JP7430185B2 - Vehicle lights and covers for vehicle lights - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of a vehicular lamp in which a cover is joined to a lamp housing by hot plate welding, and a cover for a vehicular lamp.

Vehicle lamps generally have a lamp housing with an opening and a cover that is joined to the lamp housing in a state that closes the opening, and a lamp unit and other necessary components are placed inside the lamp outer casing, which is constituted by the lamp housing and the cover. Each part is arranged.

In such vehicle lamps, there is a method of bonding the cover to the lamp housing using hot melt adhesive, but it is difficult to separate the lamp housing and hot melt, and in recent years, from the perspective of resource recycling, The cover is often joined to the lamp housing by welding (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Welding methods include hot plate welding. Hot plate welding ensures high welding strength, does not require consumable materials such as adhesives, and has a wide range of resin selection, making it suitable for three-dimensional products. It has advantages such as being suitable for joining, and is popular as a method of joining the cover to the lamp housing.

When the cover is joined to the lamp housing by hot plate welding, a welding surface is formed on the lamp housing and welding legs are provided on the cover that protrude from the outer peripheral side of the design surface. The design surface part is the part whose outer surface faces the outside of the vehicle, and the welding leg part is the part that is joined to the welding surface by hot plate welding, and the tip of the welding leg part is melted and joined to the welding surface. Ru.

When joining the cover to the lamp housing by hot plate welding, the lamp housing and the cover are held by a first jig and a second jig, respectively, and the welding legs and joint surfaces are heated by the hot plate and become meltable. By moving the second jig toward the first jig, the cover is pressed against the lamp housing in the crimping direction, and the tips of the welding legs pressed against the welding surface are melted. Ru. Therefore, the crimping direction is the direction of movement of the second jig relative to the first jig.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-750232

By the way, as shown in Patent Document 1, in the cover of a vehicle lamp, the design surface portion is often curved according to the shape of the vehicle body, and the welded legs protrude from the outer peripheral side of the design surface portion. Therefore, the direction in which the welding legs protrude from the design surface section does not match the crimping direction during joining by hot plate welding.

Therefore, when the welding leg is pressed against the welding surface of the lamp housing, the direction in which the two contact each other is different from the direction in which they are crimped when joined by hot plate welding, which may reduce the bonding strength of the cover to the lamp housing. There is.

Therefore, an object of the vehicle lamp and the cover of the vehicle lamp of the present invention is to ensure high bonding strength of the cover to the lamp housing.

First, the vehicle lamp according to the present invention includes a lamp housing having an internal space and a welding surface formed thereon, and a cover that covers the internal space, and the cover is joined to the lamp housing by hot plate welding. The cover has a design surface portion whose outer surface faces outward from the vehicle, a welding leg portion that protrudes from the design surface portion and is welded to the welding surface, and a welding leg portion of the design surface portion that extends outward from the welding leg portion. The welding leg includes a continuous portion that continues to the design surface portion, and a tip portion that is bent toward the shielding portion with respect to the continuous portion and is welded to the welding surface. A bent portion is provided , and the direction of protrusion of the continuous portion from the design surface portion is set at an angle of more than 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction when the cover is crimped to the lamp housing in hot plate welding .

As a result, the bending portion is bent relative to the continuous portion in a direction in which the direction in which the welding leg portions are in contact with each other when pressed against the welding surface of the lamp housing approaches the crimping direction during joining by hot plate welding.

As a result, the size of the portion of the design surface portion that is on the inner circumferential side of the welded leg portion and that transmits light increases, so that the transmission area of the light emitted from the light source in the cover increases.

In the above -described vehicle lamp according to the present invention, the boundary between the continuous portion and the bent portion is formed as a bent end, and the direction in which the tip of the bent portion and the bent end are connected is the tying direction. It is preferable that the tying direction coincides with the crimping direction.

