JP2002304906A - Lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the outward appearance of a lighting fixture when a bulb socket is fit to a reflector or the like and make the bulb socket small. SOLUTION: The bulb socket 4 is equipped with a cylindrical socket body 41 and a fitting groove 42 inclined from the front end surface to the rear end surface formed on the outer circumferential surface of the socket body 41. The reflector 2 is equipped with a socket fitting cylinder part 22 projecting from a reflecting surface 21 toward the rear; a fitting projection 23 projecting on the inner circumferential surface of the socket fitting cylinder part 22 in the inner diameter direction and to be fit to the fitting groove 42, and a blocking projection 24 for blocking the front end part of the fitting groove 42. The bulb socket 4 is supported to the reflector 2 by fitting of the fitting groove 42, the fitting projection 23, and the blocking projection 24. Since the front end part of the fitting groove 42 is blocked with the blocking projection 24, the cut out front end part of the fitting groove 42 is not exposed to the front side of the reflector 2 to enhance the outward appearance. Formation of a flange or a bayonet piece is unnecessary, increase in diameter of the bulb socket is prevented, and a small device is realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lamp body, a reflector and the like (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as a reflector).
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp having a structure for supporting a bulb (bulb) using a bulb socket, and more particularly to a vehicle lamp having an improved appearance of a mounting portion of the bulb socket.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicular lamp for an automobile or the like, a bulb is attached to a reflector by a detachable bulb socket so that the bulb attached to the reflector can be replaced. Conventionally, a bayonet structure has been used as a structure that can be attached to and detached from a vehicle. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional bayonet structure. The valve socket 7 has a socket body 71 in which a contact electrode 75 is provided and a valve support opening 72 for supporting the base portion 51 of the valve 5 is opened. The bayonet piece 73 protrudes in the outer diameter direction. Further, a large-diameter flange 74 provided with axial resilience is formed at a position separated from the bayonet piece 73 by a small dimension in the cylinder axis direction, that is, a plate thickness dimension of the reflector 2 described later. On the other hand, a circular valve mounting hole 81 through which a socket body 71 of the valve socket 7 can be inserted is opened in the reflector 8 to which the valve socket 7 is attached, and the bayonet piece is provided at a plurality of circumferential positions. A notch groove 82 through which a 73 can be inserted is formed.

When the bulb socket 7 is attached to the reflector 8, as shown in a sectional view of FIG. 8A, the socket body 71 of the bulb socket 7 is inserted into the socket mounting hole 81 from the back side of the reflector 8. Then, the bayonet piece 73 is inserted into the notch groove 82, and the flange 74 is brought into contact with the back surface of the reflector 8. On top of that, the valve socket 7
Is rotated by a predetermined angle in the cylinder axis direction, whereby the opening edge of the socket mounting hole 81 of the reflector 8 enters between the bayonet piece 73 and the flange 74, and the opening edge is brought into a sandwiched state. The valve socket 7 is attached to the reflector 8 by the clamping force.

[0004]

In such a conventional valve socket mounting structure, a plurality of bayonet pieces 73 protrude from the peripheral surface of the socket body 71 of the valve socket 7 so that the valve socket 7 is connected to the reflector 8. 8B, a plurality of bayonet pieces 73 are exposed around the socket body 71 on the reflection surface on the front side of the reflector 8 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the reflection surface 8a of the reflector 8 around the bulb socket 7 is hidden by the bayonet pieces 73, and the reflection surface 8a does not exist in the notch groove portion 82. Since the portion 71a is located at a position retracted from the front end surface of the socket body 71, when the lamp is viewed from the front, light reflection at these portions is small, and these portions are formed as dark portions (pointed portions). It is a factor that makes the appearance of the lighting fixture deteriorate. Further, in the region of the socket mounting hole 81 in which the bulb socket 7 is mounted, since the reflection surface 8a of the reflector 8 does not function as a reflection surface, it is inevitable that the reflection efficiency of the reflector 8 is reduced accordingly. Further, since it is necessary to form the bayonet piece 73 and the flange 74 having larger diameters on the socket body 71, the overall diameter of the valve socket 7 becomes large, and it is difficult to reduce the size.

