JP2009158368A - Ventilation hole cap used in lighting fixture for vehicle and lighting fixture for vehicle using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ventilation means in a lighting fixture for a vehicle, in other words, a labyrinthine structure communicating the inside of the lighting structure with an ambient air, and in particular, to provide a ventilation hole cap with an eliminated looseness. <P>SOLUTION: A cylindrical body 50 protruding from a housing is provided for the ventilation means 30 around an air hole 51, the cylindrical body 50 comprises a cylindrical rib 52 and an upright rib 54, and the ventilation hole cap 10 inserted into the cylindrical body 50 is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a step 14. A gap 55 is formed by mounting the cap 10 through a filter 31, and an airflow path is provided with the labyrinthine structure. Thus, the lighting fixture for the vehicle can be obtained in a simple structure with the ventilation means hard to cause looseness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp provided with a vent hole that performs a so-called breathing action in a lamp such as a headlamp, and a vent cap thereof.

  Conventionally, as a vehicle headlamp, a vehicle headlamp having a lamp chamber provided with a light source and a reflector, a lens cover covering an opening of the lamp chamber, and a housing for attaching the lens cover is known. Yes. A halogen bulb or a discharge lamp light source is used as the light source, and heat is generated when the light source is turned on. Therefore, it is known to adopt a structure that allows ventilation to the outside of the lamp, rather than keeping the lamp completely airtight for internal pressure adjustment due to temperature fluctuations.

For example, Patent Document 1 is known as one of vehicular lamps having such a ventilation structure.
JP 2003-346549 A

  FIGS. 4 to 8 show the vehicle headlamp and its ventilation means shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a headlamp 1 is a headlamp on the left side of an automobile, and includes a headlamp bulb 2 as a light source and a reflecting surface that reflects light from the headlamp bulb 2 forward. A reflector 3, an extension 4 as an auxiliary reflecting surface arranged in front of the periphery of the reflector 3, a housing 5 whose front is open so as to surround the bulb 2, the reflector 3 and the extension 4 from the rear, In order to protect the inside of the reflector 3 and the extension 4, the front lens 6 is configured to seal the open front surface of the housing 5.

  According to the headlamp 1 having such a configuration, the light emitted from the bulb 2 is reflected directly or by the reflector 3 and irradiated forward through the front lens 6, for example, so-called passing beam distribution. The range of the light pattern is illuminated. At that time, a part of the light directly emitted from the bulb 2 and the light reflected by the reflector 3 is reflected by the extension 4 to control the light intensity, and the light distribution standard in the light distribution pattern of the above-mentioned passing beam is set. Satisfied.

  In the headlamp 1 having such a configuration, ventilation means 8 is provided for adjusting the internal pressure due to temperature fluctuations caused by turning on and off the bulb 2. As shown in FIG. 6 and more specifically, FIG. 8, the ventilation means 8 includes a ventilation hole 8a formed below the rear surface of the housing 5 and a cap 8b attached to the ventilation hole 8a. Yes.

  At that time, the cap 8b is attached to the ventilation hole 8a through a seal rubber 8d partially provided with a notch 8c. Ventilation associated with pressure fluctuation in the housing 5 is performed through the notch 8c. It has a maze structure to get. Further, the ventilation hole 8a is closed with a waterproof cloth 8e in order to prevent, for example, intrusion of rain water or washing water during car washing.

  However, these conventional vehicular lamps have the following problems.

That is, a cap is attached to the vent hole like a conventional vehicle lamp. Polyethylene resin is often used as the material, and when heat is applied, it expands and the holding power decreases. Further, the cap shape is a simple cylindrical shape. For this reason, the mounting may be loosened due to vibrations of the vehicle running.
Further, when the cap is attached to the vent hole of the headlamp housing, it can be automatically assembled. For this reason, it is preferable that the upper surface be a flat surface so that it can be sucked and held by the automatic assembling apparatus. However, since it has a monotonous shape, it is placed on the upper surface while stacking and storing many caps as stock. There was a problem in production such that distortion occurred and the flatness could not be maintained, and an adsorption error occurred.

This invention is made | formed in view of the above problem, and makes it the subject to provide a highly reliable vehicle lamp which provides a cap with high holding power, and a cap is hard to loosen.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a breathing structure for a vehicular lamp having a simple structure that facilitates assembly work. Furthermore, it is an object to provide a cap with less looseness.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following means.
That is, the present invention is a cap attached to a vehicular lamp provided in a vent hole in a lamp housing, wherein the vent includes a cylindrical outer shape protruding from the lamp housing, and the cap is outside the vent hole. A cylindrical inner shape part of which is in contact with the diameter part and a flat lid-like part that covers the opening of the vent hole are integrally formed, and has an opening on the other of the cylindrical parts, The connecting portion of the cylindrical inner shape portion with the lid-like portion forms a narrow space in which the inner diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the opening portion and the inner diameter on the lid-like portion side is narrowed, and the outer shape of the cap is cylindrical. There is a step on the side surface, and the step is a vent cap for a vehicular lamp having a small diameter on the lid side and a large diameter on the opening side, and the cap is made of a thermoplastic elastomer resin.