As a result, when the cover is joined to the lamp housing by hot plate welding, the bent portion whose knotting direction coincides with the crimp direction abuts against the welding surface.

In the above -mentioned vehicle lamp according to the present invention, it is desirable that the outer circumferential portion of the designed surface portion be located outside of the welded leg portion.

Thereby, the outer circumferential portion of the design surface portion functions as a shielding portion that shields the welding leg portion, and the joint portion of the welding leg portion with the welding surface is difficult to be seen from the gap between the vehicle body and the cover.

The cover for a vehicle light according to the present invention is a cover for a vehicle light that is joined by hot plate welding to a lamp housing having an internal space and a welding surface, and has a design in which the outer surface faces outside of the vehicle. A welding leg protruding from the design surface and welded to the welding surface, and a shielding part located outside of the welding leg in the design surface , the welding leg having the design surface. a continuous portion that is continuous with the continuous portion, and a bent portion that is bent toward the shielding portion with respect to the continuous portion and whose tip end is welded to the welding surface , and the protruding direction of the continuous portion from the designed surface portion is The angle is greater than 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction when the plate is crimped to the lamp housing during plate welding .

As a result, the bending portion is bent relative to the continuous portion in a direction in which the direction in which the welding leg portions are in contact with each other when pressed against the welding surface of the lamp housing approaches the crimping direction during joining by hot plate welding. Further, since the size of the portion of the design surface portion that is inner than the welded leg portion and that transmits light increases, the transmission area of the cover for light emitted from the light source increases.

According to the present invention, the bent portion is bent relative to the continuous portion in a direction in which the direction in which the welded leg portion contacts the welded surface of the lamp housing approaches the crimping direction during joining by hot plate welding. , high bonding strength of the cover to the lamp housing can be ensured.

2 to 8 show embodiments of a vehicle lamp and a cover for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention, and this figure is a sectional view showing the vehicle lamp. It is a figure which shows a part of cover. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cover and the lamp housing are heated by a hot plate during hot plate welding. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cover is joined to the lamp housing by hot plate welding. 1 is a diagram showing the circumstances leading to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the length of the bent portion in the knotting direction and the length of the continuous portion in the direction of protrusion from the design surface portion are approximately the same length. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the length of the bent portion in the tying direction is longer than the length of the continuous portion in the direction of protrusion from the design surface portion. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the length of the continuous portion in the direction of protrusion from the design surface portion is longer than the length of the bent portion in the tying direction.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing the vehicle lamp and the cover of the vehicle lamp of this invention is demonstrated with reference to an accompanying drawing.

<Configuration of vehicle light>
First, the configuration of the vehicle lamp 1 will be explained (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

A vehicular lamp 1 has a lamp housing 2 and a cover 3, and the cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding. In the following description, in order to facilitate understanding, the front, back, top, bottom, left, and right directions will be shown corresponding to the positions where the lamp housing 2 and cover 3 are held when they are joined by hot plate welding. Therefore, the side where the cover 3 is located is referred to as the upper side, the side where the lamp housing 2 is located is referred to as the lower side, and the direction in which the outer peripheral portion of the cover 3 is located in the cross-sectional shape shown in each figure is referred to as the left-right direction for convenience.

However, the directions of front, rear, top, bottom, left and right shown below are for convenience of explanation, and the implementation of the present invention is not limited to these directions.

Further, in each of the figures referred to, the vehicle lamp 1 is shown as an example in a rotationally symmetrical and simple shape in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1, the cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding, and the cover 3 is crimped to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding. Therefore, the crimping direction S is vertical (see FIG. 1).

The lamp housing 2 is made of a resin material such as ABS resin (acrylonitrile copolymer resin), and has an internal space. The lamp housing 2 includes a concave main body 4 opened upward, an annular flange 5 projecting outward from the upper end of the main body 4, and an annular joining protrusion projecting upward from the flange 5. 6. The upper surface of the joining protrusion 6 is formed as a welding surface 6a.

