JP2001325815A - Headlight for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent adverse effects on a light intensity distribution and overload on a solenoid due to vehicle vibrations or the like and easily securing a solenoid mounting space in a headlight for a vehicle constructed to change the light intensity distribution by moving a shade with the solenoid. SOLUTION: A shaft 30 which can reciprocate in a vehicle front and rear direction is connected and fixed to a shade 26, and a plunger 34A of the solenoid 32 reciprocable in a right and left direction crossing at right angles with the vehicle front and rear direction is engaged with the shaft 30 via a pinion unit 34. Accordingly, the solenoid 32 can be arranged in sideways. Further, the weight of the plunger 32A is prevented from participating as an inertia load with respect to vibration load in the vehicle front and rear direction and weights of the shaft 30 and the shade 26 are prevented from participating as inertia load with respect to vibration load in the right and left direction for effectively controlling shaking of the shade 26 due to vehicular vibrations or the like and for preventing an excess load from being applied on the solenoid 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular headlamp configured to change a light distribution by moving a shade by a solenoid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A headlight for a vehicle is designed so that light from a light source is reflected forward by a reflector to irradiate a beam in a light distribution pattern for a low beam or a high beam. It is common to use a light source bulb having two light sources and switch the lighting thereof. However, vehicle headlamps configured to switch beams with a single light source are also known. In particular, in a two-lamp headlight using a discharge bulb as a light source bulb, such a configuration is often inevitable.

[0003] As one of the beam switching methods when a single light source is used, a method of switching the beam by moving a shade by a solenoid has been conventionally known. In this method, as shown in FIG. 6, a shade 104 is moved by a solenoid 102 from a light source 106 to a reflector 108.
Are moved between two predetermined positions at which the amount of light blocking incident light on the reflection surface 108a has a different value. At this time, the plunger 10 of the solenoid 102 is
2a moves forward in the excited state, while moving backward due to the elastic force of the return spring 110 in the non-excited state.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional headlamp for a vehicle, the moving direction of the shade 104 and the moving direction of the plunger 102a of the solenoid 102 are the same.
When a vibration load is applied to the shaft 2a in the moving direction, the shade 104 is shaken in the moving direction together with the plunger 102a, thereby changing a light blocking amount of the shade 104 and adversely affecting the light distribution of the lamp. is there.

[0005] At this time, not only the mass of the plunger 102a but also the mass of the shade 104 acts on the solenoid 102 as an inertial load, so that there is a problem that an excessive load is applied to the solenoid 102.

Further, since the moving direction of the shade 104 and the moving direction of the plunger 102a of the solenoid 102 are the same, the arrangement of the solenoid 102 is naturally restricted, and a space for disposing the solenoid 102 is secured depending on the lamp structure. There is also a problem that it becomes difficult to do so.

Such a problem generally occurs not only when the shade is moved to switch the beam between the low beam and the high beam, but also when the light distribution is changed by moving the shade.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a vehicle headlamp configured to change a light distribution by moving a shade by a solenoid is disclosed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular headlamp capable of easily securing a space for disposing a solenoid while preventing an adverse effect on a light distribution and an overload on a solenoid.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, by devising the direction of reciprocation of a plunger of a solenoid,
It is intended to achieve the above object.

That is, a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention includes a light source, a reflector for reflecting light from the light source forward, and one of light incident on the reflector from the light source or light reflected from the reflector. In a vehicle headlamp comprising: a shade capable of shielding a portion, and a solenoid that moves the shade between two positions where the amount of shielding against the incident light or the reflected light has a different value. Being connected to a reciprocating member capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction, the solenoid having a plunger capable of reciprocating in a direction different from the predetermined direction while engaging with the reciprocating member. It is a feature.

The "vehicle headlight" may be a general headlight (a so-called parabolic headlight) having a reflector formed on the basis of a paraboloid of revolution, or a so-called projector. It may be a headlight of a type.

The type of the "light source" is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a discharge light emitting portion of a discharge bulb, or a filament of an incandescent bulb such as a halogen bulb.

The above-mentioned "shade" may be a shade capable of blocking a part of the light incident on the reflector from the light source, or a shade capable of blocking a part of the light reflected from the reflector. . The “shade” may be a normal shade that blocks visible light, but is a shade that blocks light in a wavelength region other than visible light, such as an infrared cut filter. Is also good.

The specific method of "moving the shade between two positions" is not particularly limited, and may be a movement by a rotational movement or a movement by a linear reciprocating movement.