Conventionally, as shown in a sectional view of FIG. 9 (a), a socket mounting cylindrical portion 83 is formed by recessing a part of the back surface of the reflector 8 into a cylindrical container shape. A structure is also proposed in which a socket mounting hole 81 and a notch groove 82 similar to those shown in FIG. However,
In this structure, since the inner diameter of the socket mounting tube 83 needs to be larger than the outer diameter of the bayonet piece 73, when the lamp is viewed from the front side, as shown in FIG. A dark portion (a stippling portion) is formed around the socket 7 due to a gap between the socket mounting tube portion 83 and the socket main body 71, which causes deterioration of the appearance of the lamp. Also in this configuration, since the reflection surface 8a of the reflector 8 does not function as a reflection surface in the region of the socket mounting tube portion 83 where the bulb socket 7 is mounted, the reflection efficiency of the reflector 8 is reduced accordingly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp in which the occurrence of dark portions when the bulb socket is mounted on a reflector or the like is suppressed, thereby preventing the appearance of the lamp from deteriorating in appearance. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp in which a bulb socket is reduced in size, particularly, in diameter.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a vehicular lamp having a structure in which a bulb is supported on a reflector having a reflection surface by using a bulb socket, wherein the bulb socket has a cylindrical socket body, and the socket has a cylindrical shape. A fitting groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body and inclined toward the rear end from the front end surface of the socket main body, wherein the reflector has an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the socket main body protruded rearward. A socket mounting cylinder portion, a fitting projection formed on an inner peripheral surface near a rear portion of the socket mounting cylinder portion in the radial direction, and capable of fitting into the fitting groove, and an inner periphery of a front end portion of the socket mounting cylinder portion. And a closing projection formed on the surface in a radially inward direction and capable of closing a front end of the fitting groove. Here, when the valve socket is attached to the reflector, it is preferable that the front end face of the socket main body is positioned substantially flush with the front end face of the closing projection. In addition, it is preferable that a seal ring for elastically contacting the inner surface of the socket mounting tubular portion and waterproofing is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the socket body.

According to the present invention, in a state where the valve socket is inserted into the socket mounting cylinder and attached, the valve socket is supported by the reflector by the fitting of the fitting groove with the fitting projection and the closing projection. At the same time, the front end of the fitting groove is closed by the closing protrusion, so that the front end of the fitting groove cut out in the socket body is not exposed to the front side of the reflector, so that the appearance does not look dark and the appearance is improved. . further,
There is no need to form a flange or a bayonet piece on the socket body, and downsizing can be achieved without increasing the diameter of the valve socket.

[0009]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the overall configuration of a vehicular lamp 1 to which the present invention is applied. Bulb (bulb) in part
And a resin-molded reflector 2 to which a valve socket 4 supporting the valve 5 can be attached, and a front opening 2a of the reflector 2
And a lens 3 attached to the lens. The lens 3 has a seal leg 31 at a peripheral edge thereof. The seal leg 31 is inserted into a seal groove 25 provided at a peripheral edge of the reflector 2 and is fixed by a sealant 30.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the reflector 2, the valve socket 4, and the valve 5, and FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view as viewed from the rear side. Here, in the present embodiment, a so-called wedge-based valve is used as the bulb 5, in which an electrode 52 electrically connected to a built-in filament is disposed on a base portion 51 having a nearly flat shape. The reflector 2 is formed integrally with a cylindrical socket mounting tube portion 22 protruding toward the rear surface. The valve socket 4 has a cylindrical socket body 4 having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the socket mounting cylinder 22 and a length substantially equal to the cylinder axis of the socket mounting cylinder 22.
One.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are a front view, a side view and a rear view of the valve socket, respectively. The base 51 of the valve 5 is provided on the front end surface 401 of the socket body 41. FIG. Elongated valve support opening 4 for insertion and support
The base part 51 of the valve 5 is inserted and supported. Also, a pair of contact electrodes 403 are arranged in the valve support opening 402 side by side, and the connection is made to the electrode 52 of the valve 5 inserted into the valve support opening 402. I have. In addition,
A pair of engaging pieces 404 are provided between the contact electrodes 403 to hold the bulb 5 by fitting the projections 53 provided on the base part 51 of the bulb 5. Also,
On the rear end face 411 of the socket body 41, a pair of operation pieces 412 used for operating the socket body 41 in the direction around the cylinder axis is erected along the radial direction, and between the operation pieces 412, A pair of cord tube portions 41 for leading out a cord 414 connected to the contact electrode 403
3 are protrudingly formed.

Also, the socket body 41 is provided on two outer circumferential surfaces of the socket body 41 which are radially opposed to each other.
The front end face 401 of the socket body 41 is opened in a state where a part of its circumference is notched, and is extended in a state of being inclined with respect to the cylinder axis direction of the socket body 41 to extend the rear end face 411 of the socket body 41
Are formed in the vicinity of the spiral-shaped fitting grooves 42, respectively. The open front end 4 of the fitting groove 42
21 has a vertical surface 42 on one side so that the groove width is slightly larger.
1a, the other side surface is formed as a tapered surface 421b. The rear end 422 of the fitting groove 42 at the terminal end side has a shape close to a circle, and the groove inner surface protrudes inward near the rear end 422 to reduce the groove width dimension of the portion. A locking projection 423 is formed. A circular groove 43 is formed on the outer peripheral surface between the rear end surface 411 of the socket main body 41 and the rear end portion 422 of the fitting groove 42 in the cylinder axis direction over the entire circumference. A seal ring 44 for waterproofing is fitted.