The cover 3 is made of, for example, a transparent resin material such as acrylic, and includes a designed surface portion 7 whose outer surface 3a faces outside of the vehicle, and a welded leg portion 8 protruding from a portion of the inner surface 7a of the designed surface portion 7 closer to the outer periphery. are formed integrally. The cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2 while covering the internal space.

The design surface portion 7 is curved so as to be convex on the opposite side of the lamp housing 2 according to the shape of the vehicle body, and is formed in a curved shape. A portion of the design surface portion 7 outside the welding leg portion 8 is provided as a shielding portion 9 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). In the design surface portion 7, the inner portion of the shielding portion 9 from which the welding legs 8 protrude is provided as a protrusion forming portion 10, and the inner portion of the protrusion forming portion 10, that is, the portion inside the shielding portion 9 and the protrusion A portion other than the portion forming portion 10 is provided as a light transmitting portion 11.

The welding leg portion 8 includes a continuous portion 12 continuous to the design surface portion 7 and a bent portion 13 bent with respect to the continuous portion 12. In the welding leg portion 8, the distal end surface of the bent portion 13 is formed as a joint surface 8a, and the distal end portion of the bent portion 13 including the joint surface 8a is provided as a joint portion 8b (see FIG. 2). The welded leg portion 8 has a boundary portion between the continuous portion 12 and the bent portion 13 formed as a bent end portion 8c.

The continuous portion 12 is protruded, for example, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction A in which the shielding portion 9 and the protrusion forming portion 10 are continuous, and the protruding direction P of the continuous portion 12 has an inclination angle θ of 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction S. It has been made larger. The bent portion 13 is bent toward the outer periphery of the design surface portion 7, that is, toward the shielding portion 9 with respect to the continuous portion 12. The direction in which the bent portion 13 connects the joint portion 8b and the bent end portion 8c is a tying direction Q.

The tying direction Q of the bent portion 13 is aligned with the crimping direction S. However, the knotting direction Q only needs to be at a certain angle or less with respect to the crimping direction S, and may be, for example, 30 degrees or less with respect to the crimping direction S.

<Joining procedure>
Below, the procedure for joining the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding will be briefly described (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

When joining the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding, the lamp housing 2 and the cover 3 are held by the first jig 50 and the second jig 60, respectively, and the cover 3 is separated above the lamp housing 2. (See Figure 3).

Next, with the lamp housing 2 and the cover 3 held by the first jig 50 and the second jig 60, respectively, the hot plate 70 is moved between the lamp housing 2 and the cover 3, and the lamp housing 2 The joining protrusion 6 and the welding leg 8 of the cover 3 are heated by a hot plate 70. By heating the hot plate 70, the upper end portion of the joining protrusion 6 including the welding surface 6a and the joining portion 8b of the welding leg portion 8 are brought into a meltable state.

Next, the hot plate 70 is moved and withdrawn from between the lamp housing 2 and the cover 3, and the second jig 60 is lowered to press the cover 3 against the lamp housing 2 in the crimping direction S, and the joining protrusion The joining surface 8a of the welding leg 8 is pressed onto the welding surface 6a of the welding leg 6 from above (see FIG. 4). At this time, since the upper end portion of the joining protrusion 6 including the welding surface 6a and the joining portion 8b of the welding leg portion 8 are in a meltable state, the upper end portion of the joining protrusion 6 and the welding leg portion 8 are in a meltable state. The joint portion 8b is melted, and the cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2.

The lamp housing 2 and the cover 3 are taken out from the first jig 50 and the second jig 60, respectively, and the work of joining the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding is completed.

By joining the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2, the lamp housing 2 and the cover 3 constitute a lamp outer casing 14 (see FIG. 1). The interior of the lamp outer casing 14 is formed as a lamp chamber 14a, and a lamp unit (not shown) having necessary parts such as a light source and a reflector is disposed in the lamp chamber 14a, and the vehicle lamp 1 is configured.

