JP2001266607A - Discharge bulb lighting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to switch a discharge bulb lighting between a high-beam and a low-beam by using two positure terminals selectived supplied with electric power and a ground terminal. SOLUTION: This discharge bulb lighting device is provided with the first plus side terminal 27 to supply required electric power for a light source in lighting the high-beam 25 and the second plus side terminal 28 to supply required electric power for the light source in lighting the low-beam 24. A movable shade 8 giving different operating states in an electric power supply condition and in a no-electric power supply condition, generating the beam of one side in an operating state in the electric power supply condition and generating another beam in an operating state in the no-electric power supply condition is provided. Electric power for operating the movable shade 8 is supplied through the positive side terminal which electric power for lighting the beam of one side is supplied to.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a novel discharge bulb lighting device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technology that enables switching irradiation of a traveling beam and a passing beam by a discharge bulb by using two plus terminals and one ground terminal to which power is selectively supplied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An incandescent bulb, for example, a halogen bulb is usually used as a light source bulb of a shield beam type or semi-shield type vehicle headlamp.

In the case of a halogen bulb, two filaments can be positioned close to each other.
A main filament for irradiating the traveling beam is arranged at the focal position of the reflection surface of the paraboloid of revolution, and a subfilament for irradiating the low beam is arranged near the main filament at a position deviated from the focal position. By switching the power supply to the filament, two beams, a passing beam and a traveling beam, can be switched and irradiated.

Therefore, when a so-called double filament type incandescent lamp having two filaments is used, a first positive terminal for supplying power when irradiating a traveling beam and a first positive terminal for supplying power when irradiating a passing beam are used. A lamp-side connector having three terminals of two plus terminals and a common terminal (ground terminal) is provided, and a corresponding power-side connector is connected to the lamp-side connector, thereby forming a headlight lighting circuit. It has become so.

[0005]

By the way, when a discharge bulb is used as a light source bulb of a vehicle headlamp, two discharge light emitting parts are arranged close to each other like two filaments in an incandescent lamp. Is difficult, it is not possible to use a means for switching the current supply to the two filaments as the means for switching the two beams, and other means must be considered.

[0006] A possible means is to use a movable shade. That is, a movable shade is provided which moves between two positions, a position for shielding between a certain portion of the reflection surface and the discharge light emitting portion, and a position for releasing the shielding, and by switching the position of the movable shade, two movable shades are provided. It is conceivable to switch the beam.

By the way, when the above-mentioned movable shade is used, two separate terminals for supplying power to a driving source for driving the movable shade are required.

Of course, since the discharge bulb does not have to be kept on, the lamp-side connector used when the above-mentioned incandescent lamp is used as a light source has three terminals, and one of them is discharged. What is necessary is just to make one for power supply to the valve, one for power supply for driving the movable shade, and the other one to be a common terminal.
The lighting circuit provided on the vehicle side must be changed. Then, it is not enough to use the headlight using the discharge bulb as it is in a vehicle that has used the headlight using the incandescent bulb, that is, simply replace the headlight.

Of course, the lamp-side connector uses the same three-terminal connector used for incandescent lamps as it is, and the terminal to which power is supplied is switched. The lighting circuit on the side does not need to be changed, but this time, it is necessary to provide a separate circuit for driving the movable shade in the vehicle.

Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle which conventionally uses an incandescent light bulb as a light source, by simply replacing a headlight.
That is, in order to be able to use a headlamp using a discharge bulb without any change on the vehicle side, two plus terminals and one ground terminal that are selectively powered are provided. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to perform switching irradiation of a traveling beam and a passing beam by a discharge bulb by using the method.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a discharge bulb lighting device according to the present invention comprises a first plus terminal for supplying a required power to a light source when irradiating a traveling beam, and a discharge beam for a passing beam. A discharge bulb lighting device including a second positive terminal for supplying required power to a light source during irradiation, showing different operation modes between when power is supplied and when power is not supplied, and shows an operation mode when power is supplied. And a movable shade for generating the other beam in an operation mode when power is not supplied is provided, and the movable shade is supplied via a plus terminal to which power is supplied when the one beam is irradiated. Is supplied with power for the operation of.

Therefore, in the discharge bulb lighting device of the present invention, two positive terminals to which power is selectively supplied and one positive terminal are connected.
By using one ground terminal, it is possible to enable switching and irradiation of the traveling beam and the passing beam by the discharge bulb.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a discharge bulb lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition,
The embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings is an application of the present invention to a discharge bulb lighting device in a vehicle headlamp for railway use.