On the other hand, at two circumferential positions on the inner peripheral surface on the rear end side of the socket mounting tubular portion 22, here, at positions opposed to each other in the radial direction, it is possible to enter the fitting groove 42 of the socket body 41. A pair of columnar fitting projections 23 having a diameter and a length are formed to protrude in the inner diameter direction. Further, at two radially opposite positions on the inner peripheral surface on the front end side of the socket mounting cylinder portion 22, a closing projection 24 having a size capable of entering the front end portion 421 of the fitting groove 42 is provided. It is formed to project in the direction. The closing protrusion 24 is formed in an inverted trapezoidal shape in which one side surface is formed as a vertical surface 24a and the other side surface is formed as a tapered surface 24b so that the width dimension gradually decreases rearward from the front end surface 24c. Here, the positional relationship between the fitting protrusion 23 and the closing protrusion 24 is set to a positional relationship corresponding to the positions of the rear end 422 and the front end 421 of the fitting groove 42 provided in the socket body 41. I have. The front end face 24c of the closing projection 24 is formed so as to be substantially flush with the reflecting surface 21 of the reflector 2, and is formed as a part of the reflecting surface 21 so as to reflect light. Have been.

In the vehicle lamp having the above structure, when the bulb socket 4 is mounted on the reflector 2, the bulb 5 is first inserted into the bulb support opening 402 of the bulb socket 4.
The base portion 51 is inserted to support the valve 5. Since this support structure is the same as the conventional valve socket, a detailed description is omitted. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the valve socket 4 is first inserted into the socket mounting cylinder 22 from the back side of the reflector 2. At this time, the front end 421 of each fitting groove 42 of the socket main body 41 is aligned with the pair of fitting projections 23 in the socket mounting cylinder 22, and the valve socket 4 is slightly pushed into the socket mounting cylinder 22, Both fitting projections 23 are made to enter the front end 421 of the fitting groove 42. Then, when the socket main body 41 is rotated clockwise in FIG.
As described above, the socket body 41 is advanced into the socket mounting tube portion 22 while being screwed, that is, rotated around the axis by the sliding contact between the fitting groove 42 and the fitting protrusion 23. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), after the fitting protrusion 23 has been inserted to a position just before the rear end portion 422 of the fitting groove 42, the socket body 41 is further screwed, as shown in FIG. 5 (d). Then, the fitting projection 23 gets over the locking projection 423 and reaches the rear end 422, and the fitting projection 23 becomes the locking projection 42.
The lock state in which the state of being held in the rear end portion 422 is maintained by 3, and the socket main body 41 is not easily detached from the socket mounting cylinder 22, and the mounting of the valve socket 4 is completed.

As shown in FIG. 5D and FIG. 6A, the mounting of the valve socket 4 is completed at the same time.
As shown in the schematic perspective view of FIG.
The closing protrusion 24 enters into the inside, and the closing protrusion 24 and each of the vertical surfaces 24a, 421a and the tapered surface 24b of the front end 421,
The front end 421 of the fitting groove 42 is closed by the contact of the fitting groove 421b with each other. As a result, the valve socket 4 is supported by the closing protrusion 24 at the front end 421 of the pair of fitting grooves 42 and is supported by the fitting protrusion 23 at the rear end 422, so that the socket is supported at a total of four locations and It will be stably mounted in the mounting cylinder part 22. Further, unlike the conventional bayonet structure, it is not necessary to provide a large-diameter flange on the socket main body, so that the outer diameter of the socket main body can be reduced and the size of the valve socket can be reduced.

At the same time, since the front end 421 of the fitting groove 42 is closed by the closing projection 24, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the reflector 2 is viewed from the front side, The front end 421 of the fitting groove 42 notched in the front end surface 401 is covered and covered by the closing projection 24, and the front end 421 of the fitting groove 42 is located on the front side of the reflector 2, that is, on the reflection surface 21. It does not appear in a part of the region and the part looks dark, and the appearance of the reflector 2 or the lamp is improved. In particular, in this embodiment, the front end face 24c of the closing projection 24 is located on substantially the same plane as the front end face 401 of the socket body 41, and the front end face 24c is formed as the same reflection face as the reflection face 21 of the reflector 2. Therefore, the appearance can be further enhanced. That is, as shown by stippling in FIG. 6B, only a very small gap region between the inner peripheral surface of the socket mounting tubular portion 22 and the outer peripheral surface of the socket main body 41 looks dark, and other regions are dark. The region will appear as bright as the reflective surface.