Thereby, this invention can suppress loosening of attachment, when attaching to the ventilation hole which protrudes from a housing.
In addition, for example, even when a plurality of caps described above are arranged and stacked, and a load is applied from above, the upper surface of the cap is less likely to be distorted and the flatness of the cap can be maintained. It is possible to obtain a production advantage such that an adsorption error hardly occurs when adsorbing and holding the assembly apparatus.

In addition, the present invention provides a vent cap for a vehicle lamp in which the thermoplastic elastomer resin is an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer resin.
Thereby, a friction coefficient with a housing can be raised and it can be set as a cap with less looseness.

  The present invention also provides a vehicular lamp provided in a vent hole in a lamp housing, the vent hole having a cylindrical outer shape protruding from the lamp housing, the vent hole outer portion and a resin cap inner shape portion. The cap is covered so as to create a gap between the cylindrical inner shape part that partially contacts the outer diameter part of the vent hole and forms a gap part in part, and the vent hole A planar lid-like portion that covers the opening of the cylindrical portion, and has an opening on the other of the cylindrical portions, and the coupling portion with the lid-like portion in the cylindrical inner shape portion has an inner diameter. A narrow space that is smaller than the inner diameter of the opening and narrows the inner diameter of the lid-like part is formed. The outer shape of the cap is cylindrical and has a step on the side surface. And the opening side has a large diameter and the cap is made of a thermoplastic elastomer resin. It is a tool.

  As a result, the present invention can provide a highly reliable vehicular lamp in which the cap attached to the vent hole protruding from the housing is difficult to loosen. Moreover, it is possible to provide a ventilation structure having a labyrinth structure with a simple structure.

  The outer shape of the cap is a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section or an elliptical cross section. Thus, even when a large number of caps are stored, it is possible to obtain a cap that hardly deforms.

  According to the present invention, the present invention provides an excellent vehicular lamp that is highly reliable, in which a cap attached to a vent hole protruding from a housing is less likely to loosen and the production rate of production defects is reduced. Can have an effect.

  In addition, even when a plurality of caps are stacked and stored, for example, when the cap is stored in a state where a load is applied to the cap, deformation hardly occurs, and distortion of the upper portion of the cap (a lid-like portion described later) is particularly unlikely to occur. Thereby, in a production process, the defect of a cap can be reduced and there can exist an effect that a defect loss is reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[First embodiment]
1A and 1B show a vent cap of a vehicular lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 1B is an upper surface direction (a lid-like portion side). FIG. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the ventilation structure of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is an exploded perspective view for explaining the assembled state of the vent hole protruding from the housing and the cap, and FIG. 2 (b) is the assembled view. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross-section along the line AA ′, and FIG. 2C is a diagram showing the cross-section along the line BB ′ after assembling.

  The vehicular lamp 1 according to the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as the headlamp 1 shown in FIG. That is, the headlamp 1 is a headlamp on the left side of an automobile, and includes a headlamp bulb 2 as a light source, and a reflector 3 as a reflecting surface that reflects light from the headlamp bulb 2 forward, An extension 4 as an auxiliary reflecting surface disposed in front of the periphery of the reflector 3, a housing 5 whose front is open so as to surround the bulb 2, the reflector 3 and the extension 4 from the rear, and the reflector 3 and the extension 4. In order to protect the inside, the front lens 6 that seals the open front surface of the housing 5 is configured.

Further, a ventilation means is provided in the housing 5 for adjusting the internal pressure due to temperature fluctuation caused by turning on and off the bulb 2, and this ventilation means is different from the conventional ventilation means 8.
A ventilation means 30 according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. The ventilation means 30 is provided on the rear surface of the housing 5 in the same manner as the conventional ventilation means 8. A cylindrical body 50 is extended and formed integrally with the outside of the housing so as to surround the air hole 51 of the housing 5. An air passage having a labyrinth shape is formed in the cylindrical body 50 by fitting the vent hole cap 10 thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vent cap 10 includes a cylindrical portion 11 having a circular cross section and a lid portion 12 that covers one of the cylindrical caps, and the other is opened to form an open space 21. is doing. Further, a stepped portion 14 is provided at a position near the lid-like portion 12 of the cylindrical portion 11, and these are integrally molded with resin. The inside of the coupling part 13 on the lid-like part 12 side with respect to the step 14 is formed with a smaller inner diameter than the opening space 21 and is a narrow space 20. The inner surface 20a is an inclined surface having an inner diameter that is increased toward the lid 12 side. The cylindrical portion 11 on the opening side from the step 14 is formed substantially perpendicular to the lid-like portion 12, and the inner wall surface 21a is substantially parallel to the opposite inner wall surface.

