JP3122032B2 - Vehicle headlights - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular headlamp having a discharge bulb, and more particularly to a structure for mounting a lighting circuit case, which houses a lighting circuit of the discharge bulb, to a lamp body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a discharge bulb has been used as a light source of a vehicle headlamp since it can emit high-intensity light.

[0003] In a headlamp having such a discharge bulb, it is necessary to provide a lighting circuit for applying a high voltage to the discharge bulb and lighting the discharge bulb. Since it is composed of components, it is usually mounted on the lamp of a headlight while being housed in a lighting circuit case. Since this lighting circuit case is relatively large, it is difficult to house it inside the lamp body in terms of securing space.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 0, the lighting circuit case is often provided outside the lamp body.

[0004]

However, the mounting structure of the lighting circuit case to the lamp body has conventionally been such that the lighting circuit case is directly mounted on the outer surface of the lamp body as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication. Therefore, the following problems have occurred.

That is, since the lighting circuit case is completely exposed from the lamp body, when the headlight is mounted on the vehicle body in, for example, an engine room of the vehicle, pebbles and the like which are thrown up from the tires during running of the vehicle will be damaged. There is a risk that the lighting circuit case may be damaged by flying into the gap in the room and colliding with the lighting circuit case, or the impact may damage the lighting circuit in the lighting circuit case, and the headlight may be attached to the vehicle body. When mounting, the lighting circuit case may come into contact with the vehicle body or other members on the vehicle side to damage the lighting circuit case, or the shock may damage the lighting circuit in the lighting circuit case. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a lighting circuit is provided by the arrival of pebbles or the like in a state of being mounted on a vehicle body or by the contact with the vehicle body or the like during the mounting operation on the vehicle body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular headlamp that can reduce the possibility that a case is damaged or a lighting circuit in the case is broken.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by mounting the lighting circuit case not through the direct mounting on the outer surface of the lamp body but through a predetermined protective member. Things.

That is, the present invention provides a discharge bulb, a lamp housing the discharge bulb, a lens attached to the lamp, and a lighting circuit for lighting the discharge bulb. And a lighting circuit case for housing the lighting circuit outside the lamp body, wherein the lighting circuit case includes a protection member that covers at least a part of an outer surface of the lighting circuit case. The lamp body is attached to a bottom surface portion of the lamp body via a light source.

The above-mentioned "lamp" is not limited to a specific member as long as it is a component of a headlamp and accommodates a discharge bulb. For example, in a headlamp provided with a reflecting mirror movable type aiming mechanism (an aiming mechanism that tilts a reflecting mirror housed in a space formed by a lens and a body in a lamp in which a lens is attached to a body). A reflector such as a body or a head-mounted reflecting mirror having a movable unit aiming mechanism (an aiming mechanism that tilts the reflecting mirror as a unit together with the lens in a lamp in which the lens is attached to the reflecting mirror) is used as a lamp body. Can be adopted.

The above-mentioned "lighting circuit" is not particularly limited as long as it is a circuit for "lighting the discharge bulb", and is a circuit having both a starting circuit and a stabilizing circuit. Alternatively, the circuit may include only one of the starting circuit and the stabilizing circuit.

If the "protection member""covers at least a part of the outer surface of the lighting circuit case", the impact load acting on the lighting circuit case can be reduced in the covering portion. Although the width of the covering area is not particularly limited, it is preferable to cover the lighting circuit case over as wide a range as possible in order to enhance the protection function for the lighting circuit case and the lighting circuit therein.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the lighting circuit case is attached to the bottom surface of the lamp body through the protective member covering at least a part of the outer surface of the lighting circuit case. As compared with the case where the lighting circuit case is directly attached to the outer surface of the lamp body, the portion of the lighting circuit case exposed from the lamp body is reduced, so that an impact load may directly act on the lighting circuit case. Becomes lower.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the lighting circuit case is damaged by the flying of pebbles or the like or the lighting circuit inside the lighting circuit case is broken when the headlight is mounted on the vehicle body, In addition, when the headlamp is mounted on the vehicle body, the possibility that the lighting circuit case is brought into contact with the vehicle body or the like to damage the lighting circuit case or to break down the lighting circuit therein can be reduced.

In the above structure, the protective member may be formed so as to cover the lighting circuit case so as to straddle both sides of the lighting circuit case, and to be attached to the lamp body on both sides of the lighting circuit case. By doing so, the lighting circuit case can be protected over a relatively wide range, and the strength of attaching the lighting circuit case to the lamp body can be sufficiently ensured.

