JP2003007131A - Housing structure of vehicle luminaire - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow easy leakage test while the size of a housing is reduced and the freedom degree in design is improved, with no increase in the number of parts. SOLUTION: A housing structure 1 of a vehicle luminaire 100 is provided wherein a reflector 104 is supported, for tilting, with a ball part 105a of a ball joint 105 as a supporting point. The housing 101 is protruded inward to form a ball receiving part 2, while the housing 101 is protruded outward to form an annular guide rib 6 on the side opposite to the ball receiving part 2, with a breathing hole 3 formed to penetrate the ball receiving part 2 inward. The annular guide rib 6 has both a protecting function to prevent foreign substances such as water and dirt from entering and a function as a test port to connect the tip of a test device for leaking test.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a housing structure of a vehicle lamp such as a headlamp which serves as a fulcrum when adjusting an optical axis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a conventional housing structure 100 for a vehicular lamp disclosed in JP-A-9-102205.
Indicates. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 101 denotes a housing of a vehicle lamp 110 having an open front surface.
The lens 102 is attached so as to cover the front opening 01. A lamp chamber 103 is formed by the housing 101 and the lens 102. Inside the lamp chamber 103, a reflector 104 and a bulb (not shown) are arranged.

An upper portion of the reflector 104 is attached to a rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101 via a ball joint 105, and the reflector 104 can be tilted vertically and horizontally with the ball joint 105 as a center. This makes it possible to adjust the optical axis.

That is, in the lower part of the reflector 104,
The screw 106a of the adjusting screw 106 is screwed together, and the adjusting screw 106 is rotatably held by the rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101.
By rotating the adjusting screw 106, the reflector 104 is moved to the rear wall portion 1 of the housing 101.
01a is tilted in the up-down direction with the ball portion 105a of the ball joint 105 press-fitted and supported by the ball receiving portion 107 integrally formed with the shaft 01a. The tilting of the reflector 104 in the left-right direction is caused by another adjusting screw (not shown) that causes the ball portion 1 of the ball joint 105 to move.
05a is used as a fulcrum. The tilting of the reflector 104 adjusts the optical axis of the vehicular lamp 110.

On the other hand, the rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101
The breathing hole 108 is provided in the breathing hole 108.
A pipe body 109 is connected so as to communicate with the atmosphere, and the atmosphere and the lamp chamber 103 are communicated with each other through the breathing hole 108 and the pipe body 109. Thereby, the breathing action in the lamp chamber 103 can be performed, and the pressure change in the lamp chamber 103 can be eliminated by this breathing action.

[0006]

As described above, the conventional housing structure 100 for a vehicular lamp has only a function as a fulcrum when adjusting the optical axis, and therefore the breathing hole 10 is provided.
No. 8 has a problem in that it is necessary to secure a space in another portion of the housing 101, which not only prevents the housing 101 from being made compact, but also greatly restricts the degree of freedom in design. is doing.

Further, the conventional housing structure 100 requires waterproof and dustproof measures for the breathing hole 108. Therefore, a waterproof and dustproof member as a separate member such as the pipe body 109 is required, resulting in an increase in the number of parts. , Has the problem.

Further, the conventional housing structure 100
In many cases, the breathing hole 108 is provided at the corner, and therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform a leak test through the breathing hole 108.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the housing can be made compact and the degree of freedom in designing can be increased without increasing the number of parts, and the breathing hole can be installed in a relatively central portion to prevent leakage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a housing structure for a vehicular lamp that can be easily tested.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that the ball portion of a ball joint attached to a reflector is press-fitted into a ball receiving portion provided in a housing, and the reflector is attached. A housing structure for a vehicular lamp that tiltably supports the ball portion as a fulcrum, wherein the housing is projected inward to form the ball receiving portion, and the housing is projected outward. An annular guide rib is formed on the opposite side of the ball receiving portion, and a breathing hole is formed so as to penetrate the ball receiving portion inward and outward.

Therefore, in the invention of claim 1, the ball receiving portion is configured to have both a fulcrum function and a breathing function. In addition, the annular guide rib is provided integrally with the housing and serves as a protective function to prevent foreign matter such as water and dust from entering the breathing hole and a test port to which the tip of the test device is connected during a leak test. The function of can be played.

The invention according to claim 2 is the housing structure for a vehicular lamp according to claim 1, further comprising a breathing port so that the housing is projected outward to surround the annular guide rib. The waterproof rib is formed, and the shielding wall that closes the opening of the waterproof rib is foldably extended to the waterproof rib via the thin hinge portion.