  Such a cap 10 is manufactured by a known technique such as injection molding using a thermoplastic elastomer resin. As thermoplastic elastomers, soft polyvinyl chloride, heat-resistant polyvinyl chloride, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), styrene (TPS), olefin (TPO), urethane (TPU), Polyester (TPEE), chlorinated polyethylene, or the like can be used. Of these, softer than polypropylene or high density polyethylene having a JIS A hardness of about 50 to 120 degrees and a Shore hardness (D) of about 10 to 50 degrees, and a softening temperature of about 90 to 140 ° C. is high. Those having heat resistance are preferred, and olefin-based thermoplastic elastomers are particularly preferred. In the case of an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, it has physical properties of heat resistance of 130 ° C. or higher and cold resistance of −40 ° C. or lower, and when fitted to polypropylene (PP) that is frequently used as the housing 5, It is soft and can be fixed with high frictional force. Therefore, when used as a vehicular lamp. This is because it is fixed while maintaining a strong holding force over a wide temperature range.

  When the cap 10 is formed by injection molding, the narrow space 20 is an inclined surface having an inner diameter that increases as the inner surface 20a thereof advances toward the lid-shaped portion 12 side. Is not preferred. However, it is possible to maintain a stable cap shape by using an undercut in terms of a maze structure to be described later, a mass production process in which the cap 10 is adsorbed by an automatic assembling apparatus and assembled to a vehicle lamp, and storage of the cap 10. Have advantages.

  In the housing 5 in which the air holes 51 serving as the ventilation holes are formed, a cylindrical body 50 extending to the outside of the housing so as to surround the air holes 51 is integrally formed with, for example, polypropylene (PP). The cylindrical body 50 includes a cylindrical rib 52 and a standing wall rib 54 whose outer shape is substantially cylindrical, and the cap 10 described above is fitted to the cylindrical rib 52 and the standing wall rib 54. The cylindrical rib 52 and the standing wall rib 54 are formed longer than the cylindrical portion 11 of the cap 10, and specifically, the cylindrical rib 52 and the standing wall rib 54 are not covered by the cap 10 when fitted. As shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, an appropriate gap is formed on the housing 5 side.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the cylindrical rib 52 has a cylindrical shape having a circular cross section, and a central portion is a vent hole connected to the air hole 51. Further, a step 53 is provided at a position near the tip on the cylindrical inner surface side. The step 53 is provided with the filter 31 to prevent the filter 31 from falling into the housing, that is, the air hole 51. In FIG. 2 (b), in order to make the drawing easier to understand, the cylindrical rib 52 and the stepped portion of the vent cap 10 and the inner wall surface are shown in a cross section in a state where they are not in direct contact with each other. In the state, they are in contact with each other, and only a gap portion 55 described later serves as an air passage connected to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, a part of the standing wall rib 54 is connected to the cylindrical rib 52, and a part of the standing wall rib 54 is separated from the cylindrical rib 52 so as to be a gap portion 55. Further, the outer shape is provided at a position substantially coincident with the inner shape of the cap 10. Thereby, in a state where the cap 10 is fitted, the inner wall surface 21a of the cap 10, the cylindrical rib 52 and the standing wall rib 54 come into contact with each other. In the gap portion 55, the inner wall surface 21a of the cap 10 and the cylindrical rib 52a face each other to form a maze-like air passage. The labyrinth-like passage reaches the gap between the cap 10 and the housing 5 through the air hole 51, the vent hole in the center of the cylindrical rib 52, the filter 31, the narrow space 20 of the cap, and the gap 55. A route. Since this passage extends in a labyrinth, it effectively prevents water from entering and allows breathing between the inside and outside of the lamp.

  The filter 31 is a sponge-like member and prevents foreign matters such as dust from entering the vehicle lamp 1. The cylindrical rib 52 is placed on the step 53 and is sized to fit inside. Further, the filter 31 only needs to be in a labyrinth-like passage. For example, a waterproof cloth may be provided at the tip of the cylindrical rib 52. The waterproof cloth refers to a cloth-like filter that prevents moisture from entering but allows water vapor to pass reversibly.

  2 shows an example in which the step 14 of the cap 10 is fitted to the cylinder 50 provided in the housing, but the cylinder 50 (cylindrical ribs 52 and standing wall ribs 54) extends into the narrow space 20. The tip can also enter. For example, by providing steps and depressions on the tip side of the cylindrical rib 52 and the standing wall rib 54 as much as the step 14, the inner surface 20 a that is the inclined surface of the cap becomes a hook structure and can be more firmly fixed. .