On the other hand, the inner peripheral surface of the socket mounting cylindrical portion 22
The gap between the outer peripheral surface of the socket main body 41 inserted therein is sealed by a seal ring 44 fitted in a circular groove 43 on the outer peripheral surface of the socket main body 41, and the waterproof effect of the gap is achieved. Can be Further, a fitting projection 23 and a closing projection 2 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the socket mounting cylinder 22 are provided.
Since the reflectors 4 are designed so as to be located at different positions in the circumferential direction, it is not necessary to use a slider when the reflector 2 is formed by a mold, and the fitting groove 42 is also formed in the valve socket 4 in the radial direction of the socket body. Since it can be pulled out by a mold, there is no need to use a new slider by adopting this structure except for using a slider for forming the valve support opening 402 as in the conventional case.
Further, the molding of the valve socket 4 can be facilitated, and the valve socket 4 can be manufactured at low cost.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which two fitting grooves are provided in the valve socket has been described. However, three or more fitting grooves are provided in accordance with the diameter of the valve socket. Is also good. Further, the shapes of the fitting projection and the closing projection provided on the socket mounting cylinder may be appropriately changed to those of the above-described embodiment. Further, it is needless to say that a flange may be provided at the rear end of the socket body, and a seal ring may be held on the flange to waterproof the socket mounting cylinder with the rear end.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a vehicular lamp having a configuration in which a lens is mounted on a reflector. However, a lamp room is constituted by a lamp body and a lens, The present invention can also be applied to a vehicular lamp having a configuration in which a reflector is provided.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the valve socket is provided with a cylindrical socket main body, and a fitting groove inclined on the outer peripheral surface of the socket main body from the front end surface toward the rear end portion, The reflector has a socket mounting cylindrical portion having an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the socket body protruding rearward from the reflecting surface, and is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the socket mounting cylindrical portion so as to protrude in the inner diameter direction. Since the valve socket is provided with a fitting projection that can be fitted and a closing projection that can close the front end of the fitting groove, in a state where the valve socket is inserted and mounted in the socket mounting tubular portion, the fitting groove, the fitting projection and The valve socket is supported by the reflector by fitting with the closing projection, and at the same time, the front end of the fitting groove is closed by the closing projection, so that the open front end of the fitting groove is exposed to the front side of the reflector. In front of the lamp Improved appearance when viewed from the side, further, the socket body is not necessary to form a flange or bayonet pieces, effect that downsizing can be realized without the diameter of the bulb socket is increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of a main part of the lamp of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial exploded perspective view of the lamp of FIG. 1 as viewed from the back.

FIG. 4 is a front view, a side view, and a rear view of the valve socket.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the mounting operation of the valve socket.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a state in which a valve socket is mounted and a front view of a reflector.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a conventional valve socket mounting structure.

8 is a sectional view of the valve socket mounting structure of FIG. 7 and a front view of the reflector in a mounted state.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another conventional example of a valve socket mounting structure and a front view of a reflector in a mounted state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 2 Reflector 3 Lens 4 Valve socket 5 Valve 21 Reflection surface 22 Socket mounting cylinder part 23 Fitting projection 24 Closing projection 41 Socket body 42 Fitting groove 421 Front end 422 Rear end 423 Locking projection 44 Seal ring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) F21Y 101: 00 F21M 3/02 K

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular lamp configured to support a bulb using a bulb socket on a reflector having a reflecting surface, wherein the bulb socket is formed on a cylindrical socket body and on an outer peripheral surface of the socket body. And a fitting groove inclined from the front end surface of the socket body toward the rear end portion,
The reflector is formed so as to protrude rearward and has an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the socket main body, and is formed on the inner peripheral surface near the rear of the socket mounting cylinder in the inner diameter direction so as to protrude in the inner diameter direction. A mating projection that can be fitted into the mating groove;
A vehicular lamp comprising: a closing projection formed on an inner peripheral surface of a front end of the socket mounting tube in an inner diameter direction and capable of closing a front end of the fitting groove. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the valve socket is attached to the reflector, a front end face of the socket body is located substantially flush with a front end face of the closing projection. Vehicle lighting fixtures. 3. A seal ring for elastically contacting an inner surface of the socket mounting tubular portion for waterproofing is fitted on an outer peripheral surface of the socket main body.
4. The vehicle lighting device according to claim 1.