Therefore, in the second aspect of the present invention, the waterproof rib and the shielding wall are formed integrally with the housing when the housing is formed. The shielding wall can close the opening of the waterproof rib by bending at the thin hinge part as a boundary, whereby the annular guide rib is surrounded by the waterproof rib and the shielding wall except for the breathing port of the waterproof rib. Therefore, the protective wall against the breathing hole formed in the ball receiving portion has a double wall structure including an inner wall made of an annular guide rib and an outer wall made of a waterproof rib and a shielding wall. At this time, the breathing hole formed in the ball receiving portion communicates with the outside through the breathing port of the waterproof rib.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a housing structure 1 for a vehicular lamp as an embodiment of the present invention.

The vehicle lamp 10 having the housing structure 1 is similar to the vehicle lamp 110 described above in that the housing 101, the reflector 104, and the reflector 104.
The tilting mechanism 120 is provided. The housing 101 defines the lamp chamber 11 together with the lens 102 bonded via the hot melt 130 in the recess 101b provided along the entire peripheral edge of the front opening. The tilting mechanism 120 is composed of an adjusting screw 106 in which the head portion 106a is rotatably held on the rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101 and the screw leg portions 106b are screwed into the leg portions 104a of the reflector 104. In addition, in FIG.
Reference numeral 200 is a jig such as a driver for operating the adjusting screw 106.

The housing structure 1 includes a ball portion 105a of a ball joint 105 attached to the reflector 104.
Is press-fitted into the ball receiving portion 2 provided in the housing 101, and the reflector 104 is tiltably supported with the ball portion 105a as a fulcrum, and is configured as a fulcrum structure for adjusting the optical axis.

In this housing structure 1, the housing 1
01 is projected inward to form the ball receiving portion 2, and the housing 101 is projected outward to form an annular guide rib 6 on the opposite side of the ball receiving portion 2. It is formed so as to penetrate the receiving portion 2 inward and outward.

In this embodiment, the ball receiving portion 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), (b) and (c), a plurality of elastic tongues 5 are intermittently provided via slits 4 along the circumferential direction of the press-fitting opening 2a. With
The breathing hole 3 is formed through the ball receiving portion 2 so that the inside and outside of the housing 101 communicate with each other via the slit 4.

Specifically, the ball receiving portion 2 is integrally formed on the rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101 in the shape of a bottomed cylinder having a press-fitting opening portion 2a. At this time, the bottom surface 7a of the bottom portion 7 of the ball receiving portion 2 is formed into a curved surface for receiving the ball portion 105a of the ball joint 105 (see FIG. 2B). The slits 4 are respectively formed at three equal positions on the entire peripheral edge of the ball receiving portion 2,
The elastic tongue piece 5 is provided by extending a side wall between the slits 4 and 4 and bending it inward in a substantially V shape. A peripheral edge of the press-fitting opening 2a is formed by the tip edge of the elastic tongue 5 (see FIG. 2A).

Further, the ball receiving portion 2 is provided with three vertical ribs 8 projecting from the inner side surface thereof and reaching the bottom surface 7a corresponding to each slit 4, and the breathing hole 3 is provided with the vertical ribs 8, It is formed by penetrating the bottom portion 7 between 8 along the inner side surface. As a result, between the vertical ribs 8 and 8 are opened to the inside of the ball receiving portion 2 and three breathing holes 3 are formed so as to communicate with the slits 4 and 4 on both sides (see FIG. 2C).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the breathing hole 3 has a ball portion 105a of the ball joint 105.
Even after being pressed into the ball receiving portion 2 and mounted, the inside and outside of the housing 101 can be communicated with each other through the slit 4, whereby the lamp chamber 11 can be breathed.

Further, the annular guide rib 6 is formed as a cylindrical body having an outer diameter substantially equal to that of the ball receiving portion 2 so as to project to the opposite side of the ball receiving portion 2 and is integrally formed on the rear wall portion 101a of the housing 101. (See FIG. 2B).

Therefore, the annular guide rib 6 can prevent foreign matter such as water and dust from entering the breathing hole 3 from the rear wall portion 101a side of the housing 101, and as shown in FIG. The front end of the pressure-resistant hose 20 is connected, and the air a is sent into the lamp chamber 11 through the annular guide rib 6 and the breathing hole 3, and due to changes in the enclosed pressure and the enclosed time, the entire leak in the lamp chamber 11 leaks. You can test.

As described above, in the housing structure 1, the ball receiving portion 2 is configured to have both a fulcrum function and a breathing function, and the annular guide rib 6 is provided integrally with the housing 101 and is connected to the breathing hole 3. It is possible to exert a protection function of preventing the intrusion of foreign matter such as water and dust and a function as a test port to which the tip of the test device is connected in the leak test.

Therefore, in the housing structure 1, it is not necessary to secure a space for the breathing hole 3 in other portions of the housing 101 other than the ball receiving portion 2, and accordingly, the housing 101 can be made compact and the degree of design freedom can be increased. Can be expanded.

Further, the plurality of elastic tongues 5, 5 ... Provide a sufficient supporting force to the ball portion 105a of the ball joint 105 by the intervening slit 4, whereby the ball receiving portion 2 is a fulcrum. It can have a respiratory function without impairing its function.

