FR2729741A1 - MOTOR VEHICLE PROJECTOR WITH REMOVABLE ELECTRICAL BOX - Google Patents

Abstract

Motor vehicle headlamp, comprising an optical unit (2), in which at least one reflector and one lamp are mounted, and a removable electronic unit (7) for controlling at least one function, the optical unit (2 ) having an access opening closed by a closing cover (5), characterized in that the electronic unit (7) is removably fixed on said closing cover (5).

Description

The present invention relates to vehicle headlights

  automobiles with removable electronics housing. Projectors of this type have in particular been described in the French patent application of the

  Applicant published under number FR-2.685.439.

  Such an electronic unit integrates a certain number of electrical and electronic components intended to perform one or more functions in the projector with which it is associated. For example, this electronic unit ensures the switching on and off of the projector lamps and / or the development of the high voltages required to start and maintain the discharge lamps when they exist and / or the control of the electric motors intended to vary the orientation of the reflectors and / or the control of the electric motors driving the cleaning brushes or the liquid spraying pumps, etc. In FR-2,685,439, it was proposed that such an electronic box be removably mounted on the optical bio-box of the projector, so that in the event of a failure of the electronic circuitry, it is possible to intervene easily on the housing

  without having to dismantle the whole projector.

  DE-A-41 16 249 also discloses a discharge lamp projector, the electronic housing of which is disposed in a cover closing an access opening of the optical housing of the projector. This electronic box is fixed there with the closing cover on the edges of the access opening of the optical box. The invention proposes a projector structure in which the installation of the electronic unit on the optical unit is facilitated by

  relation to the structures described in FR-2,685,439 and DE-A-

41 16 249.

  The structure proposed by the invention allows

  also a significant gain in size.

  It will also be noted that this projector structure can be produced without any particular adaptation.

  optical boxes of prior art projectors.

  According to the invention, there is provided a motor vehicle headlamp, comprising an optical unit, in which at least one reflector and one lamp are mounted, and a removable electronic unit for controlling at least one function, the unit optic having an access opening closed by a closing cover, characterized in that the electronic unit is fixed

  removably on said closure cover.

  Thus, the assembly of the electronic unit is carried out in two stages: it is first fixed on the closing cover, then, in a second

  time, the cover is fixed on the access opening.

  The operator therefore has only one piece (cover module / electronic unit) to be fixed on the optical unit. Other features and benefits of

  the invention will become more apparent from the description which

  follows. This description is purely illustrative and not

  limiting. It should be read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a headlamp according to one possible embodiment of the invention, the reflector having been shown in several positions; Figure 2 is a perspective representation of the optical housing of the projector of Figure

1, rear view.

  The headlight of Figure 1 is received in a housing formed on the sheet T of the vehicle and mainly comprises a reflector 1 disposed inside a

optical box 2.

  The reflector 1 is molded from a thermoplastic material, its reflection surface being produced by metallization or painting. It has an elliptical reflection cavity for the formation of the coded beam and a lb parabolic reflection cavity for the formation of the driving beam. Lamps (not shown) are arranged at the bottom of these cavities 1a and 1b. These lamps are for example

discharge lamps.

  The cavity returns the beam which it reflects on a convex exit lens 3 fixed on said

reflector 1.

  The reflector 1 and the lens 3 which it carries are orientable in the optical box 2. One or more electric motors (not shown) arranged inside the box 2 provide the variations

  orientation of reflector 1 and lens 3.

  The housing 2 is produced by molding in one

thermoplastic material.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, it comprises, in line with the cavities 1a and 1b of the reflector 1, access openings 4a and 4b. In a manner known per se, these openings 4a and 4b are intended to allow an operator to access the interior of the projector, by

  example to change a projector lamp.

  The opening 4b to the right of the reflector cavity lb of the headlamp beam is closed by a conventional closing cover, which has not been shown. The opening 4a which corresponds to the coded beam reflection cavity la is closed by a cover 5 which has a housing 6 for receiving a housing

  electronics 7 of complementary shape.

  The cover 5 has a closing part 5a by which it is fixed to the housing 2 and a part 5b which

defines housing 6.

  The closing part 5a is of generally cylindrical shape. It is closed by a bottom at one of its ends and is open at its other end. At its open end, the part 5a has an annular groove 8 intended to engage on an annular rim 9 which surrounds in external projection the opening 4a, to ensure by clamping its internal faces against this annular rim 9 the maintenance of the cover 5 on the housing 2. When the cover 5 is thus attached to the annular rim 9, it seals the opening 4a. The part 5b forming the receptacle is in one piece with the part 5a. It has a cross section of general L shape defined by two portions

  parallelepipedic rectangles 10 and 11 perpendicular.

