this embodiment may be any lamp having a function for adjusting the optical axis. The vehicle lamp 10 comprises a lens 12, a reflector 14 which is an optical member, and a lamp body 16. A substrate 18, on the underside of which an LED (not shown) which serves as a light source, is mounted, is fixed to the reflector 14 with screws 20.

[0018] The reflector 14 has a reflective surface 15 as an optical surface that reflects light emitted downward from the LED toward the front of the lamp. The light reflected by the reflective surface 15 passes through the lens 12 and is projected in a predetermined orientation pattern toward the front of the vehicle. The nut member 22 is attached to a rectangular opening 14a provided at the bottom of the reflector 14. The reflector 14 further has a pair of fulcrums 14b provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle lamp.

[0019] The lamp body 16 has a through-hole 16a into which an adjusting screw 24, which is a male threaded member, is inserted and which rotatably holds the adjusting screw 24. The lamp body 16 has a pair of recesses 16b in which a pair of fulcrum portions 14b are rotatably held. The fulcrum portions 14b have spherical protrusions at their tips, and are configured to tilt at least in the vertical direction while held in the recesses 16b.

[0020] 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp 10 taken along a horizontal plane including the fulcrum portions 14b. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the reflector 14 is configured to be tiltable in the vertical direction around a rotation axis R1 that is a straight line connecting the pair of fulcrum portions 14b.

[0021] 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vehicle lamp 10 taken along a vertical plane including the nut member. The optical axis adjustment mechanism 100 according to this embodiment enables adjustment of the optical axis by interlocking the nut member 22, which is a female-threaded member, with the adjusting screw 24, which is a male-threaded member, and tilting the reflector 14 relative to the lamp body 16. The nut member 22 according to this embodiment is a resin-molded part.

[0022] Specifically, the adjusting screw 24 is inserted into the through-hole 16a of the lamp body 16 with the O-ring 26 fitted in the outer circumferential groove. At this time, the threaded tip of the adjusting screw 24 is screwed in until the nut member 22 reaches a predetermined position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 ). From this state, when the adjusting screw 24 is rotated in the X1 direction using an adjustment tool (such as a screwdriver), the nut member 22, which is threaded on the inner periphery of the central through-hole, moves in the Y1 direction. As a result, the entire reflector 14 to which the nut member 22 is attached tilts in the Z1 direction. On the other hand, when the adjusting screw 24 is rotated in the X2 direction, the nut member 22 moves in the Y2 direction. As a result, the entire reflector 14 to which the nut member 22 is attached tilts in the Z2 direction. In this way, the optical axis adjustment mechanism 100 according to this embodiment can adjust the orientation of the optical axis by rotating the adjusting screw 24 threaded into the nut member 22 with the adjustment tool.

[0023] (Nut member) Next, details of the nut member according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a front view of the nut member according to this embodiment. Fig. 7 is a side view of the nut member shown in Fig. 6, seen from direction A. Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the nut member of Fig. 6, seen from direction B. Fig. 9 is a top view of the nut member of Fig. 6, seen from direction C. Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of the nut member of Fig. 7.

[0024] 10 , the nut member 22 includes a flange portion 22a that contacts the reflector 14 from one side E (rearward of the vehicle) of the opening 14a, and a pair of opposing protrusions 22b that protrude from the flange portion 22a toward the other side F (frontward of the vehicle) of the opening 14a. The protrusions 22b have a locking portion 22c that is inserted into the opening 14a in a bent state and locks with the reflector 14 after protruding from the opening 14a, and a flat portion 22d that comes into contact with the inner circumferential surface 14d of the vertical side 14c of the opening 14a in the locked state. The flange portion 22a has a convex surface 22e that contacts the reflector 14.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 5, in the optical axis adjustment mechanism 100 according to this embodiment, the opening 14a is a rectangle that is long in the vertical direction so that the nut member 22 can move up and down relative to the opening 14a as the adjusting screw 24 rotates (in other words, so that the reflector 14 can move up and down relative to the nut member) (see Fig. 9). For example, as described above, when the adjusting screw 24 is rotated in the X1 direction, the nut member 22 moves in the Y1 direction, and the opening 14a is displaced downward, causing the optical axis of the reflector 14 to tilt downward. Conversely, when the adjusting screw 24 is rotated in the X2 direction, the nut member 22 moves in the Y2 direction, and the opening 14a is displaced upward, causing the optical axis of the reflector 14 to tilt upward.

[0026] As described above, the opening 14a is shaped so that the protruding portion 22b of the nut member 22 can move up and down while the protruding portion 22b is engaged. Therefore, when the nut member 22 moves up and down within the opening 14a due to vibration, the nut member 22 may be worn down due to sliding against the inner circumferential surface 14d of the opening 14a. Therefore, in the nut member 22 according to the present embodiment, the portion that contacts the inner circumferential surface 14d of the opening 14a of the reflector 14 when the protruding portion 22b is engaged is the flat portion 22d, so that the protruding portion 22b and the inner circumferential surface 14d of the opening 14a are likely to come into surface contact. Therefore, even if the reflector 14 and the nut member 22 slide due to vibration, they are less likely to be worn down. The pair of protruding portions 22b are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, which can suppress left-right oscillation of the nut member 22 in response to vehicle vibration.

