JP2004268831A - Lighting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To positively perform initialization of a stepping motor as a driving means. <P>SOLUTION: This device sets an initial reference status and a neutral status of an illumination means by stages 64, 65 as a rotational angle limit means provided between a cover 3 as a supporting means for supporting the illumination means consisting of a reflector 9 and a discharge lamp 10 and a worm wheel 7 as a driving force transmission means for rotating the illumination means. With this constitution, the initialization of the stepping motor 4 as a driving means can be performed completely. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp such as a vehicular headlamp, a fog lamp, a cornering lamp, a curve lamp, and a bending lamp, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp that emits light in a turning direction of the vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to a vehicular lamp that can reliably initialize a stepping motor as a driving unit. In this specification, "road surface" refers to a road surface and people (pedestrians and the like) and objects (preceding vehicles, oncoming vehicles, road signs, buildings, and the like) on the road surface.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art A vehicular lamp for irradiating light in a turning direction of a vehicle has been conventionally known (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 and 2). The vehicular lamp includes a light irradiating unit (a lamp unit 4 and an auxiliary lamp 14) for irradiating light onto a road surface or the like, a motor (8, 16) for rotating the light irradiating unit, and a driving force transmitting unit (a rotating shaft 5, 15, a worm wheel 6, and a worm gear 7).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-192677 (paragraph number "0012", FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-347883 A (paragraph number "0025", FIG. 2)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of the above-described conventional technique, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp capable of reliably performing initialization of a stepping motor as a driving unit.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a rotation angle limiting means is provided between the support means and the driving force transmitting means.
[0006]
As a result, according to the first aspect of the invention, when the stepping motor is initialized, the state in which the rotation of the light irradiation means is stopped by the rotation angle limiting means between the support means and the driving force transmission means is set as an initial reference state. The state in which the light irradiating means in the initial reference state is rotated by a predetermined angle is referred to as a neutral state when the vehicle goes straight ahead (ie, a state in which the light irradiating means faces forward). As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the initial reference of the light irradiation means is provided by the rotation angle limiting means provided between the supporting means for supporting the light irradiation means and the driving force transmitting means for rotating the light irradiation means. A state and a neutral state are set. For this reason, the invention according to claim 1 can reliably initialize the stepping motor as the driving means.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a vehicular lamp according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The vehicular lamp according to this embodiment is mounted on the right side of the front part of the vehicle. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by the embodiment.
[0008]
(Description of Configuration of Embodiment)
In the drawings, reference numeral “FB” indicates a front-rear direction of a car line of a vehicle on which the vehicle lamp according to the embodiment is mounted. The front-back direction “FB” of the vehicle indicates a horizontal axis when the vehicle lamp according to the embodiment is mounted on the vehicle. Reference numeral “VV” indicates a vertical axis when the vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle. Reference sign “ZZ” indicates the optical axis of the light irradiation means (reflector and light source) of the vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment.
[0009]
In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1, 2, and 3 denote a frame, a bracket, and a cover as support means. A stepping motor 4 as a driving means is attached to the supporting means including the frame 1, the bracket 2, and the cover 3, and a driving shaft 5 of the stepping motor 4 and a worm 6 and a worm wheel 7 as a driving force transmitting means. , Shaft 8 are rotatably supported. At one end (upper end) of the shaft 8, a reflector 9 as a light irradiation means is fixed. A discharge lamp 10 as a light source is attached to the reflector 9. As a result, the reflector 9 as the light irradiating means and the discharge lamp 10 are connected to the frame 1 as the supporting means, the bracket 2 by the stepping motor 4 as the driving means and the worm 6, worm wheel 7 and the shaft 8 as the driving force transmitting means. , Is rotatably supported by the cover 3. In addition, a halogen bulb or an incandescent bulb may be used as a light source other than the discharge lamp 10 described above.
