JP2001206139A - Lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting fixture for vehicle with enhanced efficiency in an assembly process, a low cost, high fixing stiffness, a stable fixing state, and easy dimension control. SOLUTION: In the assembly line of components, a lens 3, a light source bulb 5, an inner panel 6, a reflector 7, or the like are assembled to a lamp housing 2 having the integral construction with a rear bumper 1 to complete the assembly of a rear combination lamp LU with the rear bumper 1. As a result, assembly of the rear combination lamp LU with the rear bumper 1 is made unnecessary in the assembly line of a car, assembly man-hour is reduced to enhance the efficiency in the assembly process. Since the lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 become integral construction, the number of the components is reduced to lower a cost, the fixing stiffness of the rear combination lamp LP with a car body is increased to obtain a stable fixing state, the gap, surface difference, and portions controlling parallelism between the rear combination lamp LU and the rear bumper 1 are reduced to make dimension control easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp in which a lamp unit is disposed at an opening of a bumper.
In particular, by modularizing the lamp unit and the bumper, the number of assembly steps is reduced and the assembling process is improved in the automobile assembly production line, and the number of parts is reduced and the cost is reduced. Further, the present invention relates to a vehicular lamp in which the mounting rigidity between the lamp unit and the bumper is large, a stable mounting state is obtained, and the dimensional control between the lamp unit and the bumper is easy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a vehicle lamp of this type is defined by a lamp housing having an opening on a front surface side, a lens provided in a front opening of the lamp housing, the lamp housing and the lens. And a light source bulb disposed in the lamp chamber. In this type of vehicular lamp, the lamp unit is disposed in an opening of a bumper, and is attached to an automobile in that state. Examples of this type of vehicle lamp include those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-118175,
There is one described in JP-A-203233.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional vehicle lighting device, a lamp unit is assembled on a part assembly production line, and then the lamp unit is arranged at an opening of a bumper on an automobile assembly production line. Since it is installed and mounted on a vehicle, it requires two stages of assembly processes. Particularly, in an assembly production line of a vehicle, there are many assembly steps and there is a problem in the assembly process. Further, in the above-described conventional vehicle lighting device, since the lamp unit and the bumper are formed separately, an assembling part for assembling the lamp unit and the bumper is required, and the number of parts is increased accordingly. There are high cost issues. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned conventional vehicle lighting device attaches a separate lamp unit and a bumper, there is a problem in the mounting rigidity and the mounting state of the lamp unit and the bumper. In addition, the above-mentioned conventional vehicle lamp is
Since the lamp unit and the bumper are separate,
There are many parts for managing the gap, surface difference, parallelism, and the like between the lamp unit and the bumper, and there is a problem that dimensional management is troublesome.

An object of the present invention is to modularize a lamp unit and a bumper, thereby reducing the number of assembling steps and improving the assembling process and reducing the number of parts in an automobile assembly production line. And a low cost, the mounting rigidity between the lamp unit and the bumper is large, a stable mounting state is obtained, and the dimensional control between the lamp unit and the bumper is easy. To provide.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the lamp housing and the bumper are integrated with each other through the edge of the surface opening of the lamp housing and the edge of the opening of the bumper. It is characterized by being formed.