When the cap 10 is assembled to the vehicular lamp 1, it is taken out from a tray (not shown) in which a large number of caps 10 are aligned as shown in FIG. At this time, the caps 10 are taken out and fitted one by one by an automatic assembling apparatus (not shown). When the cap 10 is held by the head of the automatic assembly apparatus, a known suction head is used. When sucked by the suction head, the flatness of the lid-like portion 12 is formed high, so that suction mistakes are unlikely to occur.
Further, the caps 10 are stored in an aligned state as shown in FIG. The cap 10 is small and can be assembled to various types of vehicle lamps. Therefore, the cap 10 is not produced every time it is needed, but a large number of mass-produced items are held in stock and production is carried out using them. . Therefore, it is often piled up when stored as inventory. When stacked, the cap may be distorted due to its weight. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cylindrical portion 11 having a circular or elliptical cross section is used, and the step portion 13 is further formed. have. Therefore, distortion is unlikely to occur, and the flatness of the lid-like portion that is sucked by the suction head described above can be maintained, particularly when stored in a stacked state. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects during assembly.

  By configuring as described above, the ventilation means of the vehicular lamp can further reduce the occurrence of defects as compared with the case where a conventional cap is used. Moreover, a maze structure can be formed with a simple configuration.

  The vent hole cap, the vent means and the vehicular lamp of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a configuration in which a crease is provided in the opening space of the vent cap 10 and a labyrinth is formed in the gap portion 55 formed with the cylindrical portion 52a is also included in the present invention. Further, the example of the headlamp has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this lamp, and can be widely applied to a vehicular lamp in which an air hole is provided in a lamp body, and within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, various changes can be made.

It is a figure explaining the vent hole cap concerning 1st embodiment of this invention. (A) is sectional drawing of the vertical direction, (b) is the figure seen from the upper surface direction (cover-shaped part direction). It is a figure explaining the ventilation means of the vehicle lamp which attached the vent hole cap of FIG. (A) is a disassembled perspective view explaining an attachment state, (b) is a figure explaining an attachment state in the cross section along the AA 'line of (a) figure, (c) is B- of (a) figure. It is a figure explaining an attachment state by the cross section along a B 'line. It is a top view explaining the storage state which arranged many of the vent-hole caps of FIG. It is a schematic front view which shows the structure of an example of the conventional vehicle lamp. It is the sectional view on the AA line in the vehicle lamp of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in the vehicle lamp of FIG. 4. It is CC sectional view taken on the line in the vehicle lamp of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the ventilation means in the vehicle lamp of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 2 Valve 3 Reflector 5 Housing 6 Front lens 8, 30 Ventilation means 11 Cylindrical part 12 Lid-like part 13 Connection part 20 Narrow space 21 Open space 50 Cylindrical body 51 Air hole 52 Cylindrical rib 54 Standing wall rib 55 Gap Part

Claims (3)

A cap attached to a vehicle lamp provided in a vent hole in a lamp housing,
The vent includes a cylindrical outer shape protruding from the lamp housing,
In the cap, a cylindrical inner shape part of which is in contact with the outer diameter portion of the vent hole and a flat lid-like portion covering the opening portion of the vent hole are integrally formed, and an opening portion is formed on the other side of the cylindrical portion. Have
The coupling portion with the lid-shaped portion in the cylindrical inner shape portion forms a narrow space in which the inner diameter is smaller than the opening inner diameter and the inner diameter on the lid-shaped portion side is narrowed,
The outer shape of the cap is cylindrical and has a step on a side surface, and the step has a small diameter on the lid side and a large diameter on the opening side, and the cap is made of a thermoplastic elastomer resin. Ventilation cap for vehicular lamps.   The vent cap for a vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer resin is an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer resin. A vehicular lamp provided in a vent hole in a lamp housing,
The vent includes a cylindrical outer shape protruding from the lamp housing,
The resin cap is covered so as to create a gap between the vent hole outer shape part and the resin cap inner shape part,
The cap is integrally formed with a cylindrical inner shape part that partially contacts the vent hole outer diameter part and forms a gap part in part, and a flat lid-like part that covers the opening of the vent hole, It has an opening on the other side of the cylindrical part,
The coupling portion with the lid-shaped portion in the cylindrical inner shape portion forms a narrow space in which the inner diameter is smaller than the opening inner diameter and the inner diameter on the lid-shaped portion side is narrowed,
The outer shape of the cap is cylindrical and has a step on a side surface, and the step has a small diameter on the lid side and a large diameter on the opening side, and the cap is made of a thermoplastic elastomer resin. Vehicle lamp.

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