[0010]
The frame 1 includes a vertical plate 11 and a horizontal plate 12, as shown in FIG. On the vertical plate portion 11, a pivot ball portion 13 of an optical axis adjusting mechanism, a screw mounting 14 for up and down, and a screw mounting 15 for left and right are respectively mounted. On the other hand, one circular through hole 16 and four small circular through holes 17 are provided at substantially the center and substantially four corners of the horizontal plate portion 12.
[0011]
The bracket 2 includes a vertical plate portion 18 and a horizontal plate portion 19, as shown in FIG. A substantially circular through hole 20 and two screw holes 21 are provided at substantially the center and both ends of the vertical plate portion 18. On the other hand, one circular through hole 22 and eight screw holes 23 are provided at substantially the center and four corners of the horizontal plate portion 19.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the cover 3 has a hollow shape in which an upper surface and a side surface are closed and a lower surface is opened. An upper cylindrical portion 24 and a lower cylindrical portion 25 are integrally provided substantially at the center of the upper surface of the cover 3. In addition, four small circular through-holes 26 are provided in approximately four corners on the upper surface of the cover 3. Further, a circular through hole (not shown) is provided on one side surface of the cover 3, and an inverted U-shaped long hole 28 is formed on the other side surface of the cover 3. They are provided facing each other. Furthermore, a pair of steps 64 of the rotation angle limiting means are provided inside the cover 3.
[0013]
The horizontal plate 19 of the bracket 2 is placed on the horizontal plate 12 of the frame 1, and four screws 29 are screwed into the four screw holes 23 outside the bracket 2 through the four through holes 17 of the frame 1. Then, the frame 1 and the bracket 2 are integrally attached. The cover 3 is placed on the horizontal plate 19 of the bracket 2, and four screws 30 are screwed into the four screw holes 23 inside the bracket 2 through the four through holes 26 of the cover 3. And the cover 3 are integrally attached. As a result, the frame 1, the bracket 2, and the cover 3 form a supporting means integrally.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft 5 of the stepping motor 4 and the worm 6 are integrally fixed. The drive shaft 5 and the worm 6 may be manufactured separately and fixed integrally, or may be manufactured integrally.
[0015]
On both sides of the stepping motor 4, two small circular through holes 31 are provided. The drive shaft 5 of the stepping motor 4 and the worm 6 pass through the through-hole 20 of the bracket 2, and two screws 32 pass through two through-holes 31 of the stepping motor 4 and two screws of the bracket 2. The stepping motor 4 is fixed to the bracket 2 by screwing it into the hole 21. A distal end 33 of the drive shaft 5 opposite to the stepping motor 4 is rotatably passed through the elongated hole 28 of the cover 3. Further, the intermediate portion 34 of the drive shaft 5 is rotatably passed through the through hole of the cover 3.
[0016]
An elastic member 36 as a drive shaft holding means is provided between the end portion 35 of the drive shaft 5 on the side of the stepping motor 4 and the stepping motor 4 fixed to the bracket 2. The elastic member 36 is made of a stainless steel material for a spring, and has a thin plate shape. A spherical projection 37 is provided at the center of the elastic member 36, and fixed portions 38 are provided at both ends of the elastic member 36. The fixing portion 38 of the elastic member 36 is fixed to the stepping motor 4 by rivets, screws, spot welding, or the like, and the spherical convex portion 37 of the elastic member 36 is brought into elastic contact with the distal end portion 35 of the drive shaft 5. As a result, the elastic member 36 elastically holds the drive shaft 5 in the thrust direction.
[0017]
The worm wheel 7 as the driving force transmitting means has a fan shape of a helical gear as shown in FIGS. A circular through hole 41 is provided at the center of the worm wheel 7. In addition, on both sides of the worm wheel 7, a pair of steps 65 of the rotation angle limiting means are provided corresponding to the steps 64 of the cover 3. Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the shaft 8 as the driving force transmitting means has a chamfered portion 42, a large-diameter portion 43 from one end (upper end) to the other end (lower end). , A middle diameter portion 44 and a small diameter portion 45. The through hole 41 of the worm wheel 7 and the middle diameter portion 44 of the shaft 8 are integrally fixed by ultrasonic welding or ultrasonic press-fitting.