In the vehicle lamp 1, light emitted from a light source is reflected by a reflector, transmitted through a light transmitting portion 11 of a cover 3, and irradiated to the outside.

<How the present invention was achieved>
Next, the circumstances leading to the present invention will be explained (see FIG. 5).

In the cover, as described above, since the design surface portion 7 is formed in a shape that is curved according to the shape of the vehicle body 100, the welded leg portion 8A protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the design surface portion 7 is provided. In this case, the welding leg 8A is inclined with respect to the welding surface 6a of the joining protrusion 6 (see FIG. 5(A)). Therefore, the bonding strength of the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 may be reduced.

Therefore, by making the welding leg portion 8B protrude from the design surface portion 7 in a direction that corresponds to the crimping direction S, high bonding strength of the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 can be ensured (see FIG. 5(B)). .

However, when the cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2, there is a so-called burr B, which is a protruding part caused by the melting of the joint part 8b and the joining protrusion 6, and the welding leg part 8B is bent in the crimping direction. When projecting in the direction corresponding to S, the tip of the welding leg 8B is positioned close to the vehicle body 100, so that the burr B is easily visible from the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3.

Therefore, although high bonding strength between the cover 3 and the lamp housing 2 can be ensured, there is a risk that visibility may be reduced.

Therefore, when the welding leg part 8B is made to protrude from the design surface part 7 in the direction corresponding to the crimping direction S, a wide shielding part 9C in which the outer part of the welding leg part 8B in the design surface part 7 is enlarged toward the outer periphery. By providing this, the burr B becomes difficult to be seen through the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, and visibility can be improved (see FIG. 5(C)).

However, if the wide shielding part 9C is provided, there will be a wide part in the design surface part 7 that largely protrudes outward from the welding leg part 8B, so the wide shielding part 9C itself will be covered. Visibility may be reduced. In addition, since the overall size of the design surface portion 7 is determined to be a fixed size depending on the size and shape of the vehicle body 100, when a large shielding portion 9C is provided, the welded leg portion 8B is Since it is necessary to provide the light transmitting portion 11 on the side, the size of the light transmitting portion 11 becomes smaller.

Therefore, although high bonding strength between the cover 3 and the lamp housing 2 can be ensured, there is a risk that the visibility of the shielding portion 9C itself may be lowered or the irradiation area may be reduced.

Therefore, in the vehicle lamp 1 and the cover 3 of the present invention, the welded leg portion 8 is composed of a continuous portion 12 continuous to the decorative surface portion 7 and a bent portion 13 bent toward the outer circumference of the decorative surface portion 7 with respect to the continuous portion 12. (See Figure 5(D)).

<Summary>
In the vehicle lamp 1, by providing the continuous portion 12 and the bent portion 13 as described above, when the welded leg portion 8 is pressed against the welded surface 6a of the lamp housing 2, the direction in which the two contact is determined by hot plate welding. Since the bent portion 13 is bent relative to the continuous portion 12 in a direction approaching the crimping direction S during bonding, high bonding strength of the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 can be ensured.

In addition, since the entire welding leg portion 8 is not shaped to extend in the direction matching the crimping direction S, the burr B, which is the protruding portion due to melting, is difficult to be seen from the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, and the burr B is difficult to be seen. There is no need to provide a wide shielding portion 9C for this purpose, and visibility can be improved.

Furthermore, since there is no need to provide the wide shielding part 9C, the size of the light transmitting part 11 of the design surface part 7 is not reduced, and the irradiation area of the light emitted from the light source can be widened.

Furthermore, the protruding direction P of the continuous portion 12 from the design surface portion 7 is made larger than 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction S when the cover 3 is crimped onto the lamp housing 2.

Therefore, the size of the light transmitting part 11, which is the part of the design surface part 7 on the inner peripheral side of the welding leg part 8, becomes larger, so that the transmission area of the light emitted from the light source in the cover 3 becomes larger, and the irradiation area is further expanded. By increasing the size, brightness can be improved.

Furthermore, since the tying direction Q of the bent portion 13 is aligned with the crimping direction S, when the cover 3 is joined to the lamp housing 2 by hot plate welding, the tying direction Q of the bent portion 13 is aligned with the crimping direction S. 13 abuts against the welding surface 6a, higher bonding strength of the cover 3 to the lamp housing 2 can be ensured.

Furthermore, since the outer periphery of the design surface part 7 is located outside the welding leg part 8, the outer periphery of the design surface part 7 functions as a shielding part 9 that shields the welding leg part 8, and the welding surface of the welding leg part 8 6a is difficult to see through the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, and visibility can be improved.

Furthermore, since the welding leg part 8 is not easily pressed against the welding surface 6a of the lamp housing 2 in an inclined state, the burr B generated by welding occurs in the same size on the outer and inner circumferential sides of the welding leg part 8. easy. Therefore, there is no need to form a groove or wall on the joining protrusion 6 to prevent the burr B from protruding excessively, and the welding surface 6a can be formed into a flat shape, so that the shape of the lamp housing 2 can be changed. It becomes simple and the lamp housing 2 can be easily molded.

<Dimension relationship between continuous part and bent part>
Next, the dimensional relationship between the continuous portion 12 and the bent portion 13 will be explained (see FIGS. 6 to 8).

The length of the bent part 13 in the knotting direction Q is defined as X, the length of the continuous part 12 in the protruding direction P from the design surface part 7 is defined as Y, and the case where X and Y are made to be approximately the same length is used as a reference ( (See Figure 6). The bent portion 13 has a joint portion 8b that is melted during joining, and the length of the bent portion 13 in the knotting direction Q is shorter after joining than before joining. X is the length before bonding, and is set to, for example, 2 mm to 3 mm, taking into consideration the presence of the bonded portion 8b to be melted. Y is, for example, approximately 3 mm.

When X and Y have such dimensions, the arrangement recess 101 in which the outer circumferential portion of the vehicle lamp 1 is arranged in the vehicle body 100 becomes a shallow recess, and restrictions on the design of the vehicle body 100 are reduced. Note that the arrangement recess 101 is formed, for example, by drawing using a metal material.

In addition, although the cover 3 is formed by injection molding using a mold, the total length of X and Y does not become excessively long, so that sink marks that occur on the protrusion forming portion 10 during the cooling process of injection molding are reduced. , high molding accuracy of the cover 3 can be ensured.

Furthermore, the burr B becomes less visible through the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, and visibility can be improved.

On the other hand, if the total length of X and Y is too short, the shielding part 9 will be positioned close to the hot plate 70 during heating by the hot plate 70 during hot plate welding, which may cause deformation of the shielding part 9 due to heat. Since the bonding portion 8b and the shielding portion 9 are located close to each other, there is a possibility that burrs B generated by melting the bonding portion 8b may adhere to the shielding portion 9. However, since the total length of X and Y is not excessively short, it is possible to prevent the shielding part 9 from being deformed by heat and the burr B from attaching to the shielding part 9.

Next, a case will be described in which the length X of the bent portion 13 in the knotting direction Q is increased without changing the length Y in the protrusion direction P of the continuous portion 12 from the design surface portion 7 (see FIG. 7).

If X and Y have such dimensions, the arrangement recess 101 in which the outer circumferential portion of the vehicle lamp 1 in the vehicle body 100 is arranged becomes a deep recess, which may cause restrictions in the design of the vehicle body 100. .

Further, the burr B becomes more easily visible through the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, which may cause problems in terms of visibility.

