JP2001110209A - Lighting fixture for vehicle and method for its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the appearance of a lighting fixture for a vehicle with an extension for preventing the exposure of the peripheral edge of a lighting fixture body and to enable to assemble the lighting fixture on a vehicle body at its front side. SOLUTION: A lighting fixture for a vehicle comprises a lighting fixture body 1, a lens 6 for covering a front opening 11 thereof, and an extension 7 internally mounted along the inner face of the lens 6 in the lighting fixture body 1 for preventing the exposure of a peripheral edge gap between the lighting fixture body 1 and a reflector 2 through the lens 6. A sub-assembly with the lens 6 and the extension 7 previously integrated is formed and a seal leg portion 71 provided on the extension 7 is fixed to a seal groove 12 of the lighting fixture body 1 for assembling the lens 6 integrated with the extension 7 on the lighting fixture body 1. As the peripheral edge of the extension 7 is extended along the peripheral edge of the front opening 11 of the lighting fixture body 1, a dummy portion of the lens peripheral edge 62 is made smaller, the lens peripheral edge 62 is made thinner and better in appearance and the lighting fixture is hard to interfere with a body opening PO on which the lighting fixture is mounted and easy to assemble on a vehicle body at its front side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp having a structure in which an inner member such as an inner lens or an extension (pseudo-reflector) is disposed along the inner surface of a lens disposed in front of the lamp. The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp having improved appearance and improved assemblability of the lamp to a vehicle body, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a lamp used for a vehicle such as an automobile, a lamp provided with a step disposed for diffusing light on a lens disposed in front of the lamp or using a so-called transparent lens having few steps has been proposed. . In such a lamp using a transparent lens, since the inside of the lamp is easily exposed through the lens and its appearance is easily deteriorated, an inner lens or extension for covering part of the lamp may be provided along the inner surface of the lens. Done. For example,
FIG. 4 shows an example of a lamp provided with an extension. In FIG. 1, a reflector 2 whose surface is subjected to a reflective surface treatment is provided in a lamp body 1, and a bulb 4 is supported by a bulb socket 3 in a socket mounting hole 21 on the back surface of the reflector 2. A sealing groove 12 having a U-shaped cross section is formed in a peripheral portion of the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1, and the lens 6 is attached to the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1. The lens 6 is provided with a peripheral edge 62 along the periphery of a front surface 61 covering the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1, and a sealing leg 65 formed at the edge of the peripheral edge 62 is provided with the sealing leg 65. It is fixed by the sealant 8 in the groove 12.

In order to prevent a gap formed between the lamp body 1 and the peripheral edge of the reflector 2 from being exposed to the outside through the lens 6, the appearance of the lamp body 1 is reduced. A frame-shaped extension 7 is provided along the periphery of the reflector 2. The surface of the extension 7 is subjected to a reflection surface treatment similarly to the reflector 2, and when the extension 7 is viewed through the lens 2, the extension 7 and the reflector 2 have a completely integrated appearance. Here, the extension 7 is shown in FIG.
As shown in a partially enlarged view, the peripheral edge 75 of the extension 7 is arranged close to the inner surface of the peripheral portion 62 of the lens 6.

[0004]

In such a conventional vehicle lamp, the gap between the peripheral portion of the extension 7 and the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1 is not exposed through the lens 6 from the front side of the lamp. As described above, the cross-sectional shape of a part 66 of the lens peripheral portion 62 facing the region where the seal leg portion 12 is located from the peripheral edge 75 of the extension 7 is formed in a tapered shape. By providing the tapered portion 66, light from the gap is refracted to the side by the tapered surface of the tapered portion 66, and the gap can be hardly exposed from the front side of the lamp. In addition,
Since the tapered portion 66 does not have a function inherent to the lens, it is configured as a so-called dummy portion. However, by providing the dummy portion 66, the thickness of the lens peripheral portion 62 partially increases in the region of the relatively large dimension S11, and
Will have a reduced appearance. The lens 6
When injection molding is carried out using a transparent resin, the sink mark X tends to occur on the surface of the dummy portion 66, and the appearance of the lens 6 also deteriorates on this surface.

[0005] Further, since the seal leg 65 provided on the lens 6 is fixed to the seal groove 12, the seal groove 12, that is, the peripheral portion of the lamp body 1 and the dummy portion 66 are arranged close to each other. Therefore, when assembling the lamp into the vehicle body opening PO having the required dimensions on the vehicle body P equipped with the lamp, the gap S12 between the vehicle body P and the lamp body 1 is adjusted so that the lamp body 1 does not interfere with the vehicle body P. Is increased, the gap S13 between the dummy portion 66 and the vehicle body P is also increased, and the appearance of the lamp when the vehicle is equipped with the lamp is reduced by the gap. In this case, when the gap S13 is reduced, the gap S12 between the vehicle body P and the lamp body 1 is reduced. When assembling from the direction, the peripheral edge of the lens 6 or the lamp body 1 easily interferes with the vehicle body P, and assembling from the front side becomes difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp and a method of manufacturing the vehicular lamp, which improve the appearance of the lamp when assembled to a vehicle body and enable the lamp to be assembled to the vehicle body from the front. .

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a lamp body, a lens for covering a front opening of the lamp body, and a lamp body which is provided inside the lamp body along the inner surface of the lens, and is provided inside the lamp body through the lens. An inner member for preventing a peripheral portion of the vehicle from being exposed, wherein the inner member is fixed to the lamp body at the peripheral portion, and the lens is integrated with the inner member. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the present invention provides a lamp body, a lens for covering a front opening of the lamp body, and an interior provided along an inner surface of the lens in the lamp body, and the interior of the lamp body is exposed through at least the lens. A method for assembling a vehicular lamp including an inner member for preventing the lamp body, wherein a sub-assembly in which the lens and the inner member are integrated in advance is formed, and a part of the inner member is attached to the lamp body. The sub-assembly is fixed and assembled to the lamp body.

In the present invention, since the periphery of the inner member extends along the periphery of the front opening of the lamp body, it is not necessary to consider light leakage from the bulb in the lamp at this periphery, and it is not necessary to consider the lens. There is no need to provide a dummy portion on the periphery. For this reason, the thickness of the peripheral portion of the lens can be reduced, and the peripheral portion does not have sink marks during resin molding of the lens. In addition, since the seal legs are provided on the inner member existing on the inner surface side of the lens, the periphery of the lamp body and the vehicle body opening hardly interfere with each other when mounting the lamp on the vehicle body opening of the required size. In addition, the ease of assembling the lamp to the vehicle body has been improved, and the gap between the vehicle body opening and the outer edge of the lens periphery has been reduced, improving the appearance and facilitating the mounting of the lamp from the front. become.

[0010]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view in the plane direction. The lamp body 1 is formed by resin molding.
A seal groove 12 having a U-shaped cross section is formed in a peripheral portion of the front opening 11. The lamp body 1
A socket insertion hole 13 is opened on the back surface of. Inside the lamp body 1, a reflector 2 whose surface is subjected to a reflective surface treatment is provided, and is supported in a tiltable manner in the lamp body 1 by, for example, an aiming mechanism (not shown). A bulb 4 is supported by a bulb socket 3 in a socket mounting hole 21 opened on the back surface of the reflector 2. A waterproof rubber cap 5 is fitted between the socket insertion hole 13 of the lamp body 1 and the outer peripheral surface of the socket mounting hole 21 of the reflector 2.
Further, a lens 6 is provided in a front opening 11 of the lamp body 1.
And an extension 7 previously integrated with the lens 6. The extension 7 is made of resin similarly to the reflector 2, and the surface thereof is subjected to a reflection surface treatment. To prevent them from being exposed to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 3A, an enlarged sectional view of the peripheral portions of the lens 6 and the extension 7, the extension 7 has the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1 and the peripheral portion 22 of the reflector 2 as described above. In order to cover the gap between the lamp body 1 and the lamp body 1, the lamp body 1 is formed in a frame shape extending along the front opening 11 and has a peripheral portion protruding toward the rear side of the lamp. The formed portion is configured as a seal leg 71. A flange 72 protruding outward is integrally formed on the outer surface of the seal leg 71 near the base end. The lens 6 is provided with a front opening 11 of the lamp body 1.
And a peripheral portion 62 that extends obliquely toward the rear surface along the peripheral edge of the front portion 61. The peripheral portion 62 is substantially similar to the front portion 61. A welding leg 63 having a short dimension and protruding toward the inner surface is integrally formed on the inner surface near the edge formed to have a uniform thickness. The distal end surface of the welding leg 63 is welded M to the outer surface of the flange 72 of the extension 7 so that the lens 6 and the extension 7 are integrated. In this embodiment, the flange 72 of the extension 7 and the welding leg 6 of the lens 6 are used.
Numeral 3 is formed over the entire circumference along the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1, and the two are also welded over the entire circumference. However, if the sealing between them is ensured, welding is performed. Does not necessarily have to be performed over the entire circumference.

Then, the tip of the seal leg 71 provided on the extension 7 is inserted into the seal groove 12 of the lamp body 1, and the sealant, ie, the adhesive 8 filled in the seal groove 12. Is fixed by As described above, the lens 6 is integrated with the extension 7, and the extension 7 is attached to the lamp body 1 at the seal leg 71, so that the lens 6 is interposed through the extension 7. It is fixed to the lamp body 1 and is mounted at a position covering the front opening 11 thereof, whereby a lamp is formed.

Here, as a procedure for assembling the lamp, the extension 7 and the lens 6 are preliminarily welded to the flange 72 and the welding leg 63 to form a sub-assembly. Lighting body 1
After the reflector 2 is mounted inside the lamp body, the sub-assembly is pressed against the front opening 11 of the lamp body 1 from the front direction of the lamp body, and the seal leg 71 of the extension 7 is inserted into the seal groove 12 of the lamp body 1. The seal groove 1
Since the adhesive 8 is filled in advance in the seal 2, the seal leg 71 is fixed in the seal groove 12 by subjecting the adhesive 8 to heat curing, and the sub-assembly, that is, the extension 7 and the lens 6 are connected to the lamp. It will be assembled to the body 1. Thereafter, the bulb socket 5 is mounted in the socket mounting hole 21 of the reflector 2 from the socket insertion hole 13 on the back surface of the lamp body 1, and the rubber cap 5 is fitted in the socket insertion hole 13 of the lamp body 1. Assembly is completed.

In the lamp having the above-described structure, the peripheral edge of the extension 7 serves as a sealing leg 71 for the lamp body 1.
The light from the bulb 5 in the lamp at the periphery is shielded by the extension 7 so that light leakage at the periphery does not need to be taken into account. There is no need to provide a tapered dummy portion. Here, the dummy portion is a welding leg portion 63 provided on the lens peripheral portion 62 and a region in the vicinity thereof.
(A) Only an extremely narrow area indicated by S1 is required. for that reason,
It is not necessary to make the thickness of the lens peripheral portion 62 thick, so that the sinking does not occur in the peripheral portion at the time of resin molding of the lens 6, and the appearance of the lens 6 and the lamp as a whole is prevented from deteriorating in appearance. Further, since the seal legs 71 are provided on the extension 7 existing on the inner surface side of the lens, the size of the front opening of the lamp, particularly the outer dimension of the seal groove 12 can be reduced as compared with a lens having the same front shape and size. . Therefore, the dimensional margin S2 between the vehicle body opening PO and the lamp body 1 is provided.
Is increased, the peripheral edge 64 of the lens 6 can be extended outward to reduce the gap S3 with the vehicle body P, thereby improving the appearance of the appearance when the lamp is mounted, and changing the lamp to the vehicle body. When assembling from the front direction, the peripheral edge of the lens 6 or the lamp body 1 can be prevented from interfering with the vehicle body P, and assembling from the front side becomes easy.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the extension 7 and the lens 6 are welded and integrated, but they may be integrated by bonding or fitting. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a lamp in which an inner lens is provided inside a lens inside a lamp body, and after the inner lens and the lens are previously integrated and sub-assembled, The assembly may be performed by fixing the seal legs provided on the inner lens in the seal grooves of the lamp body. Further, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the lens is configured as a transparent lens, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a lens having a lens step for ordinary light diffusion or light refraction. .

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a sub-assembly is formed by previously integrating an inner member provided inside a lamp body and a lens covering a front opening of the lamp body, and the inner of the sub-assembly is formed. Since the peripheral portion of the member is fixed to the lamp body, the peripheral portion of the inner member extends along the peripheral edge of the front opening of the lamp body, so light leakage from the bulb in the lamp at the peripheral portion is considered. It is not necessary to provide a dummy portion on the periphery of the lens. For this reason, the thickness of the peripheral portion of the lens can be reduced, and the peripheral portion does not have sink marks during resin molding of the lens. In addition, since the seal legs are provided on the inner member provided on the inner surface side of the lens, the lens and the vehicle body opening hardly interfere with each other when the lamp is mounted on the vehicle body opening of a required size, and the body of the lamp is hardly interfered. As a result, the gap between the vehicle body opening and the outer edge of the lens peripheral portion can be reduced, so that the appearance can be improved and the lamp can be easily assembled from the front side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the lamp of FIG. 1 in a plane direction.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a peripheral part of a lamp according to the present invention and a conventional lamp.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in a plane direction of an example of a conventional lamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lamp body 2 Reflector 3 Valve socket 4 Valve 6 Lens 7 Extension (Inner member) 8 Sealant (Adhesive) 11 Front opening 12 Seal groove 61 Lens front part 62 Lens peripheral part 63 Welding leg 71 Seal leg 71 Flange

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhisa Ashizawa 500 Kitawaki, Shimizu-shi, Shizuoka Pref.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lamp body, a lens that covers a front opening of the lamp body, and a lens body inside the lamp body, which is provided along an inner surface of the lens, and a peripheral portion in the lamp body is exposed through the lens. A lighting device for a vehicle, comprising: an inner member for preventing the lighting of the vehicle; wherein the inner member is fixed to the lighting body at a peripheral portion thereof, and the lens is integrated with the inner member. . 2. A lamp body, a lens that covers a front opening of the lamp body, and a lamp body that is provided along the inner surface of the lens in the lamp body and prevents the inside of the lamp body from being exposed through at least the lens. A method for assembling a vehicular lamp including an inner member for forming a sub-assembly in which the lens and the inner member are integrated in advance, and fixing a part of the inner member to the lamp body. A method for manufacturing a vehicular lamp, comprising assembling a sub-assembly with the lamp body.