The vehicle headlamp 1 has a lens 3 hermetically sealed at the front opening of a metal reflector 2.
Light room 4 is a closed space defined by the lens 3
It has the structure of a so-called semi-shielded beam lamp in which a light source bulb 5 is disposed.

The reflector 2 is formed by pressing a metal plate or the like. The inner surface of the reflector 2 is formed into a paraboloid of revolution, and the inner surface is subjected to a reflection treatment by aluminum deposition or the like to form a reflection surface 2a. Is formed. As the light source bulb 5, for example, a discharge bulb such as a metal halide discharge bulb is used, and the discharge light emitting portion 5a is arranged so as to be located substantially at the focal position of the reflection surface 2a.

At a position close to the lens 3 in front of the light source bulb 5, a fixed shade 6 for blocking light directly emitted from the light source bulb 5 to the lens 3 is arranged. The fixed shade 6 has a substantially basin shape and is arranged so that an opening side faces the light source bulb 5, and an inner surface facing the light source bulb 5 has:
In order to prevent secondary reflection, the surface is made a non-reflective surface by means of black paint or the like. The fixed shade 6 is supported above and below the opening edge of the reflector 2 via band-shaped stays 7 extending vertically. The surfaces of the stays 7, 7 facing the reflection surface 2a are made non-reflection surfaces by means of black paint or the like in order to prevent secondary reflection. The outer surface of the fixed shade 6 and the front surfaces of the stays 7, that is, the surface facing the lens 3 is subjected to reflection processing by means such as aluminum evaporation.

A movable shade 8 is provided in addition to the fixed shade 6 described above. The movable shade 8 has a substantially annular main portion 9 and leg portions 10 projecting downward from the lower end surface of the main portion 9.
Are formed integrally by processing a metal plate. Main part 9
Is formed by curling a strip-shaped metal plate in an annular shape, and has a certain width in the front-rear direction. The inner diameter of the main part 9 is considerably larger than the outer diameter of the glass tube 5b of the light source bulb 5. The leg portion 10 is composed of two plates 10a, 10a arranged side by side in parallel with their faces facing each other with an interval left and right. The movable shade 8 has been subjected to a non-reflection treatment by means of black paint or the like on its entire surface.

A shade driving mechanism 11 is fixed to the lower end of the reflector 2. The shade driving mechanism 11 includes a holding portion 13 formed integrally with the mounting base 12 and a solenoid 14 supported by the holding portion 13.

A bracket 15 is fixed to the rear of the reflector 2. The bracket 15 is formed by pressing a metal plate or the like, and has a flat main portion 16 and four legs 17, 17 integrally projecting forward at an interval from a peripheral edge of the main portion 16. , The legs 17, 17, ...
Is fixed to the rear surface of the peripheral portion of the reflector 2 by welding or the like. The main portion 16 is formed with an inverted U-shaped notch 16a from the center to the lower edge.

The mounting base 12 is a substantially plate-shaped member, and is fixed to the rear surface of the main portion 16 of the bracket 15 by means such as screws. A bulb socket 18 holding the light source bulb 5 is mounted in a mounting hole 12a formed in the mounting base 12, and the light source bulb 5 is mounted on the reflector 2
Is arranged in the lamp room 4 through an insertion hole 19 formed at the rear center.

The holding portion 13 is integrally protruded forward from the lower end of the mounting base 12, and has a support projection 13a projecting from the center of the front end surface in the left-right direction. The support projection 13a is connected to the two legs 1 of the movable shade 8.
0, and is inserted between the two plates 10a, 10a. In this state, the supporting projection 13a and the plates 10a, 10a are rotatably connected by the shaft 20, whereby the movable shade 8 is attached to the holding portion 13a. Is supported rotatably.

A solenoid 14 is fixed to the rear surface of the holding portion 13, and the tip of a plunger 14 a projecting forward of the solenoid 14 is located between the plates 10 a and 10 a at the lower end of the leg 10 of the movable shade 8. The tip of the plunger 14a and the plates 10a, 10a are rotatably connected by a shaft 21. A spring (not shown) is provided in the solenoid 14, and the plunger 14a is biased by the spring to move backward.

When the mounting base 12 is fixed to the rear surface of the main part 16 of the bracket 15, the movable shade 8 and the front half of the holding part 13 pass through the insertion hole 22 formed in the lower end of the reflector 2. It is located in the room 4.