The material of the "protective member" is not limited to a specific material as long as the presence of the protective member can reduce the impact load acting on the lighting circuit case. As described in the item 3, if this is made of metal and grounded, not only sufficient strength can be ensured, but also noise generated by the lighting circuit can be shielded by the protective member. In addition, the heat generated by the lighting circuit can be dissipated from the lighting circuit case to the outside via the protective member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the protection member is attached to the lighting circuit case, a projection which comes into contact with an outer surface thereof is formed on the protection member, and a gap is provided between the protection member and the lighting circuit case. Is formed, it is possible to make it difficult for an impact load to be transmitted to the lighting circuit case, and since air can be circulated through the gap, it is more effective in terms of the heat dissipation function.

As described in claim 5, even if a through-hole is formed in a portion of the protective member covering the lighting circuit case, air can be circulated through this through-hole, which is effective in heat dissipation function. is there.

By the way, in the lamp body and the lighting circuit case, depending on the structure of the headlight, an opening for inserting a cord connecting the discharge bulb and the lighting circuit is formed. In this case, as described in claim 6, when the opening flange of the lamp body and the opening flange of the lighting circuit case are fitted, the fitting portion connects the headlight to the vehicle body. It is particularly effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention, since it is easily damaged by contact with a vehicle body or the like when it is mounted on a vehicle.

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line -II and a view in the direction of arrow III.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment is a combination lamp having a headlamp function and a fog lamp function, and is provided in a space formed by a body 12 and a lens 14. Mirror 16
Are provided so as to be tiltable in vertical and horizontal directions. The headlamp 10 is a headlamp provided on the right side of the vehicle. The headlamp provided on the left side of the vehicle is symmetrical in structure with respect to the structure of the illustrated headlamp, and has the same left and right light distribution. is there.

The body 12 is an injection-molded product made of resin, and is provided with a pair of upper and lower stud bolts 18 and 20 at outer ends in the vehicle width direction. At the end, a bracket 22 having an elongated hole 22 a is formed integrally with the body 12. Then, with the stud bolts 18 and 20 being inserted into the mounting holes of the vehicle body and the slots 22a being aligned with the mounting holes of the vehicle body, nuts (not shown) are tightened to the stud bolts 18 and 20 and The headlight 10 is mounted on the vehicle body by inserting bolts into the long holes 22a and the mounting holes of the vehicle body and tightening nuts (not shown).

The reflector 16 includes a main lamp reflector 16A, a head lamp reflector and a sub lamp reflector 16B, and a fog lamp reflector 16C arranged in series in the horizontal direction. It is formed integrally.
A point P0 shown in FIG. 1 is an aiming fulcrum where the reflecting mirror 16 is supported by the body 12 with a ball joint.
Is a vertical aiming point at which the reflecting mirror 16 is supported by the body 12 via an aiming screw (not shown) so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction. A point P2 indicates that the reflecting mirror 16 is connected to the aiming screw (not shown). The left and right aiming points are supported by the body 12 via the body 12 so as to be tiltable in the left and right directions.

The reflector 16A is provided with a halogen bulb 24 having a C-8 type single filament on its optical axis Axa.
Has a C-8 type discharge bulb (metal halide bulb) 26 mounted on its optical axis Axb,
The reflecting section 16C has a halogen bulb 28 having a C-6 type single filament on its optical axis Axc.
Is attached. In addition, the reflecting portion 16B includes:
The shade 3 is located in front of the valve 26.
2 are provided. The halogen bulbs 24 and 2
8 is directly connected to a power supply via a connector (not shown). However, since the discharge bulb 26 requires a high voltage for its lighting, a lighting circuit is connected via a plug 36 and a cord 38. After being once connected to the lighting circuit 42 housed in the case 40, it is connected to a power supply. A plug cover 44 made of aluminum die casting is attached to the plug 36, and the cord 38 has a structure in which the cord body is covered by a mesh-type metal shield cover. The lighting circuit case 40 includes, as shown in FIGS.
Body 1 covered with bracket 46 (protection member)
2 attached.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the lighting circuit case 40 is attached to the bracket 46 and how the bracket 46 is attached to the body 12. FIG. 5 shows the lighting circuit case 40.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bracket and the bracket 46 as a single item.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lighting circuit case 4
Numeral 0 includes a case main body 48 and a cover 50 made of aluminum die-cast, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The lighting circuit case 40 has a case body 48.
With the lighting circuit 42 housed therein, the case body 48
The inside is filled with an epoxy resin and covered with a cover 50, whereby the lighting circuit 42 is molded and a solid unit is constituted by the lighting circuit 42. The cover 50 has an opening 50a through which the cord 38 is inserted. Around the opening 50a of the cover 50, double opening flange portions 50b and 50c are formed. The cover 50 includes a cap 64 made of aluminum die-cast with the cord 38 inserted therein, and the cap 64 closes the opening 50a. Also,
A cord 54, one end of which is connected to the lighting circuit 42 and the other end of which is connected to a plug 52 for power connection, is inserted into the cover 50 via a bushing 56. As shown in FIG. 4, the lighting circuit 42 includes a starting circuit 42A and a stabilizing circuit 42B.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket 46 is a press-formed product of a steel plate having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and includes a bottom surface 58 and a pair of upright walls at both front and rear edges. The parts 60 and 62 are formed integrally.