The form of the "connection" between the shade and the shaft is not particularly limited, and may be a fixed connection (including a case where the shade and the shaft are integrally formed), a pin connection, or the like. May be connected in a state where the shade and the shaft are maintained so as to be relatively movable.

The "predetermined direction" is not limited to a specific direction, but may be any one of a vehicle longitudinal direction, a lateral direction, a vertical direction, and an oblique direction. Also, the direction of the reciprocation of the “plunger” is not limited to a specific direction as long as the direction is other than the predetermined direction.

The specific configuration of the "engagement" is not particularly limited as long as the displacement of the plunger can be transmitted to the reciprocating member to move the shade between the two positions.

[0018]

As described above, the vehicular headlamp according to the present invention provides a shade capable of blocking a part of the light incident on the reflector from the light source or the reflected light from the reflector. The shade is moved by a solenoid between two positions having different values. The shade is connected to a reciprocating member capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction, and the solenoid is engaged with the reciprocating member. Since it has a plunger that can reciprocate in a direction different from the above-mentioned predetermined direction, the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, since the moving direction of the reciprocating member connected to the shade is different from the moving direction of the plunger of the solenoid, even if a vibration load is applied to the moving direction of the reciprocating member, the plunger moves in the moving direction. The mass does not act as an inertial load, while the mass of the reciprocating member and the shade does not act as an inertial load in the moving direction of the plunger even if a vibration load acts in the moving direction. Therefore, the shake of the shade due to vehicle vibration or the like can be effectively suppressed, and an excessive load can be prevented from being applied to the solenoid.

Further, since the direction of movement of the plunger is different from that of the reciprocating member, the position of the solenoid can be set to an appropriate position according to the structure of the lamp, thereby facilitating the space for disposing the solenoid. Can be secured.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicle headlamp configured to change a light distribution by moving a shade by a solenoid, the vehicle light has an adverse effect on the light distribution due to a vehicle vibration or the like, and the solenoid has an adverse effect on the solenoid. In addition, it is possible to easily secure a space for disposing the solenoid while preventing overload of the solenoid.

In the above configuration, the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating member and the plunger may be performed as a rotary motion or a spiral motion. However, if the reciprocating motion is performed as a linear reciprocating motion, the drive of the shade is performed. The mechanism can have a simple configuration.

In the above configuration, the specific configuration of the engagement between the reciprocating member and the plunger is not particularly limited as described above. However, a rack portion is formed on each of the reciprocating member and the plunger. If the engagement is performed via a pinion that meshes with the portion, power transmission can be reliably performed with a simple configuration.

At this time, if the pinion is constituted by a large-diameter pinion that meshes with the rack portion of the reciprocating member and a small-diameter pinion that meshes with the rack portion of the plunger, the reciprocating member moves with respect to the stroke of the plunger. Since the stroke of the lamp can be increased, it is possible to use a small solenoid, thereby making it possible to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the lamp.

Although the direction of the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating member and the plunger is not particularly limited as described above, if the reciprocating direction of the reciprocating member is set to the optical axis direction of the reflector, It is possible to accurately control light shielding by moving the shade accompanying the movement. At this time, if the direction of the reciprocating motion of the plunger is set to a direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction, the moving direction of the reciprocating member and the moving direction of the plunger will be the most different. Shake and load on the solenoid can be minimized.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow II in FIG.

As shown in these figures, the vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment is a parabolic headlamp.
A reflector unit 16 is provided in the lamp chamber formed by the transparent cover 12 and the lamp body 14 so as to be tiltable in the vertical and horizontal directions, and an extension panel 1 is provided in front of the reflector unit 16.
8 are provided.

The reflector unit 16 includes a discharge bulb 20, a bulb support member 22, a reflector 24,
A shade 26 and a shade driving mechanism 28 are provided.

The discharge bulb 20 is a metal halide bulb, and is attached to a reflector 24 via a bulb support member 22. At this time, the discharge bulb 2
The zero light source (discharge light emitting unit) 20a is arranged on the optical axis Ax of the reflector 24 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The reflector 24 has a plurality of reflecting elements (not shown) based on a paraboloid of revolution about the optical axis Ax as a central axis.
Is formed on the light source 20.
A predetermined light distribution pattern is formed by diffusing and reflecting the light from a forward. A circular opening 24b for inserting the valve support member 22 is formed at the rear top of the reflector 24, and a vertically long rectangular opening 24c is formed below the circular opening 24b. Is formed so as to be continuous.

