JP3217233B2 - Automotive headlights - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel automotive headlamp. Specifically, for example, an automotive headlamp in which a gear device is used for an aiming mechanism or the like, in which the gear shaft is supported in a state where the gear shaft is hard to rotate with respect to the gear shaft support wall when the gear shaft is not rotating. On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide a headlamp for a vehicle having a novel gear device that allows the gear shaft to rotate smoothly when the gear shaft rotates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a headlamp for a vehicle equipped with a conventional gear device, for example, the gear device is used as a part of an aiming mechanism of a vehicle, and a tip of an aiming screw is connected to a headlamp unit via a receiver. Is connected to a non-rotatable
There is a gear in which a first gear screwed into a screw shaft portion of an aiming screw so as to be fitted externally and a second gear connected to an operation shaft are meshed.

The operation of the operating shaft rotates the second gear, the first gear meshed with the second gear rotates, and the aiming screw cannot rotate. The part will be fed by the first gear and the aiming screw will be moved in the axial direction. As a result, the position of the portion of the headlamp unit supporting the receiver changes, and the headlamp unit is tilted.

[0004] In order to prevent the gear from rotating due to external vibration, for example, vibration during running of the automobile when the operating shaft is not operated, a load is applied to the rotational force of the gear. .

[0005]

In a headlight for an automobile equipped with the above-mentioned conventional gear device, the operation of the operating shaft is more than a certain degree due to the load applied to the rotational force of the gear. And the operability is poor. However, in order to improve the operability, it is necessary to reduce the load with respect to the rotational force of the gear, and if the load is reduced, there is a disadvantage that the gear is likely to rotate due to external vibration.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automotive headlamp according to the present invention is provided so as to protrude from an opening edge of a shaft insertion hole formed in a support wall of a lamp housing and to be provided on an end face thereof. A cylindrical gear shaft support wall having a concave or a ridge formed thereon, and a ridge or a concave ridge engaged with the concave ridge or the ridge on a surface facing an end surface of the gear shaft support wall; A gear shaft having a gear portion having gear teeth formed on a surface facing the support wall, and having an engagement groove on an outer peripheral surface of a portion near the other end; and a gear shaft having the gear shaft support wall and the shaft. A fastener that is engaged with the engagement groove when inserted through the insertion hole to prevent the gear shaft from coming off, the fastener protruding outward from an outer peripheral edge of the fastener, and is provided on the support wall side. Elastic connection inclined toward The elastic contact piece is elastically contacted with the support wall, and the elastic contact piece is bent during operation to engage the ridge or the ridge of the gear shaft with the concave or ridge of the gear shaft support wall. Is released.

[0007]

Therefore, in the automotive headlamp of the present invention, when the gear shaft is not rotating, the ridge formed on the gear shaft by the elastic contact of the elastic contact piece provided on the fastener with the support wall. Alternatively, a moving force in the direction of the end surface of the gear shaft support wall is applied to the concave ridge, and the ridge or concave ridge of the gear shaft engages with the concave ridge or ridge formed on the end surface of the gear shaft support wall to engage the gear shaft. Because the force that suppresses the rotation of the gear shaft acts, the gear shaft is supported in a state that it is difficult to rotate with respect to the gear shaft support wall, and when the gear shaft rotates,
Since the elastic contact piece is bent, the ridge or the ridge formed on the gear shaft can be moved in the direction opposite to the end face of the gear shaft support wall, whereby the ridge or the ridge of the gear shaft and the gear shaft can be moved. The engagement of the support wall with the concave or ridge is easily released, and the rotation of the gear shaft is smoothly performed.

The diameter of the shaft of the gear shaft is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the fastener.
According to the invention, since the radially extending slit formed in the inner peripheral surface of the fastener is formed, the inner diameter of the fastener is substantially enlarged to facilitate the engagement, and the inner diameter is in the engaged state. Returns to the original state, and a stable engagement state is obtained.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, the outer end of the slit and the outer edge of the fastener are formed on the outer peripheral surface corresponding to the portion where the slit of the fastener is formed by projecting outward. The gap between them can be sufficiently ensured, thereby maintaining the strength of the fastener.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a lamp housing fixed to a vehicle body (not shown) of an automobile, and reference numeral 2 denotes a rear wall thereof.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a headlamp unit, which includes a lamp body 4 and a lens 5 which covers the front opening of the lamp body 4.
And a light source bulb (not shown) is disposed in the space 6 formed by the head lamp unit 3. The headlamp unit 3 can be tilted in the lamp housing 1 by one rotation fulcrum part (not shown) and two space adjustment parts. Supported.

By changing the distance between the lamp housing 1 and the head lamp unit 3 in one of the distance adjusting sections, the head lamp unit 3 is connected to a line connecting the remaining distance adjusting section and the pivot point. Is rotated about the rotation axis.

Further, the present invention is applied to a part of the interval adjusting section.

Reference numeral 7 denotes one interval adjusting unit.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a shaft insertion hole formed in the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1, through which a gear shaft described later is inserted.

A shaft holding wall 9 protrudes rearward from an opening edge of the shaft insertion hole 8, and a cylindrical gear shaft support wall 10 protrudes forward.

On the front end face of the gear shaft support wall 10, shallow concave stripes 11, 11, ... extending in the radial direction are formed. A V-shaped recess 1 having a substantially flat bottom when viewed from the rear is provided at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the gear shaft support wall 10.
2 are formed.

Driver support walls 13, 13 extending vertically are provided at positions close to the gear shaft support wall 10 on the front surface of the rear wall 2 so as to be substantially parallel to each other. The space between the driver support walls 13 and 13 is located at the upper end of the gear shaft support wall 10,
It is formed so as to aim at the concave portion 12. Further, driver guide walls 14, 14 are inclined and protrude from the upper ends of the driver support walls 13, 13 so as to be separated from each other as going upward.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a gear shaft, which has a substantially cylindrical main portion 17 having a screw hole 16 and a crown gear portion 18 integrally projecting outward from a front end of the main portion 17. .

The crown gear 18 is provided in the lamp housing 1.
A gear forming edge 19 protruding rearward from a peripheral edge of a surface facing the rear wall 2 of the vehicle.
0, 20,... Are formed. Projections 21, 21,... Extending in the radial direction are formed on a portion inside the gear forming edge 19 on the rear surface of the crown gear portion 18.

An engagement groove 22 extending annularly in the circumferential direction is formed at the rear end of the outer peripheral surface of the main portion 17 of the gear shaft 15.

A fastener 23 is formed of a synthetic resin, for example, nylon 66, and has a substantially annular shape. A fitting hole 24 is formed in the center of the fastener 23. The fitting hole 24 includes a rear half 24a having a uniform diameter and a front half 24b whose diameter increases toward the front end.
The inner diameter of a is formed to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the engagement groove 22 of the gear shaft 15, and the inner diameter of the largest diameter portion of the first half 24b is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the main portion 17 of the gear shaft 15. It is formed slightly larger.

Projecting pieces 25, 25,... Project outward at four equally spaced apart locations on the outer periphery of the fastener 23. The radially extending slits 26, 2 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fastener 23 at locations corresponding to the circumferential centers of the protruding pieces 25, 25,.
Are formed, and the rear ends of these slits 26, 26,... Are formed so as to form a semicircle when viewed from the axial direction.

Further, a projecting piece 25 on the outer periphery of the fastener 23,
.. Are formed projecting outward from the positions between the positions 25,... And slightly inclined forward toward the front end.

The main portion 17 of the gear shaft 15 is inserted through the gear shaft support wall 10, the shaft insertion hole 8, and the shaft holding wall 9 in this order from the front side of the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1, and the engagement is performed. The concave groove 22 is located immediately behind the rear end of the shaft holding wall 9.

Therefore, the fastener 23 is connected to the gear shaft 1
5 is fitted from the rear end to the engagement groove 22.
At this time, four slits 2 are formed on the inner edge of the fastener 23.
Are formed, so that when passing through a portion thicker than the inner diameter, the outer side is bent so as to be displaced forward, and the inner diameter is substantially enlarged to engage with the engaging concave groove 22. Can be done.

When the fastener 23 engages with the engagement groove 22 of the gear shaft 15 in this manner, the elastic contact pieces 27, 27,.
Of the shaft holding wall 9.

Thus, the gear shaft 15 is rotatably supported by the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1. The support is provided not only by the shaft insertion hole 8 but also by the shaft holding wall 9 and the gear shaft supporting wall 10, so that an extremely stable state is achieved.

The elastic contact pieces 27, 2 of the fastener 23
Are resiliently contacted with the rear surface of the shaft holding wall 9 so that the gear shaft 15 receives the moving force in the rearward direction, and the ridges 21 formed on the rear surface of the crown gear portion 18.
Are engaged with the recesses 11, 11,... Formed on the front end surface of the gear shaft support wall 10, and the gear shaft 15 is click-stopped at a predetermined position in the rotation direction.

Numeral 28 denotes an aiming screw, which is a screw shaft portion 29 which forms a major part of the screw, a spherical portion 30 formed at the front end of the screw shaft portion 29 and a rear end of the screw shaft portion 29 which are connected to each other. A flat rectangular sliding shaft portion 31 is formed integrally with the sliding shaft portion 31.

The aiming screw 28 has a screw shaft portion 29 whose main shaft 1 is the main portion 1 of the gear shaft 15.
7 is screwed into the screw hole 16.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a synthetic resin receiver supported on the lamp body 4 of the head lamp unit 3, and has a spherical concave portion 33 opened on the rear surface.

The spherical portion 30 of the aiming screw 28 is fitted into the spherical concave portion 33 of the receiver 32. In this state, the aiming screw 28 can be tilted and rotated with respect to the receiver 32, that is, with respect to the headlamp unit 3.

Numeral 34 denotes a leveling drive, which is of a so-called revolving type, in which the aiming screw 28 is rotated to move in the axial direction.

A casing 35 of the leveling drive unit 34 is fixed to the vehicle body behind the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a drive shaft whose front end face faces forward from the front surface of the casing 35. The drive shaft 36 is rotated by a motor 37 housed in the casing 35 via a gear linkage mechanism. The final stage is the drive shaft 36
The worm wheel 38 and the worm 39 are integrated with each other.

The drive shaft 36 is formed with a connection hole 40 which is open at the front end face and has a rectangular cross section whose cross section is flat.

The sliding shaft 31 at the rear end of the aiming screw 28 screwed to the gear shaft 15 is slidably and non-rotatably connected to the connecting hole 40 of the drive shaft 36 of the leveling drive 34. Is fitted.

The initial aiming adjustment in the vehicle headlight is performed as follows.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a Phillips screwdriver. The tip 42 of the Phillips screwdriver 41 is inserted from above to engage the tip 42 with the gear teeth 20 of the crown gear 18 of the gear shaft 15.

At this time, the tip 4 of the Phillips screwdriver 41
2 is guided by driver guide walls 14, 14 formed integrally with the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1 and guided between the driver support walls 13, 13. The tip of the Phillips screwdriver 41 is located in the recess 12 formed on the upper surface of the gear shaft support wall 10, and the position slightly above the tip 42 is regulated by the driver support walls 13, 13. Therefore, the posture is kept stable.

When the plus driver 41 is rotated, first, a force is applied to the crown gear portion 18 of the gear shaft 15 to move the crown gear portion 18 forward, so that the elastic contact pieces 27, 27,.・ The gear shaft 15 moves slightly forward due to bending, and the ridges 21, 2
.. And the concave streaks 11, 1 of the gear shaft support wall 10.
The engagement with 1, ... is released.

When the Phillips screwdriver 41 is further rotated, the tip end 42 of the screwdriver 41 causes the crown gear 18 to rotate.
Are sent to the gear shaft 1
5 is rotated. Even if the gear shaft 15 is rotated, the aiming screw 28 cannot rotate because the sliding shaft portion 31 is engaged with the connection hole 40 of the drive shaft 36 of the leveling drive portion 34. The screw shaft portion 29 meshing with the screw hole 16 of the gear shaft 15 is sent,
Therefore, the aiming screw 28 is connected to the gear shaft 15.
Is moved forward or backward depending on the direction of rotation of. As a result, the distance between the head lamp unit 3 and the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1 in the distance adjusting unit 7 is changed, and a line connecting a rotation fulcrum (not shown) and another distance adjusting unit is rotated. The head lamp unit 3 is rotated as an axis. Thus, the aiming adjustment, that is, the adjustment of the irradiation axis of the vehicle headlamp is performed.

The leveling adjustment, that is, the operation for adjusting the deviation of the irradiation axis due to the change in the load and / or the position of the load, is performed as follows.

By a remote operation, for example, a switch operation from a driver's seat, the motor 37 of the leveling drive unit 34 is driven to rotate the drive shaft 36.

When the drive shaft 36 rotates, the connection hole 40
The aiming screw 28 in which the sliding shaft portion 31 is slidably and non-rotatably fitted is rotated. And
The gear shaft 15 has its ridges 21, 21,... Engaged with the concave ridges 11, 11,. Depending on the direction of rotation, the gear shaft 15
Is screwed into or unscrewed from the screw hole 16, so that it moves in the axial direction. As a result, the head lamp unit 3 in the space adjusting section 7 and the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1 Is changed, and the headlamp unit 3 is rotated about a line connecting a rotation fulcrum (not shown) and another distance adjustment unit as a rotation axis. Thereby, leveling adjustment is performed.

In the headlamp for an automobile described above, the aiming screw 28 is rotatably connected to the headlamp unit 3, and a non-circular connection hole 40 of the drive shaft 36 of the leveling drive unit 34. In addition, the non-circular sliding shaft portion 31 is slidably fitted to stop rotation during the aiming adjustment. Therefore, at the time of assembly, the sliding shaft portion 31 at the rear end of the aiming screw 28 and the leveling The two can be connected while viewing the connection hole 40 of the drive shaft 36 of the drive unit 34, and the workability at the time of assembly is good.

Since the aiming screw 28 is rotatable with respect to the head lamp unit 3, the aiming screw 28 is screwed or screwed into the gear shaft 15 by rotating the aiming screw 28. Since the aiming screw 28 can be moved in the axial direction by being returned, the headlamp unit 3 can be tilted thereby, so that the initial aiming mechanism and the leveling mechanism can be easily installed side by side as described above. .

The aiming screw 28 having the same structure can also be used in the interval adjusting unit not provided with the leveling mechanism.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a stopper 44 having a non-circular insertion hole 43 for inserting the sliding shaft portion 31 of the aiming screw 28 into the lamp housing 1 is provided.
The sliding shaft 31 is slidably and non-rotatably inserted into the insertion hole 43 of the stopper 44. As a result, the aiming screw 28 is disabled from rotating, and the aiming adjustment can be performed by rotating the gear shaft 15 with a plus screwdriver.

[0052]

As is apparent from the above description, the automotive headlamp of the present invention projects from the opening edge of the shaft insertion hole formed in the support wall of the lamp housing and has a concave in the end face. A cylindrical gear shaft support wall on which a ridge or a ridge is formed, and a ridge or a ridge that engages with the concave ridge or the ridge on a surface opposed to an end surface of the gear shaft support wall. A gear shaft having a gear portion having gear teeth formed on a surface facing the support wall and having an engagement concave groove on an outer peripheral surface of a portion near the other end; and the gear shaft having the gear shaft support wall and the shaft inserted therethrough. A fastener that is engaged with the engagement groove when inserted into the hole to prevent the gear shaft from slipping out, the fastener protruding outward from the outer peripheral edge thereof and toward the support wall side. Bullet contact piece inclined toward The elastic contact piece is elastically contacted with the support wall, and at the time of operation, the elastic contact piece bends to engage the protrusion or recess of the gear shaft with the recess or protrusion of the gear shaft support wall. It is characterized by including a gear device that is configured to be released.

Therefore, in the automotive headlamp of the present invention, when the gear shaft is not rotating, the ridge formed on the gear shaft by the elastic contact of the elastic contact piece provided on the fastener with the support wall. Alternatively, a moving force in the direction of the end surface of the gear shaft support wall is applied to the concave ridge, and the ridge or concave ridge of the gear shaft engages with the concave ridge or ridge formed on the end surface of the gear shaft support wall to engage the gear shaft. Since the force to suppress the rotation of the gear shaft acts, the gear shaft is supported in a state where it is difficult to rotate with respect to the gear shaft support wall, and conversely, when the gear shaft rotates, the elastic contact piece is bent so that the gear shaft The formed ridge or concave can be moved in the direction opposite to the end face of the gear shaft support wall, so that the engagement between the ridge or concave of the gear shaft and the concave or ridge of the gear shaft support wall can be achieved. Easy solution Rotation of the gear shaft is is made smoothly.

However, even if, for example, external vibration is transmitted to the gear shaft or the like, the gear shaft rarely rotates, and conversely, if the gear shaft needs to be rotated, It can be easily rotated.

The diameter of the shaft of the gear shaft is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the fastener.
According to the invention, since the radially extending slit formed in the inner peripheral surface of the fastener is formed, the inner diameter of the fastener is substantially enlarged to facilitate the engagement, and the inner diameter is in the engaged state. Returns to the original state, and a stable engagement state is obtained.

As a result, the assemblability of the fastener to the gear shaft is improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the outer end of the slit and the outer edge of the fastener are formed on the outer peripheral surface corresponding to the portion where the slit of the fastener is formed by projecting outward. The gap between them can be sufficiently ensured, whereby the strength of the fastener is maintained and the fastener is not easily broken.

It should be noted that the specific shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Is not to be construed as limiting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automotive headlamp according to the present invention together with FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, and FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing a main part partially cut away.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which aiming adjustment is being performed.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing another application example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lamp housing 2 Support wall (rear wall) 8 Shaft insertion hole 10 Gear shaft support wall 11 Concave stripe 15 Gear shaft 18 Gear part (crown gear part) 20 Gear tooth 21 Protrusion 22 Engagement concave groove 23 Fastener 25 Protrusion piece 26 Slit 27 Bullet piece 41 Phillips screwdriver 42 Tip

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F21S 8/10 B60Q 1/076 F21V 14/04

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cylindrical gear shaft support wall protruding from an opening edge of a shaft insertion hole formed in a support wall of a lamp housing and having a concave or a protrusion formed on an end surface thereof, and a gear shaft support. A ridge or a ridge that engages with the ridge or ridge on the surface facing the end surface of the wall, and a gear with gear teeth formed on a surface facing the support wall at one end; A gear shaft having an engagement groove on an outer peripheral surface of a portion near the end; and a gear shaft which is engaged with the engagement groove while the gear shaft is inserted into the gear shaft support wall and the shaft insertion hole. A fastener for preventing falling off, the fastener having an elastic contact piece protruding outward from an outer peripheral edge thereof and inclined toward the support wall side, and the elastic contact piece is attached to the support wall. It is elastically touched, and the elastic piece is bent during operation. An automotive headlamp comprising a gear device in which engagement between a ridge or a ridge of a gear shaft and a ridge or a ridge of a gear shaft support wall is released. 2. The ridge or the ridge is formed in a portion inside the gear teeth of the gear portion.
2. The headlight for an automobile according to claim 1. 3. The gear shaft, wherein the gear teeth of the gear shaft are crown gear teeth, and the tip of a Phillips screwdriver is engaged with the gear teeth and the Phillips screwdriver is rotated to move the gear shaft in the axial direction. 3. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein the engagement between the ridge or the ridge of the gear shaft and the ridge or the ridge of the gear shaft support wall is released. 4. The headlight for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the fastener is formed with a slit that opens in an inner peripheral surface and extends in a radial direction. 5. The automotive headlight according to claim 4, wherein a projecting piece projects outward from an outer peripheral surface of the fastener corresponding to a portion where the slit is formed.