[0018]
The worm wheel 7 is rotatably supported between a bearing 58 fixed to the frame 1 and the bracket 2 and the lower cylindrical portion 25 of the cover 3. The large diameter portion 43 of the shaft 8 is rotatably supported in the upper cylindrical portion 24 of the cover 3, and the small diameter portion 45 is rotatably supported in the bearing 58. The worm wheel 7 and the worm 6 are engaged. The worm 6 and the worm wheel 7 apply the driving force (rotational force) of the stepping motor 4 to the reflector 9 to determine the direction of the rotation axis of the drive shaft 5 and the worm 6 and the direction of the rotation axis of the worm wheel 7 and the shaft 8. This is converted into a substantially right angle and transmitted.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 5, an elastic O-ring 62 is provided between the large-diameter portion 43 of the shaft 8 and the lower cylindrical portion 25 of the cover 3 in a bent state. The elastic O-ring 62 is made of, for example, a material such as silicon rubber, and is made of a material that can be used without loss of elasticity in a wide temperature range from a low temperature to a high temperature.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 5, a mounting cylinder 46 is integrally provided below the reflector 9. The chamfered portion 42 of the shaft 8 is inserted into the mounting cylinder portion 46 of the reflector 9 and the screw 47 is screwed in, so that the reflector 9 and the shaft 8 are integrally fixed. The shaft 8 is an operating rotation shaft for rotating the reflector 9 or a final output shaft. A discharge lamp 10 is detachably attached to the reflector 9. A harness cord 63 that is electrically connected to a power supply (battery) side is connected to the discharge lamp 10. The wire of the harness cord 63 has a wire diameter of 0.08 mm to 0.12 mm in order to improve the bending operation performance. The material of the coating of the harness cord 63 has good heat resistance at a high temperature and is hard to change its flexibility at a low temperature. For example, a cross-linked polyethylene or ethylene-fluorinated ethylene copolymer (ETFE) is used. I have.
[0021]
The lamp unit configured as described above, that is, the support means including the frame 1, the bracket 2, and the cover 3, the drive means including the stepping motor 4, the drive shaft 5, and the drive including the worm 6, the worm wheel 7, and the shaft A lamp unit including a force transmitting unit, a light irradiating unit including a reflector 9 and a discharge lamp 10 is divided into a lamp chamber (not shown) defined by a lamp housing (not shown) and a lamp lens (not shown). )). This lamp unit is attached to the lamp housing via an optical axis adjusting mechanism (not shown). That is, the pivot ball portion 13, the vertical screw mounting 14, and the left and right screw mounting 15 of the optical axis adjusting mechanism on the lamp unit side (frame 1 side) are provided with the pivot ball receiving portion ( A vertical adjustment screw (not shown), a left and right adjustment screw (not shown) are attached. Thus, the lamp unit can be adjusted vertically or horizontally with respect to the lamp housing. The thus configured vehicle lamp according to this embodiment is mounted on the front part of the vehicle. At this time, the axis of the shaft 8 (the rotation axis when the light irradiating means including the reflector 9 and the discharge lamp 10 rotates left and right) is substantially aligned with the vertical axis VV.
[0022]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing drive control means for driving the stepping motor 4 to rotate the reflector 9 in the turning direction of the vehicle as the vehicle turns. The drive control means includes various sensors 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and a control device 53.
[0023]
The various sensors include a turn sensor 48 that detects a turn signal switch ON signal and outputs a turn signal, a steering sensor 49 that detects a steering angle and / or steering speed of a steering wheel and outputs a steering signal, and a vehicle speed that detects a vehicle speed. A vehicle speed sensor 50 that outputs a vehicle speed signal, a GPS receiver 51 that receives a position information signal output from a GPS or a ground station (such as an electronic reference point), and a gyro sensor 52 that detects the position and posture of the vehicle.