The shade 26 is used for direct light from the light source 20a toward the front of the lamp and for the reflection surface 24 of the reflector 24.
It is formed in a cap shape so as to block a part of the light incident on a, and a tab 26a is integrally formed at the lower end thereof. The shade 26 has a shaft 30 (a reciprocating member) that constitutes a part of the shade driving mechanism 28.
It is connected to. The shaft 30 is a member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and is capable of reciprocating in the vehicle front-rear direction. The connection between the shade 26 and the shaft 30 is performed by fixing a tab 26a of the shade 26 and a tab 30c integrally formed on the upper surface of the front end portion of the shaft 30 with a rivet 32.

The shade 26 can take two positions, a low beam forming position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) and a high beam forming position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), by moving the shaft 30. It has become. The shade 26 partially blocks light incident on the reflecting surface 24a at the low beam configuration position, and releases the blocking at the high beam configuration position. That is, at the low beam configuration position, light traveling from the light source 20a to the peripheral area A (H) of the reflecting surface 24a is blocked, and only light incident on the central area A (L) is allowed, and only light necessary for low beam irradiation is transmitted. At the high beam forming position, light is incident on the entire surface of the reflecting surface 24a while allowing the light to enter the reflecting surface 24a, so that the amount of light necessary for high beam irradiation is secured.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern of a beam emitted from the vehicle headlamp 10 to the front.

FIG. 3A shows a light distribution pattern P (L) for a low beam, which is a central area A (L) of the reflection surface 24a.
It is formed by reflected light from On the other hand, FIG. 2B shows a light distribution pattern for high beam, which is formed by the light distribution pattern P (L) for low beam and the reflected light from the peripheral area A (H) of the reflection surface 24a. It is formed as a combined light distribution pattern with the light distribution pattern P (H).

Next, the configuration of the shade driving mechanism 28 will be described.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

As shown in these figures, the shade drive mechanism 28 includes the shaft 30, a solenoid 32, and a pinion unit 34.

The shaft 30 is connected to the reflector 24
And extends rearward through a vertically elongated rectangular opening 24c and an opening 22a formed in the valve support member 22, and is supported by the valve support member 22 in the latter half thereof.
This support is performed by clamping the shaft 30 from both upper and lower sides by three guide rollers 36 attached to the valve support member 22. At that time, the shaft 3
One guide roller 36 is in contact with the upper surface of the shaft 0, and the remaining two guide rollers 36 are in contact with the lower surface of the shaft 30 on both front and rear sides of the guide roller 36. Guide grooves 30b for running the guide rollers 36 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the shaft 30 so as to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. Thus, the shaft 30 is accurately moved in the vehicle front-rear direction without being bent in the vertical direction due to the weight of the shade 26 and without being deflected in the left-right direction. A rack 30a is formed on the left side surface of the rear half of the shaft 30.

The solenoid 32 is fixedly supported laterally on the valve support member 22 in the solenoid body 32B. The solenoid 32 has a plunger 32A that can reciprocate in a horizontal direction (left-right direction) orthogonal to the vehicle front-rear direction, and is configured to move the plunger 32A forward (to move to the left) in its excited state. ing. At this time, the plunger 32A is arranged below the shaft 30 to some extent. A rack portion 32Aa is formed on a front side surface of the lancer 32A.

The pinion unit 34 is supported by the valve support member 22 via a bracket 38. The pinion unit 34 is connected to the rack 3 of the shaft 30.
0a and a large-diameter pinion 40 meshing with a plunger 32A
, A small-diameter pinion 42 meshing with the rack portion 32Aa, a rotary shaft 44 for supporting the large-diameter pinion 40 and the small-diameter pinion 42 on the same vertical line, and a return spring unit 46.

The large-diameter pinion 40 and the small-diameter pinion 42 have the same pitch and a gear ratio of 2: 1, whereby the stroke of the plunger 32A is doubled and transmitted to the shaft 30. It has become.

The return spring unit 46 includes:
A spiral spring (not shown) is built in, and is always elastically urged in a direction of rotating the rotating shaft 44 counterclockwise as viewed from above. The return spring unit 46 allows the solenoid 3
When 2 is de-energized, the plunger 32A is retracted (moved to the right).

The plunger 32 is attached to the bracket 38.
A guide roller 48 that is in contact with the rear surface of A is supported. A guide groove 32Ab for running the guide roller 48 is formed on the rear surface of the plunger 32A so as to extend in the left-right direction. Thus, the rack portion 32Aa of the plunger 32A and the small-diameter pinion 4
2 is ensured.