[0027] Furthermore, because the nut member 22 can only move in the axial direction of the adjusting screw 24, it hardly tilts relative to the lamp body 16, but the opening 14a tilts due to the tilting of the reflector 14. Therefore, if the portion of the flange portion 22a that abuts against the reflector 14 from one side E of the opening 14a were completely flat, the entire flange portion 22a would abut against the edge of the opening 14a at a reference position where the opening 14a and the flange portion 22a are completely parallel, but if the reference position is shifted, the position of the flange portion 22a abutting against the edge of the opening 14a would not be constant. Therefore, by providing a convex surface 22e at the portion where the flange portion 22a abuts against the reflector 14, the nut member 22 can tilt relative to the reflector 14 without changing the abutment position between the flange portion 22a of the nut member 22 and the reflector 14. The convex surfaces 22e are provided on both left and right sides of the opening 14a.

[0028] 9, the nut member 22 further includes a funnel-shaped guide portion 22f for guiding the tip of the adjusting screw 24, and a through hole 22h formed from a bottom portion 22g of the guide portion 22f toward the gap between the pair of protrusions 22b. A thread groove 22m is formed on part of the inner surface of the through hole 22h. This makes it easier to guide the tip of the adjusting screw 24 into the through hole 22h when assembling the adjusting screw 24 to the nut member 22 attached to the opening 14a of the reflector 14.

[0029] The guide portion 22f has a pair of flat surfaces 22j along one side 14c (long side) of the opening 14a and a pair of inclined surfaces 22k along the other side 14e (short side) of the opening 14a, thereby simplifying the shape of the guide portion 22f and realizing the vertical guidance of the tip of the adjusting screw 24.

[0030] The optical axis adjustment mechanism 100 according to this embodiment includes the above-mentioned nut member 22, a reflector 14 that has an opening 14a into which the nut member 22 is attached and that contributes to the formation of a light distribution pattern, an adjusting screw 24 that is inserted into a through hole 22h of the nut member 22, and a lamp body 16 that rotatably holds the adjusting screw 24. The nut member 22 moves in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle due to rotation of the adjusting screw 24, thereby tilting the reflector 14. This makes it possible to realize an optical axis adjustment mechanism 100 that includes a nut member 22 that is less susceptible to scraping.

[0031] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and suitable combinations and substitutions of the configurations of the embodiments are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, it is possible to suitably rearrange the combinations and processing orders in the embodiments based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and to make modifications to the embodiments such as various design changes, and such modified embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0032] This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-036369, filed on March 8, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0033] The above descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms described. Numerous modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above description.

[0034] 10 Vehicle lamp, 14 Reflector, 14a Opening, 14b Support portion, 14c Edge, 14d Inner peripheral surface, 14e Edge, 15 Reflecting surface, 16 Lamp body, 16a Through hole, 16b Recessed portion, 22 Nut member, 22a Flange portion, 22b Protruding portion, 22c Locking portion, 22d Flat portion, 22e Convex surface, 22f Guide portion, 22g Bottom portion, 22h Through hole, 22j Flat portion, 22k Inclined surface, 22m Thread groove, 24 Adjusting screw, 26 O-ring, 100 Optical axis adjustment mechanism.

Claims

1. A nut member that is attached to a rectangular opening formed in a component that constitutes a vehicle lamp, comprising: a flange portion that abuts against the component from one side of the opening; and a pair of opposing protrusions that protrude from the flange portion toward the other side of the opening, wherein the protrusions are inserted into the opening in a bent state and have a locking portion that locks with the component after protruding from the opening, and a flat portion with which the inner peripheral surface of one vertical side of the opening comes into contact when locked, and wherein the flange portion has a convex surface that abuts against the component.

2. The nut member according to claim 1, further comprising: a funnel-shaped guide portion for guiding the tip of a male screw member for adjusting the optical axis; and a through hole formed from the bottom of the guide portion toward the gap between the pair of protrusions.

3. A nut member as described in claim 2, characterized in that the guide portion has a pair of flat portions along the long sides of the opening and a pair of inclined surfaces along the short sides of the opening.

4. An optical axis adjustment mechanism comprising: a nut member according to any one of claims 1 to 3; an optical member having an opening into which the nut member is attached and contributing to the formation of a light distribution pattern; a male screw member inserted into a through hole of the nut member; and a lamp body rotatably holding the male screw member, wherein the nut member moves in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle due to rotation of the male screw member, thereby tilting the optical member.

5. The optical axis adjustment mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that the optical member further has a pair of fulcrum parts respectively provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle lamp, and is configured to be tiltable in the vertical direction around a straight line connecting the pair of fulcrum parts as a rotation axis, the pair of protrusions are provided side by side in the left and right direction, and the convex surfaces are provided on both sides in the left and right direction with the opening between them.

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