The bottom surface portion 58 has a general surface that is flat, but has a bead 58a, a small hole 58b, and a case mounting portion 58.
c is formed. The bead 58a is a bead projecting upward, and as shown in FIG. 3, is formed in a pair symmetrically arranged so as to extend toward the pair of upright wall portions 60 and 62. The small holes 58b are formed at five positions in a cross shape including the center position of the bottom surface portion 58. Further, the case mounting portion 58c is
At the four corners, beads 58a with respect to the general surface of the bottom surface portion 58.
Each of the case mounting portions 58c is formed with a case mounting hole 58d. In addition, short, upward flange portions 58e are formed at the left and right end edges of the bottom surface portion 58 so as to prevent the rigidity of the bracket 46 from being reduced.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lighting circuit case 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a steel screw 6 screwed into the case mounting hole 58d in the two case mounting portions 58c in the diagonal direction while being mounted on the four case mounting portions 58c.
6 attached to the bracket 46. In addition,
The case mounting holes 58d in which the screws 66 are not screwed are present in the remaining two case mounting portions 58c because:
This is because the lighting circuit case 40 can be commonly used for headlights on the left and right opposite sides of the vehicle. Lighting circuit case 40
The bracket 46 which is electrically connected to the bracket via the screw 66 is grounded to the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 5, beads 60a, 62a extending vertically so as to protrude toward the inner surface of the pair of upright walls 60, 62 of the bracket 46 are provided at predetermined intervals. One pair is formed. The above 1
A flange portion 60b is provided at an upper end portion of the pair of standing wall portions 60 and 62.
62b are respectively formed. The flange portion 60b of the upright wall portion 60 is formed so as to be one step higher at two places to form a body mounting seat 60c, and a body mounting hole 60d is formed in each of the body mounting seats 60c. Similarly, the flange portion 62b of the upright wall portion 62 is also formed so as to be one step higher at two places to form a body mounting seat 62c, and a body mounting hole 62d is also formed in each of the body mounting seats 62c. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, steel stud bolts 70 are provided at four locations on the bottom surface 68 of the body 12 to protrude downward. And the bracket 4
6 are the body mounting holes 60d, 60d, 62d, 62
After each of the stud bolts 70 is inserted into d, the nut 72 is fastened to each of the stud bolts 70, whereby the stud bolt 70 is attached to the body 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, an opening slightly larger than the opening 50a formed in the cover 50 of the lighting circuit case 40 is formed in the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12, and around the opening, Double opening flange 68
b, 68c are formed. These double opening flange portions 68b, 68c are arranged alternately with the double opening flange portions 50b, 50c of the cover 50 when the bracket 46 is attached to the body 12.
At this time, the opening flange portion 68c is brought into contact with the upper surface of the cover 50, and the opening flange portion 68b is brought into contact with the packing 76 disposed between the opening flange portions 50 and 50c. To ensure that.

As shown in FIG. 3, reinforcing ribs 68 for increasing the rigidity of the bottom portion 68 are provided on the outer surface of the bottom portion 68 of the body 12 around the mounting portion of the bracket 46.
d is formed in a lattice shape.

As described in detail above, in the present embodiment, the lighting circuit case 40 includes the bracket 46 that covers the lighting circuit case 40.
The lighting circuit case 40 is attached to the body 12 through the through hole, so that the lighting circuit case 40 can be attached directly to the outer surface of the body 12 as in the related art.
However, the portion exposed from the body 12 is reduced, so that the possibility that an impact load directly acts on the lighting circuit case 40 is reduced.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the headlamp 10 is attached to the vehicle body, the possibility that the lighting circuit case 40 is damaged by the pebbles or the like and the lighting circuit 42 inside the lighting circuit case 40 is damaged is reduced. Further, when the headlamp 10 is mounted on a vehicle body, the possibility that the lighting circuit case 40 is brought into contact with the vehicle body or the like to damage the lighting circuit case 40 or cause the lighting circuit 42 therein to be broken is reduced. You can also.