As described in detail above, the vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment has the shade 26 capable of blocking a part of the light incident on the reflecting surface 24a of the reflector 24 from the light source 20a.
Is moved by the solenoid 32 between two positions where the shielding amounts are different values. The shade 26 is a shaft 30 that can reciprocate in a predetermined direction.
The solenoid 32 is connected to the shaft 30
And the plunger 32A is capable of reciprocating in a direction different from the predetermined direction, so that the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, the moving direction of the shaft 30 connected to the shade 26 and the plunger 32 of the solenoid 32
A is different from the moving direction of the shaft A, the mass of the plunger 32A does not act as an inertial load in the moving direction even if a vibration load is applied in the moving direction of the shaft 30 (vehicle longitudinal direction). Even if a vibration load is applied in the moving direction (left-right direction) of 32A, the mass of the shaft 30 and the shade 26 does not act as an inertial load in the moving direction. Therefore, the shake of the shade 26 due to vehicle vibration or the like can be effectively suppressed, and an excessive load can be prevented from being applied to the solenoid 32.

Further, since the moving direction of the plunger 32A is different from that of the shaft 30, the disposition position of the solenoid 32 can be set to an appropriate position according to the structure of the lamp. Can be easily secured.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicle headlamp configured to change the light distribution by moving the shade by the solenoid, there is an adverse effect on the light distribution by the vibration of the vehicle and the like. In addition, it is possible to easily secure a space for disposing the solenoid while preventing an overload on the solenoid.

In this embodiment, the shaft 30
Since the reciprocating motion of the plunger 32A is performed as a linear reciprocating motion, the shade driving mechanism 28
Can be simplified.

Further, in this embodiment, the shaft 3
0 and the plunger 32A, respectively.
Aa is formed, and the shaft 30 and the plunger 32A are engaged with each other via the pinion unit 34 meshing with both rack portions 30a and 32Aa, so that power transmission can be reliably performed with a simple configuration. Can be.

Further, the pinion unit 34 is provided with a large-diameter pinion 4 that meshes with the rack portion 30a of the shaft 30.
0 and a small-diameter pinion 42 that meshes with the rack portion 32Aa of the plunger 32A.
The stroke of the shaft 30 can be expanded with respect to the stroke of A. This makes it possible to use a small solenoid, so that it is possible to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the lamp.

In this embodiment, since the direction of the reciprocating movement of the shaft 30 is set in the direction of the optical axis Ax of the reflector 24, the light shielding control by the movement of the shade 26 accompanying the movement of the shaft 30 is performed accurately. It becomes possible. In addition, at that time, the solenoid 32 is arranged laterally, and the reciprocating direction of the plunger 32A is set to the right and left direction orthogonal to the optical axis Ax direction.
The moving direction of the shaft 30 and the moving direction of the plunger 32A are the most different from each other, so that the shake of the shade 26 and the load on the solenoid 32 due to vehicle vibration and the like can be minimized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle headlight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a light distribution pattern of a beam emitted forward from the vehicle headlamp.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle headlight 16 Reflector unit 20 Discharge bulb 20a Light source (discharge light-emitting part) 22 Valve support member 24 Reflector 24a Reflection surface 24b Circular opening 24c Vertical rectangular opening 26 Shade 26a Tab 28 Shade drive mechanism 30 Shaft (reciprocating) (Moving member) 30a rack part 30b guide groove 30c tab 32 solenoid 32A plunger 32Aa rack part 32Ab guide groove 32B solenoid body 34 pinion unit 36, 48 guide roller 38 bracket 40 large diameter pinion 42 small diameter pinion 44 rotating shaft 46 return spring unit A ( H) Peripheral area A (L) Central area Ax Optical axis P (H) Additional light distribution pattern P (L) Light distribution pattern for low beam

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) F21Y 101: 00

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A light source, a reflector for reflecting light from the light source forward, a shade capable of blocking a part of light incident on the reflector from the light source or reflected light from the reflector, and A solenoid that moves between two positions where the amount of shielding against the incident light or reflected light is different from each other, wherein the shade is a reciprocating member that can reciprocate in a predetermined direction. A headlight for a vehicle, wherein the solenoid is provided with a plunger engaged with the reciprocating member and capable of reciprocating in a direction different from the predetermined direction. 2. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating member and the plunger are both performed as linear reciprocating motions. 3. A rack portion is formed on each of the reciprocating member and the plunger, and the engagement between the reciprocating member and the plunger is performed via a pinion that meshes with the rack portions. The vehicle headlight according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the pinion comprises a large-diameter pinion that meshes with the rack of the reciprocating member and a small-diameter pinion that meshes with the rack of the plunger. Headlight. 5. A reciprocating direction of the reciprocating member is set in an optical axis direction of the reflector, and a reciprocating direction of the plunger is set in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
5. The vehicle headlight according to any one of claims 4 to 4.