As a result, the vehicular lamp of the present invention is constructed by assembling the lamp unit components (light source bulb, lens, and the like) into a lamp housing integral with the bumper in the assembly and production line of parts. Is completed. This eliminates the need for assembling the lamp unit and the bumper in the automobile assembly production line, thereby reducing the number of assembling steps and improving the assembling process. Further, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integral structure, two parts become one part, and furthermore, there is no need for an assembling part for assembling the two parts, so that the number of parts is reduced and cost is reduced. Further, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integral structure, the mounting rigidity between the lamp unit and the vehicle body is increased, and the lamp unit can be stably mounted on the vehicle body. In addition, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integrated structure, the number of parts for managing the gap, surface difference, parallelism, etc. between the lamp unit and the bumper is reduced,
To that extent, dimensional control becomes easier.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicular lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2, LU is a lamp unit. In this example, the lamp unit LU includes a backup lamp BL,
This is a rear combination lamp in which a tail stop lamp TSL and a turn signal lamp TL are combined. The rear combination lamp (lamp unit LU) is provided with left and right openings 1 of a rear bumper 1.
L and 1R are attached to the rear of the vehicle C. In FIGS. 1 and 2, LP is a license plate provided at the center of the rear bumper 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lamp unit LU has a lamp housing 2 having an opening 20 on the front side.
A lens 3 provided in a surface opening 20 of the lamp housing 2, a lamp chamber 4 defined by the lamp housing 2 and the lens 3, and a light source bulb 5 disposed in the lamp chamber 4. Is provided. In FIG. 3, Z
-Z is the optical axis.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the rear bumper 1 has a substantially U-shaped vertical section. Left and right sides of this rear bumper 1 are horizontally long rectangular openings 1L,
1R are provided, and the opening 1
An inner wall 10 is integrally provided on the periphery of L and 1R. On the other hand, similarly, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the lamp housing 2 is formed such that the front side (front side) is opened as the front opening 20 and the back side (rear side) is closed. . At the periphery of the surface opening 20, a seal recess 2 is provided.
1 are provided, and fixed recesses 22 are integrally provided above and below the inner surface side of the rear closing portion.

As shown in FIG. 4, the edge of the surface opening 20 of the lamp housing 2, that is, the outer wall 23 of the sealing recess 21, and the edge of the opening 1L, 1R of the rear bumper 1, that is, The lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 are integrally formed of, for example, resin via the inner wall 11.

In the lamp room 4, an inner panel (or inner housing) 6 fixed to the lamp housing 2, a reflector 7 fixed to the inner panel 6, and a reflector 7 fixed to the reflector 7, A harness socket 50 to which the light source bulb 5 is detachably attached is disposed.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, 7, and 10 to 12, the inner panel 6 is made of, for example, resin and has a hollow cylindrical shape. This inner panel 6
Has a frustoconical shape, and a rear portion of the inner panel 6 has a cylindrical shape. An engagement recess 60 is integrally provided on the periphery of the front opening of the inner panel 6. Further, two L-shaped grooves 61 are provided at the rear of the inner panel 6, and a tapered portion 62 is provided at the back of the L-shaped groove 61.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6, 7 and 10 to 12, the reflector 7 is made of, for example, resin and has a hollow shape. At least on the surface side of the reflector 7, a reflecting surface 70 such as aluminum vapor deposition or silver coating is provided. Further, two engaging projections 71 are integrally formed on the outer periphery of the front opening of the reflector 7 so as to protrude outward. In this engagement convex part 71,
A tapered portion 72 is provided. Further, a short cylindrical portion 73 is provided integrally with a rear portion of the reflector 7.

Thus, the short cylindrical portion 7 of the reflector 7
By press-fitting the harness socket 50 into 3, the harness socket 50 is fixed to the reflector 7. Further, the reflector 7 and the engaging projection 71 are inserted into the rear portion of the inner panel 6 and into the L-shaped groove 61 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. By turning the reflector 7 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 11, the engagement convex portion 71 of the reflector 7 is fitted into the L-shaped groove 61 of the inner panel 6. By fixing the tapered portion 62 of the L-shaped groove 61 of the inner panel 6 and the tapered portion 72 of the engaging projection 71 of the reflector 7 by a wedge action, the reflector 7 is attached to the inner panel 6 as shown in FIG. It will be fixed. The harness socket 50, the reflector 7, and the inner panel 6
Thus, a lamp subunit is configured. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, the rear portion of the inner panel 6 is fixed to a fixing recess 22 of the lamp housing 2 via a clip 8 described later, and the engagement of the inner panel 6 is performed. The inner panel 6 is fixed to the lamp housing 2 by engaging the recess 60 with the inner wall of the seal recess 21 of the lamp housing 2.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5 to 8, the clip 8 is formed by bending a thin steel plate into a U-shape. The upper and lower bent plates of the clip 8 are provided with outer claws 80 cut and raised outward and inner claws 81 cut and raised inside, respectively. By pressing the clip 8 into the fixing recess 22 of the lamp housing 2, the outer claws 80 of the clip 8 bite into the inner wall surface of the fixing recess 22, and the clip 8 is
(See FIG. 5).