In particular, the bracket 46 of the present embodiment has a substantially U-shape that covers the lower surface portion of the lighting circuit case 40 and both front and rear portions thereof by its bottom surface portion 58 and upright wall portions 60 and 62. Since the lighting circuit case 40 is attached to the body 12 at four locations around the case 40, the lighting circuit case 40 can be sufficiently protected from flying pebbles and the like and coming into contact with the vehicle body and the like. Can secure sufficient mounting strength.
Therefore, the opening flange portions 68b, 68 of the body 12
c and the opening flange portions 50b, 50 of the lighting circuit case 40
There is no danger of excessive force acting on the fitting part with c.
As a result, the fitting portion is damaged or the opening 50a
Can be prevented from being damaged.

Moreover, since the bracket 46 is made of steel and grounded, it is possible to shield the noise generated by the lighting circuit 42 not only by the lighting circuit case 40 accommodating the same but also by the bracket 46. Also, the heat generated by the lighting circuit 42 is transferred to the lighting circuit case 40.
From the outside through the bracket 46.

Although the bracket 46 is a press-formed product, its overall shape is substantially U-shaped and relatively simple as described above, so that it can be easily formed.

The lighting circuit case 40 is fixed to the general surface of the bottom portion 58 by a case mounting portion 58c formed at four corners of the bottom portion 58 and a pair of beads 58a formed at an intermediate portion of the bracket 46. When the pebble or the like collides with the bottom portion 58, the impact force is applied to the lighting circuit case 4.
Transmission to zero can be prevented or minimized, and air can be circulated through the gap, so that the heat dissipation function for the lighting circuit case 40 can be further improved. Standing wall portions 60 and 62 of bracket 46
Also, a pair of beads 60a and 62a are formed in each case, but the beads 60a and 62a can also prevent or minimize the transmission of the impact force to the lighting circuit case 40 and improve the heat dissipation function. . The case mounting portion 58c and the beads 58a, 60a, 62
With a, the rigidity of the bracket 46 can also be improved.

Further, the bottom portion 58 of the bracket 46
Since the small holes 58b are formed at the five locations, air can be circulated through these small holes 58a,
The heat dissipation function can be further improved in combination with the formation of the gap.

As described above, the bracket 46 is substantially U-shaped.
The lighting circuit case 40 can dissipate heat at these left and right end edges because it is shaped like a letter and its left and right end edges are open.

In the configuration of the above embodiment, an opening may be partially provided in the upright wall portion 60 on the front side of the bracket 46. By providing a portion of the lighting circuit case 40 that is not covered by the bracket 46 on the front side of the vehicle, the lighting circuit case 40 can be cooled by using the vehicle running wind. Can be further increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 1;

4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the lighting circuit case and the bracket according to the embodiment as separate products.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 headlight 12 body (lamp) 14 lens 16 reflector 26 discharge bulb 36 plug 38 code 40 lighting circuit case 42 lighting circuit 42A starting circuit 42B stabilizing circuit 46 bracket (protective member) 48 case body 50 cover 50a opening 50b, 50c Open flange part 58 Bottom part 58a, 60a, 62a Bead (projection part) 58b Small hole (through hole) 58c Case mounting part (projection part) 58d Case mounting hole 58e Upward flange part 60, 62 Upright wall part 60b, 62b Flange Part 60c, 62c Body mounting seat 60d, 62d Body mounting hole 66 Screw 68b, 68c Opening flange part 68d Reinforcement rib 70 Stud bolt 72 Nut 76 Packing

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-7-114806 (JP, A) JP-A-6-60704 (JP, A) JP-A-6-44805 (JP, A) JP-A-7-114 114807 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F21S 8/10 F21W 101: 10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A discharge bulb, a lamp housing the discharge bulb, a lens attached to the lamp, a lighting circuit for lighting the discharge bulb, and a lighting circuit housed outside the lamp body. A lighting circuit case, comprising: a lighting circuit case, wherein the lighting circuit case is attached to a bottom surface of the lamp via a protective member that covers at least a part of an outer surface of the lighting circuit case. A headlight for a vehicle, characterized in that: 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the protection member covers the lighting circuit case so as to straddle both sides of the lighting circuit case, and is attached to the lamp body on the both sides. Headlights for vehicles. 3. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein the protection member is made of metal and grounded. 4. When the protection member is attached to the lighting circuit case, a projection is formed on the protection member so as to contact an outer surface of the lighting circuit case to form a gap between the protection circuit and the lighting circuit case. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The vehicle headlight according to any one of the above. 5. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in a portion of the protection member that covers the lighting circuit case. 6. The lighting device and the lighting circuit case,
Open flange portions to be fitted with each other are formed,
The vehicle headlight according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: