JP3224944B2 - Aiming screw support structure for automotive headlamp - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support structure for an aiming screw in a novel automotive headlamp. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new supporting structure for an aiming screw in a headlamp for a vehicle, in which the number of parts is reduced to reduce the number of assembling steps and cost, and the operability is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a supporting structure of an aiming screw in an automobile headlamp in which a headlamp unit is tiltably supported in a lamp housing.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral a denotes a lamp housing, and a head lamp unit (not shown) is provided in the lamp housing a so as to be tiltable. An insertion hole c is formed in the back wall b of the lamp housing a.

A gear case d is fixed to the rear surface of the rear wall b of the lamp housing a by a fixing means such as a screw, and has a space opened at an upper end. The upper half is a driver guide f.

[0005] A large opening g is formed on the front side of the gear housing portion e of the gear case d, and a support hole h is formed on the rear side.

[0006] i is a tubular main part k having a screw hole j and a crown gear part l integrally formed substantially at the center of the main part k.
And a gear shaft comprising:

[0007] The front end of the main portion k of the gear shaft i is inserted through the insertion hole c of the lamp housing a, and the rear end of the main portion k is rotatably supported by the support hole h of the gear case d. As a result, the crown gear portion 1 is located in the gear housing portion e of the gear case d.

An aiming screw m includes a screw shaft portion n and a joint portion o integrally formed at the tip of the screw shaft n. The joint portion o cannot rotate with a head lamp unit (not shown). The screw shaft portion n is screwed into the screw hole j of the gear shaft i.

However, when performing the aiming adjustment,
The tip q of the Phillips screwdriver p is inserted into the gear housing e from the driver guide f of the gear case d. As a result, the tip q of the Phillips screwdriver p is
With the crown gear portion l of the first gear.

When the plus driver p is rotated, the crown gear 1 is rotated, and the main gear k
Is also rotated. When the gear shaft i is rotated in this manner, the aiming screw m in which the screw hole j and the screw shaft portion n are screwed is inaccurately rotated. Therefore, according to the rotation direction of the gear shaft i, The aiming screw will be sent forward or backward, thereby changing the distance between the head lamp unit and the rear wall b of the lamp housing a where the aiming screw m is connected, The headlamp unit is tilted in a predetermined direction.

[0011]

Incidentally, in the above-described supporting structure of the aiming screw in the conventional headlamp for an automobile, the plus screwdriver p is a part of the gear case d separate from the lamp housing a. Since the guide and support are performed by the driver guide portion f, the strength is insufficient, and if the plus driver p is operated with force, the driver guide portion f and other portions of the gear case d may be damaged. There is a problem that there is.

Further, since the member that covers the crown gear portion l is a gear case d separate from the lamp housing a, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are increased, and the assembling is troublesome. .

Further, since the gear case d has a shape that covers the entire crown gear portion l, once foreign matter enters therein, the foreign matter cannot be discharged and the gear shaft i is rotated. There is a problem that can not be done.

Further, since the support of the gear shaft i depends on the gear case d separate from the lamp housing a, there is a problem that the supporting strength is weak.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a headlamp supporting structure for an automotive headlamp in which a headlamp unit is supported in a lamp housing so that the headlamp unit can be tilted. An aiming screw that is a supporting structure of the aiming screw in the lamp, has a screw shaft portion, and has a tip portion connected to the head lamp unit in a non-rotatable state,
A gear shaft having a gear portion having gear teeth on a surface opposed to the rear surface of the lamp housing at a portion near the rear end, screwing with a screw shaft portion of the aiming screw, and having a concave portion on a peripheral surface near the front end. A cylindrical support wall protruding rearward from the opening edge of the shaft insertion hole through which the gear shaft is inserted in the rear wall of the lamp housing; and the gear shaft support wall of the rear wall of the lamp housing. A protection wall protruding rearward from the position and having a notch for discharging foreign matter at a lower portion thereof, a notch for driver insertion formed at an upper portion of the protection wall, and an upper side from both side edges of the notch for driver insertion. A protruding driver support wall, a driver guide wall extending from an upper end of the driver support wall and inclined in a direction away from each other as going upward, the driver guide And a shaft holding wall protruding forward from an opening edge of the shaft insertion hole, wherein the gear shaft is provided with a rear wall of a lamp housing. From the back side of the gear shaft support wall, the shaft insertion hole, and the shaft holding wall in that order, and a fastener is engaged with a concave strip located immediately in front of the shaft holding wall to rotatably support the gear shaft in the lamp housing. By rotating the gear shaft by engaging the tip of a Phillips screwdriver inserted from the notch for inserting the driver through the driver guide wall and the driver support wall from above with the gear teeth of the gear section and rotating the Phillips screwdriver. The head lamp unit is tilted.

[0016]

Therefore, in the supporting structure of the aiming screw in the automotive headlamp according to the present invention, the supporting screwdriver for performing the aiming operation is supported by the driver supporting wall which is integral with the lamp housing. Stable and also excellent in strength,
There is no fear that the driver support wall etc. will be damaged even if the phillips screwdriver is operated with great effort.

Further, since all the parts necessary for supporting the gear shaft, guiding and supporting the Phillips screwdriver, protecting the gear part, etc. are formed integrally with the lamp housing,
The number of parts is small and the number of assembling steps is reduced.

Further, since the gear shaft is supported by a part integral with the lamp housing, there is an advantage that the supporting strength is strong.

Furthermore, since the protection wall for protecting the gear shaft is formed with a notch for discharging foreign matter at a lower portion thereof, even if foreign matter enters the inside of the protection wall, the foreign matter is removed by the above-described foreign matter discharging part. Since the gear shaft is discharged from the notch, the rotation of the gear shaft is not hindered by the foreign matter.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headlamp for a vehicle 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 headlamp unit 3 in one of the distance adjusters, the headlamp unit 3 is connected to a line connecting the remaining distance adjuster and the pivot point. Is rotated about the rotation axis.

The supporting structure of the aiming screw in the automotive headlamp according to the present invention is applied to the gap adjusting section.

Reference numeral 7 denotes one interval adjusting unit. Note that the other gap adjusting section has almost the same structure as the gap adjusting section 7, and therefore its illustration and description are omitted.

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

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

On the rear end face of the gear shaft support wall 10, shallow concave strips 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.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a protective wall projecting rearward from the rear surface of the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1 from a position surrounding the gear shaft support wall 10 at a slight distance from the same. A cutout 14 for discharging foreign matter is formed at the lower end, and a cutout 15 for inserting a driver is formed at the upper end.

Notch 1 for insertion of driver into protective wall 13
5, the driver support wall 16 is directed upward from both side edges,
16 are projected substantially parallel to each other, and driver guide walls 17, 17 are provided from upper ends of the driver support walls 16, 16.
Are protruded at an angle so as to move away from each other as going upward. Furthermore, the driver guide walls 17, 17
A driver fall prevention wall 18 is formed to connect between the rear ends.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a gear shaft, which is formed integrally with a main part 21 having a substantially cylindrical shape and having a screw hole 20 and a crown gear part 22 integrally protruding outward from a rear end of the main part 21. Become.

The crown gear portion 22 is provided in the lamp housing 1.
A gear forming edge 23 protruding forward from a peripheral edge of a surface facing the rear wall 2 of the vehicle.
4, 24,... Are formed. Projections 25, 25,... Extending in the radial direction are formed in a portion of the front surface of the crown gear portion 22 inside the gear forming edge 23.

At the front end of the outer peripheral surface of the main portion 21 of the gear shaft 19, an engagement groove 26 extending annularly in the circumferential direction is formed.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a fastener, which is formed of a synthetic resin, for example, nylon 66, and has a substantially annular shape. A fitting hole 28 is formed in the center of the fastener 27. The fitting hole 28 is composed of a front half 28a having a uniform diameter and a rear half 28b whose diameter increases toward the rear end.
a is formed to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the engaging groove 26 of the gear shaft 19, and is the inner diameter of the largest diameter portion of the rear half 28b substantially the same as the outer diameter of the main portion 21 of the gear shaft 19? It is formed slightly larger.

Projecting pieces 29, 29,... Project outward at four equally spaced locations on the outer periphery of the fastener 27. In the inner circumferential surface of the fastener 27, radially extending slits 30, 3 are provided at locations corresponding to the circumferential centers of the protruding pieces 39, 39,.
.. Are formed, and the rear ends of these slits 30, 30,... Are formed so as to form a semicircle when viewed from the axial direction.

Further, a projection 39 on the outer periphery of the fastener 27,
.. Are formed projecting outward from positions between 39,... And slightly inclined rearward toward the front end.

The main portion 21 of the gear shaft 19 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 rear side of the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1. The concave groove 26 is located immediately before the front end of the shaft holding wall 9.

Therefore, the fastener 27 is connected to the gear shaft 1
9 is fitted from the front end to the engaging groove 26.
At this time, four slits 3 are formed on the inner edge of the fastener 27.
Are formed, so that when passing through a portion thicker than the inner diameter, the outer side is bent so as to be displaced rearward, and the inner diameter is substantially enlarged to engage with the engagement groove 26. Can be done.

When the fastener 27 engages with the engagement groove 26 of the gear shaft 19 in this manner, the elastic contact pieces 31, 31,.
Of the shaft holding wall 9.

Thus, the gear shaft 19 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 31, 3 of the fastener 27 are also provided.
.. Resiliently contact the front surface of the shaft holding wall 9 so that the gear shaft 19 receives a moving force in the forward direction, and the ridges 25 formed on the front surface of the crown gear portion 22.
Are engaged with the recesses 11, 11,... Formed on the rear end surface of the gear shaft support wall 10, and the gear shaft 19 is click-stopped at a predetermined position in the rotation direction.

Numeral 32 denotes an aiming screw, which comprises a screw shaft portion 33 which forms the major part thereof, a spherical portion 34 formed at the front end of the screw shaft portion 33, and a plate-like projecting from the front end of the spherical portion 34. The stopper piece 35 and the head 36 having a hexagonal cross section formed at the rear end of the screw shaft 33 are integrally formed.

The aiming screw 32 has a screw shaft portion 33 whose main shaft portion 2
It is screwed into one screw hole 20.

Numeral 37 denotes a synthetic resin nut supported on the lamp body 4 of the headlamp unit 3, and a spherical concave portion 38 opened on the rear surface and a flat plate formed continuously at the front end of the spherical concave portion 38. Has a locking concave portion 39.

The spherical portion 34 of the aiming screw 32 is fitted into the spherical recess 38 of the nut 37, and the stopper 35 of the aiming screw 32
Is engaged with the locking recess 39 of the nut 37. The locking recess 39 of the nut 37 is formed slightly larger than the stopper piece 35 of the aiming screw 32. Therefore, the aiming screw 32 has a spherical portion as long as the stopper piece 35 can move within the locking recess 39. Although it is possible to rotate slightly about the rotation center 34, it is basically impossible to rotate with respect to the headlamp unit 3.

The aiming adjustment of the headlamp unit 3 is performed as follows.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a Phillips screwdriver. The tip 41 of the Phillips screwdriver 40 is inserted into the area surrounded by the protective wall 13 from above, and the tip 41 is inserted into the gear shaft 19.
With the gear teeth 24 of the crown gear portion 22.

At this time, the tip 4 of the Phillips screwdriver 40
1 is guided by driver guide walls 17, 17 formed integrally with the rear wall 2 of the lamp housing 1 and guided between the driver support walls 16, and further passes through the notch 15 for driver insertion to form the protective wall 13. Reach inside. The tip of the Phillips screwdriver 40 is located in the recess 12 formed on the upper surface of the gear shaft support wall 10 and the tip 4
The position is regulated by the driver support walls 16 and 16 slightly above the position 1 and further by the driver fall prevention wall 18 so that the position is kept stable.

When the Phillips screwdriver 40 is rotated, first, a force is applied to the crown gear portion 22 of the gear shaft 19 to move the crown gear portion 22 rearward, so that the elastic contact pieces 31, 31,. The gear shaft 19 moves slightly backward due to bending, and the ridges 25, 2
.. And the concave streaks 11, 1 of the gear shaft support wall 10
The engagement with 1, ... is released.

When the Phillips screwdriver 40 is further rotated, the tip 41 of the screwdriver 40 causes the crown gear 22 to rotate.
Are sent to the gear shaft 1
9 is rotated. Even if the gear shaft 19 is rotated, the aiming screw 32 is not allowed to rotate, so that the screw shaft portion 33 meshing with the screw hole 20 of the gear shaft 19 is sent, and accordingly, the aiming screw 32 is rotated. 3
2 is moved forward or backward depending on the rotation direction of the gear shaft 19. 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.

In the supporting structure of the aiming screw in the above-mentioned automobile headlamp, the protective wall 13 for protecting the gear portion 22, the driver guide walls 17, 17 for guiding the plus driver 40, and the driver for maintaining the posture thereof Support wall 16, 16 and driver fall prevention wall 1
8 is formed integrally with the lamp housing 1,
The number of parts is smaller than that of the conventional one, and therefore the number of assembling steps is also reduced.

Further, since the driver support walls 16, 16 and the driver fall prevention wall 18 to which a large force is applied at the time of the aiming adjustment are formed integrally with the lamp housing 1, the strength is large, and these parts are damaged or The posture of the Phillips screwdriver 40 does not change.

Further, since the gear shaft 19 is also supported by the shaft holding wall 9 and the gear shaft supporting wall 10 formed integrally with the lamp housing 1, the support is strong, and the operation of the gear shaft 19 is stable. I do.

Furthermore, since the protection wall 13 is formed with a notch 14 for discharging foreign matter at the lower end thereof, even if foreign matter enters the portion surrounded by the protection wall 13, the foreign matter is notched. It does not interfere with the rotation of the gear shaft 19 after being discharged from the gear shaft 19.

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description, the supporting structure of the aiming screw in the automotive headlamp according to the present invention is applicable to an automotive headlamp in which a headlamp unit is tiltably supported in a lamp housing. Aiming screw support structure,
An aiming screw having a screw shaft portion and a tip end portion of the head lamp unit being connected to the head lamp unit in a non-rotatable manner, and a gear portion having gear teeth on a surface facing the rear surface of the lamp housing are provided at a portion near the rear end. A gear shaft that is screwed with the screw shaft of the aiming screw and has a concave streak on the outer peripheral surface near the front end; and a rear side from the opening edge of the shaft insertion hole of the rear wall of the lamp housing through which the gear shaft is inserted. Having a cylindrical gear shaft support wall protruding toward the rear, a rear wall of the lamp housing projecting rearward from a position surrounding the gear shaft support wall, and having a notch for discharging foreign matter at a lower portion thereof. A wall, a driver insertion notch formed above the protective wall, a driver support wall protruding upward from both side edges of the driver insertion notch, and the driver A driver guide wall extending from an upper end of the support wall and inclined in a direction away from each other as going upward, a driver fall prevention wall formed to connect a rear end of the driver guide wall, and the shaft insertion hole A shaft holding wall protruding forward from the opening edge of the lamp housing, the gear shaft is inserted from the rear side of the rear wall of the lamp housing in the order of the gear shaft support wall, the shaft insertion hole, the shaft holding wall, The gear shaft is rotatably supported by the lamp housing by engaging the fastener with the concave streak located immediately in front of the shaft holding wall,
The tip of a Phillips screwdriver inserted from the notch for inserting the driver through the driver guide wall and the driver support wall from above is engaged with the gear teeth of the gear portion, and the gear shaft is rotated by rotating the Phillips screwdriver to rotate the gear shaft. The head lamp unit is tilted.

Therefore, in the supporting structure of the aiming screw in the automotive headlamp according to the present invention, since the plus screwdriver for performing the aiming operation is supported by the driver supporting wall integrated with the lamp housing, the support is provided. It is stable and excellent in strength, so there is no danger that the driver support wall will be damaged even if the Phillips screwdriver is operated with force.

Further, since all the parts necessary for supporting the gear shaft, guiding and supporting the Phillips screwdriver, protecting the gear part, etc. are formed integrally with the lamp housing,
The number of parts is small and the number of assembling steps is reduced.

Further, since the gear shaft is supported by a part integral with the lamp housing, there is an advantage that the supporting strength is strong.

Further, since the protection wall for protecting the gear shaft is formed with a notch for discharging foreign matter at a lower portion thereof, even if foreign matter enters the inside of the protection wall, the foreign matter is removed by the foreign matter discharging part. Since the gear shaft is discharged from the notch, the rotation of the gear shaft is not hindered by the foreign matter.

It should be noted that the shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is thereby described. Should not be interpreted restrictively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of a supporting structure of an aiming screw in an automobile headlamp according to the present invention, together with FIGS. 2 to 5, and is a schematic sectional view showing an automobile headlamp apparatus. FIG.

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 cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example of a supporting structure of an aiming screw in a conventional automotive headlamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lamp housing 2 Back wall 3 Head lamp unit 8 Shaft insertion hole 9 Shaft holding wall 10 Gear shaft support wall 13 Protective wall 14 Notch for foreign substance discharge 15 Notch for driver insertion 16 Driver support wall 17 Driver guide wall 18 Driver fall prevention wall 19 Gear shaft 22 Crown gear part (gear part) 24 Gear teeth 26 Engagement concave groove (concave stripe) 27 Fastener 32 Aiming screw 33 Screw shaft part 40 Phillips screwdriver 41 Tip part

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-151801 (JP, A) JP-A-7-192505 (JP, A) JP-A-64-12003 (JP, U) JP-A-63-178004 (JP) , U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 5-48107 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 5-68011 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 7-27004 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 7-34509 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 57-199144 (JP, U) JP-A 61-145404 (JP, U) JP-A 4-99301 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F21S 8/10 B60Q 1/06 F21V 14/04

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An aiming screw supporting structure for an automobile headlamp in which a headlamp unit is tiltably supported in a lamp housing, the headlamp unit having a screw shaft portion, and a tip end portion of which is not rotatable by the headlamp unit. An aiming screw connected in a state, and a gear portion having gear teeth on a surface facing the rear surface of the lamp housing at a portion near the rear end, screwed with a screw shaft portion of the aiming screw, and a portion near the front end A gear shaft having a concave streak on the outer peripheral surface thereof; a cylindrical gear shaft support wall projecting rearward from an opening edge of a shaft insertion hole through which the gear shaft is inserted in a rear wall of the lamp housing; The rear wall of the housing protrudes rearward from the position surrounding the gear shaft support wall and has a notch for discharging foreign matter at a lower portion thereof. A protection wall, a driver insertion notch formed at an upper portion of the protection wall, a driver support wall protruding upward from both side edges of the driver insertion notch, and a driver support wall extending upward from an upper end of the driver support wall. A driver guide wall inclined in the direction away from each other as you go,
A driver fall prevention wall formed so as to connect between the rear ends of the driver guide walls, and a shaft holding wall protruding forward from an opening edge of the shaft insertion hole, the gear shaft being a ramp. Insert the gear shaft support wall, shaft insertion hole, and shaft holding wall in this order from the rear side of the rear wall of the housing, and engage the fastener with the concave strip located immediately in front of the shaft holding wall to connect the gear shaft to the lamp housing. Gears are rotatably supported by engaging a tip end of a Phillips screwdriver inserted from above through a driver insertion wall through a driver guide wall and a driver support wall with gear teeth of the gear portion, and rotating the Phillips screwdriver. For a vehicle, wherein the head lamp unit is tilted by rotating a shaft. The support structure of the aiming screw in Ddoranpu.