The inner panel 6 is inserted into a fixing recess 22 of the lamp housing 2 to which the clip 8 is fixed.
By press-fitting the rear part, the inner claws 81 of the clip 8 bite into the outer wall surface of the inner panel 6, and the inner panel 6, the reflector 7, and the harness socket 50 are fixed to the lamp housing 2 (see FIG. 6). ).

As means for fixing the inner panel 6 and the lamp housing 2, in addition to the clip 8 shown in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIG. Cylindrical fitting projection 63
And a cylindrical fitting recess 25 provided in a rear closing portion of the lamp housing 2. The inner panel 6 is fixed to the lamp housing 2 by the fitting of the fitting protrusion 63 and the fitting recess 25. Also, conversely,
The fitting projection may be provided on the lamp housing 2 and the fitting recess may be provided on the inner panel 6.

The light source bulb 5 is removably attached to the harness socket 50 fixed to the lamp housing 2 from the front side, so that the light source bulb 2 is disposed in the lamp room 4 (see FIG. 7).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 9 denotes a sealing material made of a peelable elastomer. This sealing material 9 is, for example,
Japanese Patent Application No. 10-291021, which is composed of a one-component hot-melt type thermoplastic elastomer (hot-melt type thermoplastic elastomer). It is composed of a gel-like substance which has a high compression set and a small peelability. As shown in FIG. 5, the sealing material 9 is provided in a sealing recess 21 of the lamp housing 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lens 3 has a shape in which the front side is closed and the back side is open. A seal projection 30 is integrally formed on the periphery of the rear opening of the lens 3. Outside of the seal projection 30,
A contact portion 31 that contacts the step portion 26 of the inner wall 10 and the outer wall 23 of the integrated structure of the rear bumper 1 and the lamp housing 2 is provided integrally. Further, inside the seal convex portion 30, a pressing portion 32 for pressing the engaging concave portion 60 of the inner panel 6 toward the inner wall 24 of the lamp housing 2 is integrally provided. In a state where the seal convex portion 30 presses the seal member 9 with the seal, the contact portion 31 contacts the step portion 26, and the pressing portion 32 presses the engagement concave portion 60, the lens 3 is pressed.
Are detachably attached to the surface opening 20 of the lamp housing 2 and the openings 1L, 1R of the rear bumper 1 (see FIG. 3).

As means for detachably attaching the lens 3 to the integrated structure, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, means for stopping the contact portion 31 and the step portion 26 with the screw 33, and FIG. As shown, there is a means for stopping by elastic engagement between the lance-shaped engagement projection 34 and the engagement hole 27 formed integrally with the rear bumper 1 and the lamp housing 2. The engagement protrusion 34 is provided integrally outside the seal protrusion 30 of the lens 3. The engagement hole 27 is provided in the seal recess 2 of the lamp housing 2.
It is provided on an elastic piece 28 integrally projecting from the first standing wall 23.

When the lens 3 is detachably attached to the integrated structure, the elastic repulsive force between the sealing projection 30 of the lens 3 and the sealing material 9 and the screw 33 shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the lens 3 is securely attached to the integral structure by the elastic engagement stopper shown in FIG. Also, the holding portion 32 of the lens 3 is engaged with the engagement recess 60 of the inner panel 6.
Is pressed against the inner wall 24 of the seal recess 21 of the lamp housing 2, so that the inner panel 6 is firmly fixed to the lamp housing 2 in conjunction with the fixing of the clip 8.

The vehicular lamp of the present invention in this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the assembling process will be described below.

First, on a component assembly line. The lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 are integrally formed of, for example, resin to form an integrated structure (see FIG. 4). Next, the seal member 9 and the clip 8 are arranged in the seal concave portion 21 and the fixed concave portion 22 of the lamp housing 2 (see FIG. 5). Then, the inner panel 6 of the lamp subunit
Is fixed to the fixing recess 22 of the lamp housing 2 via the clip 8, and the engaging recess 60 of the inner panel 6 is engaged with the inner wall 24 of the lamp housing 2 (see FIG. 6). Further, on the surface opening 20 side of the lamp housing 2, the light source bulb 5 is connected to the harness socket 5.
0 (see FIG. 7). Then, the lens 3 is detachably attached to the surface opening 20 of the lamp housing 2 and the openings 1L and 1R of the rear bumper 1. At this time, the seal convex portion 30 presses the seal member 9 with the seal, the contact portion 31 contacts the step portion 26, and the pressing portion 32 presses the engaging concave portion 60 (see FIG. 3).

Thus, the backup lamp BL, the tail stop lamp TSL, and the turn signal lamp T
L in combination with the rear bumper 1
(See FIG. 2). The rear bumper 1 and the lamp housing 2 have an integral structure. The lens 3, the light source bulb 5, the inner panel 6 of the lamp subunit, and the reflector 7
And the harness socket 50 is a backup lamp B for the rear combination lamp (lamp unit LU).
L, a tail stop lamp TSL, and a turn signal lamp TL.

Next, in an automobile assembly line. Lamp unit L assembled on a part assembly line
By assembling the U and the rear bumper 1 integrally into a vehicle body (not shown), the lamp unit LU
The rear bumper 1 is assembled to the rear portion of the vehicle C while being disposed in the left and right openings 1L and 1R (see FIG. 1).

As described above, the vehicle lamp according to the present invention in this embodiment includes the lamp unit components (the light source bulb 5, the lens 3, the lens 3, and the like) in the lamp housing 2 integrated with the rear bumper 1 in the component assembly line. Also,
Inner panel 6 and reflector 7 of lamp subunit
And harness socket 50)
The assembly of the lamp unit LU and the rear bumper 1 is completed. This eliminates the need to assemble the lamp unit LU and the rear bumper 1 in the automobile assembly production line, thereby reducing the number of assembling steps and improving the assembling process.

Further, since the lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 have an integral structure, two parts become one part,
In addition, there is no need for an assembling part for assembling the two parts, and accordingly, the number of parts is reduced and cost is reduced.

Further, since the lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 have an integral structure, the mounting rigidity between the lamp unit LU and the vehicle body is increased, and the lamp unit L
U is maintained in a stable mounting state with respect to the vehicle body.

Moreover, since the lamp housing 2 and the rear bumper 1 have an integral structure, the number of parts for managing the gap, surface difference, parallelism, and the like between the lamp unit LU and the rear bumper 1 is reduced. Dimension management becomes easy.

The vehicular lamp according to the present invention in this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its operation and operation will be described below. When the light source bulb 5 is turned on, light from the light source bulb 5 is reflected by the reflection surface 70 of the reflector 7 to the lens 3 side, and is irradiated to the outside through the lens 3 in a predetermined light distribution pattern.

In particular, in the vehicular lamp according to the present invention in this embodiment, since the lens 3 is detachable from the rear bumper 1 and the lamp housing 2 having an integral structure, the lens 3 is attached to the surface opening 20 of the lamp housing 2. 6, the light source bulb 2 can be replaced as shown in FIGS. In addition, the lens 3 can be recycled and the lens 3 can be replaced.

In this embodiment, since the reflecting surface 70 is provided at least on the surface side of the reflector 7, the cost can be further reduced. The inner surface on the front side of the inner panel 6 may be subjected to aluminum deposition, silver painting, or the like, similarly to the reflection surface 70. In this case, the appearance is improved. On the other hand, in the backup lamp BL, the tail stop lamp TSL, and the turn signal lamp TL of the rear combination lamp (lamp unit LU), the rear portion of the inner panel 6 and the L-shaped groove 6
If the shape of 1 and the tapered portion 62 are unified, the same reflector 7 can be used, the versatility of the reflector 7 can be obtained, and the cost can be further reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, the attachment points (the screw 33, the engagement hole 27 and the engagement projection 34) of the lens 3 and the integral structure are located inside the openings 1L, 1R of the rear bumper 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the front side of the rear bumper 1 is viewed from the diagonally upper eye point E, it cannot be seen. In particular, the upper mounting point is not visible. As a result, the appearance is improved.

In the above embodiment, the lamp unit LU is a rear combination lamp, and the bumper is the rear bumper 1. However, the vehicular lamp of the present invention has a lamp unit other than the rear combination lamp as the lamp unit. For example, a front combination lamp may be used, and a bumper other than the rear bumper 1, for example, a front bumper may be used.

[0036]

As described above, the vehicular lamp of the present invention can be assembled by assembling the lamp unit and the bumper by assembling the components of the lamp unit into a lamp housing integral with the bumper in a part assembly production line. Will be completed. This eliminates the need for assembling the lamp unit and the bumper in the automobile assembly production line, thereby reducing the number of assembling steps and improving the assembling process. In addition, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integral structure, the number of parts is reduced and cost is reduced. Further, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integral structure, the mounting rigidity between the lamp unit and the vehicle body is increased, and the lamp unit can be stably mounted on the vehicle body. In addition, since the lamp housing and the bumper have an integral structure, the number of parts for managing the gap, surface difference, parallelism, and the like between the lamp unit and the bumper is reduced, and the dimensional management is correspondingly facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicular lamp according to the present invention, which is installed in a rear portion of an automobile while being disposed in left and right openings of a rear bumper.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a state where the rear bumper is disposed in left and right openings.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2 showing a molded product having an integral structure of a lamp housing and a rear bumper.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, showing a state in which a clip and a sealing material are set in the lamp housing.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, showing a state in which a lamp subunit is set in the lamp housing.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, showing a state where a light source bulb is attached to the lamp subunit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a clip.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing a modification of the fixing means for fixing the inner panel to the lamp housing.

FIG. 10 is a partial front view showing a state before the reflector is assembled to the inner panel.

FIG. 11 is a partial front view showing a state where a reflector is inserted into an inner panel.

FIG. 12 is a partial front view showing a state where the reflector is assembled to the inner panel.

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a means for attaching the lamp housing and the lens.

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a modification of the means for attaching the lamp housing and the lens.

[Description of Signs] LU: lamp unit, BL: backup lamp, T
SL: tail stop lamp, TL: turn signal lamp, C: automobile, LP: license plate, ZZ
... optical axis, 1 ... rear bumper, 1L, 1R ... opening, 2
... Lamp housing, 20 ... Surface opening, 21 ... Seal recess, 22 ... Fixed recess, 23 ... Outer wall, 24 ... Inner wall,
25: fitting concave portion, 26: step portion, 27: engaging hole, 28: elastic piece, 3: lens, 30: seal convex portion, 31: contact portion,
32 ... pressing part, 33 ... screw, 34 ... engaging convex part,
4 light room, 5 light source bulb, 50 harness socket,
6 ... inner panel, 60 ... engagement recess, 61 ... L-shaped groove,
62: tapered portion, 63: fitting projection, 7: reflector, 7
0: reflection surface, 71: engagement projection, 72: taper, 73:
Short cylindrical part, 8 ... clip, 80 ... outer nail, 81 ... inner nail, 9
... Seal material.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A lamp housing having an opening on a front surface side, a lens attached to a surface opening of the lamp housing, a lamp chamber defined by the lamp housing and the lens, and disposed in the lamp chamber. A lamp unit including a light source bulb and a bumper having an opening, wherein the lamp unit is disposed in the opening of the bumper. A lamp for a vehicle, wherein the lamp housing and the bumper are integrally formed via an edge and an edge of an opening of the bumper. 2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the lens is detachably attached to a surface opening of the lamp housing and an opening of the bumper. 3. In the lamp chamber, an inner panel fixed to the lamp housing, a reflector fixed to the inner panel, and a reflector fixed to the reflector,
The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein a harness socket to which the light source bulb is detachably attached is arranged. 4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 3, wherein a reflection surface is provided at least on a surface side of the reflector.