[0024]
The control device 53 includes an interface circuit 54 as an external signal input device, a central processing unit / CPU 55, a navigation system (car navigation) 56, and a motor driver circuit 57 as a control signal output device. The controller 53 determines the optimal rotation angle of the reflector 9 by the central processing unit / CPU 55 and the navigation system 56 based on the detection signals of the various sensors 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 input to the interface circuit 54. It is determined, and a control signal corresponding to the determined rotation angle is output to the stepping motor 4 via the motor drive circuit 57. The control device 53 uses a computer mounted on a vehicle.
[0025]
(Explanation of the operation of the embodiment)
The vehicular lamp according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its operation will be described below.
[0026]
First, in a state where the vehicle is traveling straight, as shown in FIG. 2, the optical axis ZZ of the vehicle lamp according to this embodiment substantially coincides with the front-back direction FB of the vehicle. Here, when the vehicle enters, for example, a right turning state (a state before the vehicle turns right or a state where the vehicle turns right), the various sensors 48 to 52 detect the right turning state of the vehicle. And outputs a detection signal to the control device 53. The control device 53 calculates the optimum rotation angle θ of the reflector 9 based on the detection signals of the various sensors 48 to 52, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the calculated rotation angle θ to the stepping motor 4.
[0027]
Then, the stepping motor 4 is driven based on the control signal. The driving force of the stepping motor 4 is transmitted to the reflector 9 via the driving force transmitting means. That is, when the stepping motor 4 is driven, the drive shaft 5 rotates, the worm 6 integral with the drive shaft 5 rotates, the worm wheel 7 meshing with the worm 6 rotates, and the shaft 8 integral with the worm wheel 7 rotates. Rotates, and the reflector 9 integrated with the shaft rotates. For example, the reflector 9 moves clockwise around the vertical axis VV from the state shown in FIG. 2 (a state in which the optical axis ZZ of the vehicle lamp substantially coincides with the front-back direction FB of the vehicle) as viewed from above. (In the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. 3, that is, rightward).
[0028]
Then, when the reflector 9 is rotated by the calculated rotation angle θ, the driving of the stepping motor 4 is stopped, and the rotation of the reflector 9 is also stopped. As a result, the reflector 9 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 3 when viewed from above, that is, by rotating the optical axis ZZ of the vehicle lamp by the rotation angle θ calculated clockwise with respect to the front-back direction FB of the vehicle. It will be in the state of having done.
[0029]
When the vehicle enters the left turning state, the various sensors 48 to 52 detect the left turning state of the vehicle and output a detection signal to the control device 53. Then, similarly to the above-described operation, the control device 53 calculates the optimum rotation angle θ of the reflector 9 based on the detection signals of the various sensors 48 to 52, and outputs the calculation result to the stepping motor 4 as a control signal. I do. The stepping motor 4 is driven based on a control signal, a drive shaft 5 of the stepping motor 4 rotates, a worm 6 integrated with the drive shaft 5 rotates, and a worm wheel 7 meshing with the worm 6 rotates. The shaft 8 integral with the worm wheel 7 rotates, and the reflector 9 integral with the shaft rotates counterclockwise.
[0030]
As described above, the vehicle lamp according to the present embodiment can rotate the reflector 9 in the turning direction of the vehicle, so that the light from the reflector 9 can be directed in the turning direction of the vehicle. That is, the vehicular lamp according to this embodiment can emit light in the turning direction of the vehicle. In the vehicular lamp according to this embodiment, there are various controls for rotating the reflector 9 based on the turning of the vehicle in addition to the above-described operation. For example, the control described above may be one that is compatible with AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting System). In addition, the control may be changed in various ways depending on the vehicle conditions, road conditions, driver's preference, and the like.
