EP3049715B1 - Motor vehicle headlamp provided with a decorative accessory - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of vehicle light projectors. It relates more particularly to such a projector with a decorative accessory.

Background of the invention

Motor vehicle light projectors conventionally comprise a housing housing at least one lighting device comprising a lamp and a reflector of light rays. The housing is also provided with an exit opening for the light rays which is covered by a transparent cover glass which is mounted on the periphery of this housing.

Patent application is known EP 0 865 965 , a light projector according to the preamble of claim 1, comprising a decoration accessory comprising a hubcap which is pressed against the front facade of the ice to improve the aesthetic appearance of the projector.

The decorative accessory also includes a double-sided adhesive tape interposed between the inner face of the hubcap and the front of the ice to ensure the attachment of the hubcap on the ice.

However, this solution does not provide an optimal visual rendering due to the thickness of the adhesive tape that prevents the hubcap to be perfectly pressed against the front of the ice.

On the other hand, the use of adhesive tape involves significant risks of takeoff of the hubcap, this takeoff may for example occur during a voluntary attempt of tearing by a third person, during a high pressure washing of vehicle, or under the effect of heat during the summer months.

Object and summary of the invention

The present invention therefore aims to provide an alternative solution ensuring better holding of the hubcap and also providing an improved visual rendering.

It proposes for this purpose a projector for a motor vehicle comprising a housing having a front opening covered by a transparent cover glass, at least one lighting device housed in the interior volume defined by said housing and said mirror, and a decorative accessory comprising a hubcap plated against the front facade of said ice;
characterized in that said decorative accessory comprises at least one rod extending at the rear of said hubcap and passing right through said ice and said housing, at a compartment formed in said interior volume and sealed vis-à-vis the remaining portion of said interior volume housing said lighting device, and in that the free end of said rod is provided with retaining means cooperating with the rear face of said housing to ensure the locking in translation of said decoration accessory.

The cooperation between the through rod of the decorative accessory and the rear face of the housing, ensures a particularly effective and secure maintenance of the hubcap against the front of the ice. In addition and the fact that no unsightly intermediate element is disposed between the hubcap and the front of the ice, the projector according to the invention provides an improved visual rendering.

On the other hand, the stem of the decorative accessory passing through a sealed compartment vis-à-vis the remaining portion of the interior volume housing the lighting device, the water that could possibly infiltrate the The interior of this compartment, through the areas of the ice and the casing through which the stem passes, would be circumscribed.

The projector according to the invention therefore improves both the strength of the hubcap against the facade of the ice and the visual rendering without degrading the seal at the sensitive area hosting the lighting device.

• ledit compartiment est délimité par une portion de la façade avant de ladite glace, par une paroi latérale interne que comprend ladite glace, et par une portion dudit boîtier, le bord arrière de ladite paroi latérale interne formant un pied de glace interne inséré dans une gorge de collage interne dudit boîtier, un joint de collage et d'étanchéité étant intercalé et comprimé entre ledit pied de glace interne et le fond de ladite gorge de collage interne sur l'ensemble de son pourtour ;
• lesdits moyens de retenue comportent un filetage disposé à l'extrémité libre de ladite tige et sur lequel est vissé un écrou, serré contre la face arrière dudit boîtier ;
• lesdits moyens de retenue comportent un orifice transversal situé à l'extrémité libre de ladite tige et traversé par une goupille disposée contre la face arrière dudit boîtier ;
• lesdits moyens de retenue comportent des pattes élastiquement déformables disposés à l'extrémité libre de ladite tige et qui sont encliquetées au travers dudit boîtier, de sorte qu'une portion de chacune des dites pattes soit en butée contre la face arrière dudit boîtier ;
• ledit accessoire de décoration comporte plusieurs dites tiges réparties sur la longueur de l'élément de décoration et traversant des orifices correspondant ménagés respectivement dans la façade avant de ladite glace et dans ledit boîtier ;
• ledit enjoliveur est logé partiellement dans un renfoncement de la façade avant de ladite glace ;
• ledit enjoliveur est formé par une baguette profilée dont la façade avant est recouverte d'un chromage décoratif ;
• ladite glace comporte également une paroi latérale périphérique s'étendant vers l'arrière depuis la bordure périphérique de sa façade avant, le bord arrière de ladite paroi latérale périphérique formant un pied de glace périphérique inséré dans une gorge de collage périphérique du boîtier, un joint de collage et d'étanchéité étant intercalé et comprimé entre le pied de glace périphérique et le fond de la gorge de collage périphérique sur l'ensemble de son pourtour ; et/ou
• ledit projecteur comporte deux dits dispositifs d'éclairage disposés l'un au dessus de l'autre.

According to preferred features of the motor vehicle headlight according to the invention, taken alone or in combination:

• said compartment is delimited by a portion of the front facade of said ice, by an inner side wall that comprises said ice, and by a portion of said casing, the rear edge of said inner side wall forming an internal foot of ice inserted into a groove; internally bonding said housing, a seal and sealing joint being interposed and compressed between said inner foot of ice and the bottom of said internal bonding groove over its entire periphery;
• said retaining means comprise a thread disposed at the free end of said rod and on which is screwed a nut, pressed against the rear face of said housing;
• said retaining means comprise a transverse orifice located at the free end of said rod and traversed by a pin disposed against the rear face of said housing;
• said retaining means comprise elastically deformable tabs disposed at the free end of said rod and which are snapped through said housing, so that a portion of each of said tabs abuts against the rear face of said housing;
• said decorative accessory comprises a plurality of said rods distributed along the length of the decorative element and through corresponding orifices formed respectively in the front facade of said mirror and in said housing;
• said hubcap is partially housed in a recess of the front facade of said ice;
• said hubcap is formed by a profiled rod whose front panel is covered with a decorative chrome;
• said ice also has a peripheral side wall extending rearwardly from the peripheral edge of its front face, the rear edge of said peripheral side wall forming a peripheral ice foot inserted into a peripheral gluing groove of the housing, a joint bonding and sealing being interposed and compressed between the peripheral ice base and the bottom of the peripheral bonding groove over its entire periphery; and or
• said projector comprises two said lighting devices arranged one above the other.

Brief description of the drawings

The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below by way of illustration but without limitation, with reference to the appended drawing, in which the single figure represents a diagrammatic sectional view. of a motor vehicle headlight according to the invention.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

The projector 1 comprises a housing 10 having a front opening covered by a transparent cover glass 20, sealingly mounted on the periphery of the housing 10 as will be seen in more detail below.

The projector 1 also comprises two lighting devices 2, 5 housed one above the other in the interior volume defined by the housing 10 and the ice 20.

The housing 10 is preferably integrally molded from a thermoplastic polymer such as for example an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

It comprises a peripheral bonding groove 11 extending along its periphery, as well as an internal bonding groove 12 having a rectangular contour.

The cover glass 20 is preferably integrally molded from a transparent thermoplastic polymer such as polycarbonate or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).

Its front facade 21 has a flat main wall 22 oriented transversely to the direction of propagation of the light and extending from the peripheral edge of the ice 20 to a perpendicular recess 23 (that is to say oriented parallel to the direction of propagation of light).

At the rear of the recess 23, the front facade 21 of the window 20 comprises a second flat wall 24 with a generally rectangular contour, set back from the wall 21 and oriented parallel to the latter.

The ice 20 also has a peripheral side wall 25 extending rearwardly from the peripheral edge of its front facade 21 and in an orientation substantially parallel to the direction of propagation of the light.

The rear edge of this peripheral side wall 25 forms a peripheral ice base 26 which is inserted into the peripheral gluing groove 11 of the housing 10.

A bonding and sealing gasket 30 is interposed and compressed between the peripheral ice base 26 and the bottom of the peripheral bonding groove 11 over its entire periphery. This seal 30 makes it possible both to effectively secure the glass 20 on the housing 10, and to ensure excellent sealing over the entire periphery of the projector 1.

The ice 20 finally comprises an inner side wall 27 extending rearwardly in the extension of the recess 23 and in an orientation substantially parallel to the direction of propagation of the light.

The rear edge of this inner side wall 27 forms an inner ice base 28 which is inserted into the internal gluing groove 12 of the housing 10.

The recessed walls 24 and internal lateral 27 of the ice 20 as well as the portion 10A of the housing 10 located on the inner side of this internal gluing groove 12, thus delimit a compartment 35 formed in the interior volume of the projector 1.

A second seal and seal 31 is interposed and compressed between the inner foot of ice 28 and the bottom of the internal gluing groove 12 over its entire rectangular periphery. This second seal 31, of the same composition as the seal 30, makes it possible at the same time to reinforce the retention of the mirror 20 on the casing 10, and to ensure the sealed isolation of the compartment 35 vis-à-vis the remaining portion of the interior volume of the projector 1 housing the two lighting devices 2, 5.

The lower lighting device 2 intended to provide the distant illumination crossing / road, comprises a reflector 3 parabolic profile and a light source 4 constituted by a halogen bulb type H1, H4 or H7 mounted on the back of the reflector 3 by means of a not shown mounting sleeve inserted through an opening in the rear part of this reflector 3.

The upper lighting device 5 intended to provide the flashing function comprises a reflector 6 with an elliptical profile and a light source 7 constituted by a filament bulb of the P21W type mounted on the rear of the reflector 6 via a not shown mounting sleeve inserted through an opening in the rear part of this reflector 6.

The projector 1 also comprises a decorative accessory 40 comprising a hubcap 41 and a rod 45.

The decorative accessory 40 is preferably integrally molded from a thermoplastic polymer such as for example an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

The hubcap is formed by a profiled rod 41 whose front is covered with a decorative chrome plating. This rod 41 is partially housed in the recess of the front facade of the ice 20 delimited by the two recesses 23 and the recessed wall 24, its rear edge 42 being pressed against the peripheral contour of this recessed wall 24.

The stem 45 takes root at the rear of the rod 41 and extends transversely thereto. It passes through the compartment 35 from one end to the other thanks to two circular orifices 29 and 13, formed respectively in the recessed wall 24 of the window 20 and in the portion 10A of the housing 10.

The free end of the rod 45 is provided with retaining means cooperating with the rear face of the casing 10 to ensure the translation locking of the decoration accessory 40, so as to maintain The means are here formed by a threading 46 on which is screwed a nut 47 pressed against the rear face of the portion 10A of the housing 10.

In fact, the rod 45 of the decorative accessory 40 passes through the compartment 35, which is insulated against the remainder of the interior volume housing the lighting devices 2 and 5, the water which could possibly infiltrate within this compartment 35, via the openings 29 and 13 formed respectively on the recessed wall 24 of the glass 20 and the portion 10A of the housing 10, would be circumscribed and therefore could not penetrate into the part of the projector 1 housing these lighting devices 2 and 5.

In addition, the decoration accessory 40 that comprises the projector according to the invention can be very easily replaced by the user without it being necessary to proceed to complete disassembly of the projector.

It suffices to simply unscrew the nut 47 located at the rear of the housing 10, then remove the decoration accessory 40 deteriorated, to dispose a new, and finally to screw the nut 47 on the free end of its threaded rod.

According to alternative embodiments not shown, the retaining means for locking in translation of the decoration accessory are different. Thus, the free end of the rod may comprise, in place of the thread, a transverse orifice traversed by a pin disposed against the rear face of the housing, or alternatively elastically deformable tabs snapped through the housing so that a portion of each of these tabs abuts against the rear face of the housing. The decorative accessory may also include several rods distributed along the length of the decorative element and through corresponding holes formed respectively in the front panel of the ice and in the housing.

According to other embodiments not shown, the decorative accessory is made of a metallic material such as brass or polished aluminum.

According to still other variants not shown, the number of lighting devices that comprises the projector is different from two and for example equal to one or three.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but encompasses any alternative embodiment according to the appended claims. In particular, the shape and profile of the glass, the housing and the decorative accessory may be different from those of the projector 1.

Claims (10)

1. A motor vehicle headlamp comprising a housing (10) having a front opening covered by a transparent cover glass (20), at least one lighting device (2, 5) housed in the inner volume defined by said housing (10) and said glass (20), and a decorative accessory (40) including a trim (41) pressed against the front façade (21) of said glass (20);
   characterized in that said decorative accessory (40) comprises at least one rod (45) extending behind said trim (41) and passing all the way through said glass (20) and said housing (10), at the level of a compartment (35) arranged in said inner volume and insulated in a sealed manner with respect to the remaining part of said inner volume housing said lighting device (2, 5), and in that the free end of said rod (45) is provided with retaining means (46, 47) cooperating with the rear face of said housing (10) to ensure the translational locking of said decorative accessory (40).
2. The motor vehicle headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that said compartment (35) is delimited by a portion (24) of the front façade (21) of said glass (20), by an internal lateral wall (27) which said glass (20) includes, and by a portion (10A) of said housing (10), the rear edge of said internal lateral wall (27) forming an internal glass base (28) inserted in an internal bonding groove (12) of said housing (10), a bonding and sealing joint (31) being inserted and compressed between said internal glass base (28) and the bottom of said internal bonding groove (12) on the whole of its periphery.
3. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said retaining means comprise a thread (46) disposed at the free end of said rod (45) and on which a nut (47) is screwed, tightened against the rear face of said housing (10).
4. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said retaining means comprise a transverse orifice situated at the free end of said rod and passed through by a pin disposed against the rear face of said housing.
5. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said retaining means comprise elastically deformable lugs disposed at the free end of said rod and which are snap-fitted through said housing, such that a portion of each of said lugs is in abutment against the rear face of said housing.
6. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said decorative accessory (40) comprises several said rods (45) distributed on the length of the decorative element (41) and passing through corresponding orifices (29, 13) arranged respectively in the front façade (21) of said glass (20) and in said housing (10).
7. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said trim (41) is housed partially in a recess of the front façade (21) of said glass (20).
8. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said trim is formed by a profiled strip (41), the front façade of which is covered by a decorative chromium plating.
9. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said glass (20) also comprises a peripheral lateral wall (25) extending toward the rear from the peripheral edging of its front façade (21), the rear edge of said peripheral lateral wall (25) forming a peripheral glass base (26) inserted in a peripheral bonding groove (11) of the housing (10), a bonding and sealing joint (30) being inserted and compressed between the peripheral glass base (26) and the bottom of the peripheral bonding groove (11) on the whole of its periphery.
10. The motor vehicle headlamp according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises two said lighting devices (2, 5) disposed one above the other.

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