Moreover, in the housing structure 1, since the ball receiving portion 2 and the annular guide rib 6 are integrally provided on the housing 101, the assembly means (and process) such as screws required when they are provided separately is unnecessary. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and simplify the process.

Further, in the housing structure 1, since the test port for the leak test is provided at the installation site of the ball receiving section 2 having the breathing hole 3, the housing structure 1 is provided at a relatively central part of the housing 101. This facilitates the execution of leak tests.

The housing structure 1 is also preferably
As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the housing 10
1, a waterproof rib 9 is formed so as to surround the annular guide rib 6 by projecting outwardly, and a shielding wall 12 that closes an opening 9a of the waterproof rib 9 is provided with a waterproof hinge 9 through a thin hinge portion 13. The entire structure is extended so that it can be bent.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, a part of the peripheral wall of the waterproof rib 9 is cut out to form a breathing port 14, and a baffle plate for partitioning a space between the breathing port 14 and the annular guide rib 6. 21 is formed so as to project inward from the peripheral wall.

In this structure, the waterproof rib 9 and the shield wall 1 are provided.
2 is the housing 101 when the housing 101 is molded.
It is molded integrally with. The shielding wall 12 can close the opening 9a of the waterproof rib 9 by bending at the thin hinge 13 (see the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4). Except for the breathing port 14, it is surrounded by the waterproof rib 9 and the water-blocking wall 12, and the protective wall for the breathing hole 3 formed in the ball receiving portion 2 is an inner wall composed of the annular guide rib 6.
The double wall structure of the outer wall including the waterproof rib 9 and the shielding wall 12 can provide more reliable waterproof and dustproof functions.

At this time, the breathing hole 3 formed in the ball receiving portion 2 communicates with the outside through the breathing port 14 of the waterproof rib 9, and the communicating passage at this time is as shown in FIG. ,
Baffle plate 21 between the annular guide rib 6 and the breathing port 14
Since the labyrinth b which bypasses is constructed, a more reliable waterproof and dustproof function can be achieved without impairing the respiratory function.

[0033]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, since the ball receiving portion is configured to have both a fulcrum function and a breathing function, other than the ball receiving portion of the housing. It is not necessary to secure a space for a breathing hole at a location, and the housing can be made compact and the degree of freedom in design can be increased accordingly.

According to the invention of claim 1, the annular guide rib is provided integrally with the housing, and has a protective function of preventing foreign matter such as water and dust from entering the breathing hole and a leak test. In this case, since it can function as a test port to which the tip of the test device is connected, a protective member and a connection member (with the test device) as separate members are not required despite the increased function, and the number of parts is increased. There is no increase in

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, since the test port for the leak test is provided at the installation site of the ball receiving part having the breathing hole, it is provided at the relatively central part of the housing. This facilitates the execution of leak tests.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the waterproof rib and the shielding wall are formed integrally with the housing when the housing is formed, the function is increased in spite of the increase in the function.
There is no increase in the number of parts.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, the annular guide rib is surrounded by the waterproof rib and the impermeable wall except for the breathing port of the waterproof rib. Therefore, the effect of the invention of claim 1 In addition to this, the protective wall against the breathing hole formed in the ball receiving portion has a double wall structure of an inner wall made up of annular guide ribs and an outer wall made up of waterproof ribs and a shield wall, so that more reliable waterproofing and A dustproof function can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp including a housing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows an enlarged ball receiving portion of the housing structure of FIG. 1, (a) is a front view thereof, (b) is IIb of (a).
-IIb is a sectional view taken along the line, (c) is IIc-I in (b).
It is sectional drawing which follows the Ic line.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a leak test state of the housing structure of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts for explaining the operation of the waterproof rib and the shielding wall of the housing structure of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp having a conventional housing structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Housing structure 2 ball receiver 3 breathing holes 6 Annular guide rib 9 waterproof ribs 9a Opening (of waterproof rib) 10 Vehicle lighting 12 Shield wall 13 Thin hinge part 14 breathing mouth 101 housing 104 reflector 105 ball joint 105a ball part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A housing structure for a vehicular lamp in which a ball portion of a ball joint attached to a reflector is press-fitted into a ball receiving portion provided in a housing to support the reflector in a tiltable manner with the ball portion as a fulcrum. The housing is projected inward to form the ball receiving portion, and the housing is projected outward to form an annular guide rib on the opposite side of the ball receiving portion. Is formed so as to penetrate the ball receiving portion inward and outward, and a housing structure for a vehicular lamp. 2. The housing structure for a vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein a waterproof rib having a breathing port is formed so as to project the housing outward to surround the annular guide rib. At the same time, a shielding wall that closes an opening portion of the waterproof rib is foldably extended to the waterproof rib through a thin hinge portion, and a housing structure for a vehicle lamp.
Adjustment fulcrum structure.