Furthermore, since the total length of X and Y becomes longer, there is a possibility that sink marks occurring in the protrusion forming portion 10 become larger. On the other hand, since the total length of X and Y is long, the shielding part 9 is positioned away from the hot plate 70 when heated by the hot plate 70 in hot plate welding, so deformation of the shielding part 9 due to heat is difficult to occur, and the joining Since the portion 8b and the shielding portion 9 are located apart from each other, attachment of burrs B to the shielding portion 9 can be prevented.

Next, a case will be described in which the length Y of the continuous portion 12 in the protruding direction P from the design surface portion 7 is increased without changing the length X of the bent portion 13 in the knotting direction Q (see FIG. 8).

If X and Y have such dimensions, the arrangement recess 101 in which the outer circumferential portion of the vehicle lamp 1 in the vehicle body 100 is arranged becomes a deep recess, which may cause restrictions in the design of the vehicle body 100. .

On the other hand, the burr B becomes less visible through the gap between the vehicle body 100 and the cover 3, and visibility can be improved.

Furthermore, since the total length of X and Y becomes longer, there is a possibility that sink marks occurring in the protrusion forming portion 10 become larger. On the other hand, since the total length of X and Y is long, the shielding part 9 is positioned away from the hot plate 70 when heated by the hot plate 70 in hot plate welding, so deformation of the shielding part 9 due to heat is difficult to occur, and the joining Since the portion 8b and the shielding portion 9 are located apart from each other, attachment of burrs B to the shielding portion 9 can be prevented.

<Others>
In the above example, the design surface section 7 is provided with the shielding section 9 located on the outer periphery side of the welding leg section 8; The configuration may be such that the portion 9 does not exist. In this case, since the shielding part 9 is not present, visibility does not deteriorate due to the presence of the shielding part 9 itself, and visibility can be improved. Furthermore, since the welding legs 8 protrude from the outer periphery of the design surface section 7, the size of the light transmitting section 11 can be increased, and the irradiation area of the light emitted from the light source can be made wider. I can do it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vehicle lamp, 2... Lamp housing, 3... Cover, 3a... Outer surface, 6a... Welding surface, 7... Design surface part, 8... Welding leg part, 12... Continuous part, 13... Bent part

Claims (4)

A vehicular lamp comprising a lamp housing having an internal space and a welding surface formed thereon, and a cover covering the internal space, the cover being joined to the lamp housing by hot plate welding,
The cover includes a design surface portion whose outer surface faces outward of the vehicle, a welding leg protruding from the design surface portion and welded to the welding surface, and a shielding portion located on the outside of the welding leg in the design surface portion. provided,
The welding leg portion is provided with a continuous portion that continues to the design surface portion, and a bent portion that is bent toward the shielding portion with respect to the continuous portion and whose tip portion is welded to the welding surface ,
The direction in which the continuous portion projects from the design surface portion is set to be greater than 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction when the cover is crimped to the lamp housing in hot plate welding.
Vehicle lighting. A boundary portion between the continuous portion and the bent portion is formed as a bent end portion,
A direction in which the tip end and the bent end of the bent portion are connected is defined as a knotting direction,
The tying direction is matched with the crimping direction.
The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 . The outer periphery of the designed surface portion is located outside of the welded leg portion.
The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 or 2 . A cover for a vehicle lamp that is joined by hot plate welding to a lamp housing having an internal space and a welding surface, the cover comprising:
A design surface portion whose outer surface faces outward of the vehicle, a welding leg portion protruding from the design surface portion and welded to the welding surface, and a shielding portion located outside of the welding leg portion of the design surface portion ,
The welding leg portion is provided with a continuous portion that continues to the design surface portion, and a bent portion that is bent toward the shielding portion with respect to the continuous portion and whose tip portion is welded to the welding surface ,
The direction in which the continuous portion projects from the design surface portion is set to be larger than 30 degrees with respect to the crimping direction when the continuous portion is crimped to the lamp housing by hot plate welding.
Vehicle light cover.

Images