When the solenoid 14 is not energized, the plunger 14a is located at the rear end of the moving range by the biasing force of the built-in spring, and therefore, the movable shade 8
The main part 9 of the light source bulb 5 is slightly inclined forward.
Is opened to the entire area of the reflection surface 2a of the reflector 2 (see the solid line in FIG. 1). The position of the movable shade 8 at this time is referred to as “traveling beam irradiation position”.
That.

When the solenoid 14 is energized, the plunger 14a moves forward, whereby the movable shade 8 rotates so that the upper end moves rearward, and the main part 9 of the discharge light emitting part 5a of the light source bulb 5 The periphery is slightly covered, and the discharge light emitting portion 5a is shielded from the portion of the reflector 2 other than the central portion of the reflection surface 2a (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). As a result, the light of the light source bulb 5 does not reach the periphery of the reflection surface 2a of the reflector 2. The position of the movable shade 8 at this time is referred to as a “passing beam irradiation position”.

A plurality of lens steps 23, 23,... Are formed on the inner surface of the lens 3.

When the discharge bulb 5 is turned on when the movable shade 8 is at the passing beam irradiation position, the reflection surface 2a
Are mainly controlled by the lens steps 23, 23,... In the central area of the lens steps 23, 23,. Is irradiated. In addition,
FIG. 4 shows the light distribution as a closed curve, an equal illuminance curve, in which the illuminance decreases from the center to the periphery. VV is a vertical line intersecting the lamp optical axis XX along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and HH is a horizontal line intersecting the lamp optical axis. Note that such a method of expressing light distribution is the same in FIG.

When the movable shade 8 is located at the traveling beam irradiation position, in addition to the passing beam 24, the movable shade 8 transmits through the peripheral area of the lens 3 corresponding to the peripheral area of the reflection surface 2a and is formed at the peripheral portion. Lens step 2
The light beam controlled by 3, 23,... Irradiates a traveling beam 25 having a light distribution as shown in FIG.

Next, the circuit shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a bulb-side connector similar to a bulb-side connector used in a vehicle headlamp using a conventional double filament type incandescent light bulb, and has two plus terminals 27 and 28 and one ground terminal. 29.

The ballast 30 is the ballast power supply side connector 3
1 and connected to the valve side connector 26. The power supply terminal of the ballast 30 is connected to the first plus terminal 27 of the valve side connector 26 and the second plus terminal 27 via the backflow prevention circuit 32.
Is connected to the plus terminal 28 of Backflow prevention circuit 32
Is formed by connecting the cathodes of two diodes 32a and 32b to each other. The connection point of the diodes 32a and 32b is connected to the plus terminal of the ballast power supply side connector 31, and the anode of one diode 32a is connected to the valve side connector 26. And the anode of the other diode 32b is connected to the second
Is connected to the plus terminal 28 of

The ground terminal of the ballast power supply side connector 31 is connected to the ground terminal 2 of the valve side connector 26.
9 is connected.

An output terminal of the ballast 30 is connected to a starter 34 that supplies starting electric power to the discharge bulb 5 through a ballast valve connector 33.

The plus terminal of the solenoid connector 35 for supplying power to the solenoid 14 is connected to the second plus terminal 28 of the valve connector 26, and the ground terminal of the solenoid connector 35 is connected to the ground of the valve connector 26. A surge absorber 36 is connected to a line connecting the terminal 29 and connecting the solenoid 14 and the solenoid-side connector 35. The surge absorber 36 cuts off line noise, and various displays provided on a railway vehicle are provided. The apparatus and the like are not affected by the line noise.

The valve side connector 26 is connected to a power supply side connector (not shown) provided on the vehicle.
The power-supply-side connector and the vehicle-side circuit are exactly the same as those used when using a headlight that uses the above-mentioned double-filament type incandescent lamp as a light source. The vehicle headlamp 1 can be used for a vehicle that used a headlamp as a light source without any change.

Therefore, when the beam switch of the vehicle is operated to switch to the irradiation of the traveling beam, electric power is supplied to the first plus terminal 27 of the valve side connector 26, and the power is supplied through one diode 32a of the backflow prevention circuit 32. Power is supplied to the ballast 30 and the discharge bulb 5 is turned on.
On the other hand, no power is supplied to the solenoid 14, and
The movable shade 8 is held at a traveling beam irradiation position (see a solid line in FIG. 1), and is irradiated with a traveling beam 25 shown in FIG.