  The portion 10 is juxtaposed with the part 5a. It extends: vertically, in the direction of its height, from the part 5a towards the bottom of the projector, - horizontally, along the direction of its length, from the part 5a, towards the outside of the projector,

  on the side thereof opposite the opening 4b.

  Part 11 is substantially flat (low height) and is horizontal. It extends: - along said branch 10, in the direction of its length, - from branch 10 towards the front of the housing 2,

according to the direction of its width.

  The bottom wall of the housing 2 has a rear recess 2a in which said foot 11 is received, the shape of said recess 2a being complementary

that of the foot 11.

  The components integrated in the electronic unit 7, (also called uballast), conventionally control the high and low voltages implemented in the projector for the supply of the various lamps or for the actuation of the various

electric motors.

  This housing 7 has a generally L-shaped cross section defined by two portions

  parallelepipedic rectangles 12 and 13 perpendicular.

  The portion 12 is substantially flat, its height corresponding to that of the portion 11. This portion 12 has a rectangular contour corresponding to the contour defined in the housing 6 by the portion 11 and by the

  part of the portion 10 which extends this portion 11.

  When the housing 7 is fitted into the housing 6, this portion 12 of the housing 7 is received in the portion 11 and the

  part of the portion 10 which extends it.

  The portion 13 extends vertically at a lateral end of the portion 12. The height of the housing 7 at this portion 13 corresponds substantially to the height of the portion 10. When the housing 7 is in place on the part 5b, the portion 13 is housed in the portion of portion 10 which is located laterally by

compared to part 5a of the cover 5.

  Maintaining the electronic housing 7 in the housing 6 is achieved by tightening a lower edge 17, which horizontally surrounds the housing 7, against the inner faces of a neck 18 which ends the part 5b of the cover 5 by surrounding its opening. A rectangular frame 14 forming a spacer is interposed between the

  border 14 and the bottom 18a of the neck 18.

  It will also be noted that the housing 6 and the closing part 5a of the cover 5 communicate, so that the connection wires 15, between the electronic box 7 and the various elements of the projector to which this box 7 is connected (holder lamp 16 in FIG. 1 for example), extend only inside the cover 5 and the optical box 2. The mounting of the electronic box 7 on the projector is carried out as follows. In a first step, the spacer 14 is placed on the housing 7 while coming to bear on the lower edge of said housing, and

  the housing 7 is fitted into the housing 6 of the cover 5.

  In a second step, the part 5a of the cover 5 is presented on the rim 9 of the opening 4a so as to fix the whole of the module constituted by the cover 5 and the

  box 7 on the optical box 2.

  Disassembly is carried out in reverse.

  It will be noted that an advantage of the projectors according to the invention lies in that their optical unit is of a type which can be used indifferently for projectors with or without electronic unit. In the case of a projector without an electronic unit, the cover according to the invention is then replaced by a cylindrical cover.

Claims (10)

RESELL ICATIONS   1. Motor vehicle headlamp, comprising an optical unit (2), in which at least one reflector (1) and a lamp are mounted, and a removable electronic unit (7) for controlling at least one function, this electronic unit being received in a cover which closes an access opening (4a) of the optical unit (2), characterized in that the electronic unit (7) is   removably attached to said closure cover (5).   2. Projector according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic unit (7) is fitted into a housing (6) of complementary shape that presents the cover (5).   3. Projector according to claim 2, characterized in that the cover (5) has a closing part (5a) for covering the access opening (4a) and a receptacle part (5b) which extends from of the access opening (4a) and which defines the housing (6)   in which is received the electronic box (7).   4. Projector according to claim 3, characterized in that the receptacle part (5b) has at least one portion (11) which extends under the optical box (2).   5. Projector according to claim 4, characterized in that the optical unit (2) has a rear recess (2a) in which said portion (11)   from the receptacle portion (5b) is received.   6. Projector according to one of claims 3 to   , characterized in that the receptacle part (5b) extends laterally towards the outside of the projector to   from the closing part (5a).   7. Projector according to one of claims 3 to   6, characterized in that the electronic housing (7) and the receptacle part (7a, 7b) are of shaped parallelepipedic.   8. Projector according to one of claims 3 &   7, characterized in that the electronic unit (7) is held by clamping in the receptacle part (5b).   9. Projector according to one of claims   previous, characterized in that the optical unit (2) has several access openings (4a, 4b), one (4a) of these openings being in line with a cavity of the reflector reflecting a beam of code type and in that the cover (5) closing on which the electronics box (7) is removably fixed is that of this access opening (4a).   10. Hood (5) for closing an access opening (4a) of a headlight, characterized in that, for a   headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, it   has a housing (6) for receiving an electronic box intended to be removably attached to said cover.