[0031]
(Explanation of effects of the embodiment)
The vehicular lamp according to this embodiment is configured as described above, and the effects thereof will be described below.
[0032]
In the vehicle lighting device according to this embodiment, the stepping motor 4 is initialized by a step 65 provided on the worm wheel 7 as a driving force transmitting means against a step 64 provided on the cover 3 as a supporting means. (Refer to FIG. 7, and in FIG. 7, the step portions 64 and 65 on the opposite side may be used.) At this time, the rotation of the light irradiation unit including the reflector 9 and the discharge lamp 10 is stopped, and the stopped state of the light irradiation unit is set as an initial reference state. The state in which the light irradiation unit is rotated by a predetermined angle in the initial reference state (see FIG. 6) is referred to as a neutral state when the vehicle goes straight ahead (ie, a state in which the light irradiation unit faces forward).
[0033]
As described above, the vehicular lamp according to this embodiment includes the cover 3 as the support means for supporting the light irradiating means including the reflector 9 and the discharge lamp 10, and the worm wheel as the driving force transmitting means for rotating the light irradiating means. The initial reference state and the neutral state of the light irradiating means are set by steps 64 and 65 serving as rotation angle limiting means provided between the light irradiating means and the light irradiating means. For this reason, the vehicle lamp according to this embodiment can reliably initialize the stepping motor 4 as the driving means.
[0034]
(Description of examples other than the embodiment)
Note that a reflector 9 and a discharge lamp 10 are used as light irradiation means. However, in the present invention, light irradiating means other than the reflector 9 and the discharge lamp 10 may be used as the light irradiating means.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above, according to the vehicle lamp according to the present invention (claim 1), the stepping motor 4 as the driving means can be reliably initialized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of main parts showing an embodiment of a vehicular lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing main components when the vehicle is in a straight traveling state.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing main components when the vehicle is turning right.
FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of an arrow IV in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5 in an initial reference state.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5 in a neutral state.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing drive control means.
[Explanation of symbols]
FB Front and rear direction of vehicle (horizontal axis)
VV Vertical axis ZZ Optical axis 1 Frame (supporting means)
2 bracket (support means)
3 cover (support means)
4 Stepping motor (drive means)
5 drive shaft 6 worm (drive force transmission means)
7 Worm wheel (driving force transmission means)
8 shaft (driving force transmission means)
9 Reflector (light irradiation means)
10. Discharge lamp (light source)
11, 18 Vertical plate portion 12, 19 Horizontal plate portion 13 Pivot ball portion 14 Vertical screw mounting 15 Left and right screw mounting 16, 20, 41 Circular through holes 17, 22, 26, 31 Small circular through holes 21 , 23 Screw hole 24 Upper cylindrical portion 25 Lower cylindrical portion 28 Slots 29, 30, 32, 47 Screw 33 Tip portion of drive shaft opposite to motor 34 Intermediate portion of drive shaft 35 Motor tip of drive shaft 36 Elastic members,
37 Spherical convex part 38 Fixed part 42 Chamfer part 43 Large diameter part 44 Medium diameter part 45 Small diameter part 46 Mounting cylinder part 48 Turn sensor 49 Steering sensor 50 Vehicle speed sensor 51 GPS receiver 52 Gyro sensor 53 Control device / computer 54 Interface circuit 55 Central processing unit / CPU
56 Navigation System (Car Navigation)
57 Motor drive circuit 58 Bearing 62 Elastic O-ring 63 Harness cord 64, 65 Step (rotation angle limiting means)

Claims (1)

In a vehicle lamp that irradiates light in a turning direction of a vehicle,
Light irradiation means for irradiating light to a road surface,
Support means for rotatably supporting the light irradiation means,
A stepping motor and a driving force transmitting means for rotating the light irradiation means,
Rotation angle limiting means provided between the support means and the driving force transmitting means,
A vehicle lighting device comprising:

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