When the beam switching switch of the vehicle is operated to switch to the low-beam irradiation, power is supplied to the second plus terminal 28 of the valve-side connector 26, and the power is supplied to the other diode 32 b of the backflow prevention circuit 32. Power is supplied to the ballast 30 and the discharge bulb 5 is turned on. Further, power is also supplied to the solenoid 14, the plunger 14a moves forward, and the movable shade 8 is moved to the passing beam irradiation position (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1).
Therefore, the low beam 24 shown in FIG. 4 is irradiated.

The solenoid 14 or the solenoid 14
If there is a failure, disconnection, or the like in the circuit related to the above, the plunger 14a is held at the retracted position by the built-in spring, and therefore, the movable shade 8 is held at the traveling beam irradiation position. Railroad vehicles run on a predetermined route on the track, so even if they run on all routes while irradiating the running beam, the annoyance is not so high, and the safety of running due to mass transportation is improved. Considering this, it is better to always irradiate with a running beam than to run with a constantly passing beam.

When the vehicle headlight according to the present invention is used as a vehicle headlight, when the solenoid 14 is energized, the movable shade 8 is positioned at the traveling beam irradiation position, and the energization of the solenoid 14 is stopped. When there is no movable shade, the movable shade 8 may be located at the passing beam irradiation position. That is, in the solenoid 14, the biasing direction of the built-in spring may be reversed, that is, the built-in spring may urge the plunger 14a to move forward, and the plunger 14a may be retracted when energized. In this way, if there is a failure or disconnection in the solenoid 14 or a circuit related to the solenoid 14, the plunger 14a is held at the advanced position by the built-in spring, and therefore, the movable shade 8 It is held at the irradiation position. In vehicles that drive in urban areas or pass by oncoming vehicles, it is more important to prevent dazzling light to pedestrians and oncoming drivers in order to ensure traffic safety, and therefore ,
This is because it is better to always irradiate a passing beam and travel than to always irradiate a traveling beam.

In the discharge bulb lighting device described above,
Two plus terminals 27, 28 to which power is selectively supplied
By using the one ground terminal 29 and the discharge bulb, switching irradiation of the traveling beam and the passing beam can be performed. Therefore, a conventional headlight using an incandescent lamp as a light source is replaced with a simple headlight, that is, a headlight using a discharge bulb without any change on the vehicle side. Can be used.

It should be noted that the shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment to be carried out when carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Should not be interpreted restrictively.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, the discharge bulb lighting device according to the present invention comprises a first positive terminal for supplying a required power to a light source at the time of irradiation of a traveling beam, and a first plus terminal at the time of irradiation of a passing beam. A discharge bulb lighting device provided with a second plus terminal for supplying required power to a light source, showing different operation modes when power is supplied and when power is not supplied. A movable shade for generating one beam and generating the other beam in an operation mode when power is not supplied is provided, and the operation of the movable shade is performed via a plus terminal to which power is supplied when the one beam is irradiated. The power is supplied for

Therefore, according to the discharge bulb lighting device of the present invention, two positive terminals to which power is selectively supplied and one positive terminal are connected.
By using one ground terminal, it is possible to enable switching and irradiation of the traveling beam and the passing beam by the discharge bulb.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the movable member is provided with an elastic member for urging the movable shade in a state in which power is not supplied, the operation of the elastic member is performed when no electric power is supplied. The other beam is generated automatically.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a lighting circuit of a discharge bulb according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vehicle headlamp.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the vehicle headlamp.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram.

FIG. 4 is an iso-illuminance curve diagram showing a light distribution of a passing beam.

FIG. 5 is an iso-illuminance curve diagram showing a light distribution of a traveling beam.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 discharge bulb, 8 movable shade, 24 passing beam, 25 traveling beam, 27 first positive terminal, 2
8: second positive terminal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihisa Endo 500 Kitawaki, Shimizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside the Koito Manufacturing Shizuoka Plant (72) Inventor Takahisa Shinoda 500 Kitawaki, Shimizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Koito Manufacturing Shizuoka Plant Of which F-term (reference) 3K042 AA08 CB22

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A discharge having a first positive terminal for supplying required power to a light source when irradiating a traveling beam and a second positive terminal for supplying required power to a light source when irradiating a passing beam. A valve lighting device, which shows different operation modes when power is supplied and when power is not supplied,
A movable terminal that generates the one beam in an operation mode at the time of power supply and generates a movable shade that generates the other beam in an operation mode at the time of non-power supply; and a positive terminal to which power is supplied when the one beam is irradiated. A discharge bulb lighting device, wherein electric power for operating the movable shade is supplied via the control valve. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member for urging the movable shade in a state when power is not supplied.
2. The discharge bulb lighting device according to claim 1.