JPH0568014U - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Improve vehicle lighting to: a. Enable the lens to be secured to the lamp housing without using sealing grooves and hot melt or heat fusion, and b. Allow the protector to adhere to the lamp housing without the use of adhesive. A protrusion 1c is provided on a lamp housing 1 ', a groove 2c is provided on a lens 2', and they are fitted to each other, and a protector 14 (or 15) surrounding the outer periphery thereof is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp in which a lens is mounted to cover a front opening of a lamp housing and a protector is fixed to the lamp housing.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example of this type of vehicle lamp. A lens 2 is mounted so as to cover the front opening of the lamp housing 1, and a reflector 3 and a light source bulb 4 are arranged in the lamp housing 1. Reference numeral 5 is a socket of the light source bulb. 6 is a rubber seal covering the rear opening of the lamp housing 1, and 7 is an annular seal retainer. Since the lens 2 is mounted on the lamp housing, a seal groove 1a is formed around the lamp housing 1, and legs 2a are provided around the lens 2. The leg 2a is inserted in the seal groove 1a and is air-tightly and water-tightly adhered by hot melt (shown with spots) which is a thermosoftening adhesive. When this vehicle lamp is mounted in the opening provided in the vehicle body 8, a protector 9 having a flexible and rubber-like elasticity is interposed between the lamp housing 1 and the vehicle body 8. In order to improve the workability of mounting the vehicular lamp on the vehicle body 8, the protector 9 having an annular shape is previously bonded to the flange portion 1b of the lamp housing 1.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 When the seal groove 1a and the flange-shaped portion 1b are formed in the lamp housing 1, the shape of the lamp housing becomes complicated and injection molding becomes difficult, and the degree of freedom in designing the entire shape of the lamp housing is low. A technique of heat fusion is known as a lens mounting method that does not use a seal groove or hot melt, but there is a problem that cracks are caused by thermal stress.

Further, the operation of attaching the protector 9 to the flange-shaped portion 1b of the lamp housing 1 is difficult to automate, and it takes a lot of time and labor. In addition, the vapor of the solvent emitted from the adhesive is harmful to the human body, resulting in a large connection cost for ventilation and health management.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a vehicular lamp that is easy to automate and can be configured by hand without much time and labor. The purpose is to do.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The basic principle of the present invention created to achieve the above object is to provide a protector having a shape that mechanically connects the lamp housing and the lens joint. The technology of injection molding using a mold can be applied to the structure of such a protector. Further, if the concave and convex for aligning the lamp housing and the lens are provided, automation becomes easier. The present invention, as a specific configuration for putting the above-described principle into practical use, includes a lens that covers a front opening of a lamp housing, and a protector interposed between the lamp housing and the vehicle body. Is a vehicular lamp fixed to a lamp housing, wherein a groove is provided at a position where the lens faces and abuts the lamp housing, and the lamp housing is provided with a ridge that fits into the groove. The protector is closely attached to the lamp housing and the lens along a ring-shaped surface.

[0007]

[Action]

 With the above arrangement, the protector is mechanically coupled to the lamp housing, so no gluing work is required, and therefore no adhesive health problems occur. Further, since this protector mechanically connects the flange of the lamp housing and the flange of the lens, there is no need to provide a seal groove in the lamp housing or heat-bond the lamp housing and the lens.

[0008]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of one embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which a lens 2'is attached to a lamp housing 1 '. The lamp housing 1'is injection-molded with a synthetic resin material (PP or ABS), and no seal groove is provided around the edge of the front opening of the lamp housing 1'as in the conventional example. The lens 2'is injection-molded with a transparent synthetic resin material (PMMA or PC), and a flange 2b is integrally provided around the periphery thereof. The above-mentioned ready-made lamp housing 1'and lens 2'are sandwiched between a mold (instep) 10 and a mold (external) 11 so that the flanges 1b 'and 2b are brought into contact with each other. .. 12 is a parting line. FIG. 2 (A) shows an enlarged detail of the portion A surrounded by a chain line in FIG. A groove 2c is formed at a position where the lens 2'abuts against the lamp housing 1 ', and the lamp housing 1'is provided with a ridge 1c fitted in the groove. With this construction, the lamp housing 1'and the lens 2'are automatically positioned, which is convenient. A cavity 13 surrounding the lens 2 ′ and the housing 1 ′ is formed on the mold (instep) 10. The protector 14 is molded by injecting a heat-melting elastomer as a soft material into the cavity 13. As can be easily understood from FIG. 1, when the above-mentioned heat-melting elastomer is cooled to construct the protector 14 made of synthetic rubber, the protector 14 does not need to be attached to the lamp housing 1 '. Is fixed. Further, the protector 14 fixes the lamp housing and the lens to each other. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide the seal groove 1a unlike the conventional example shown in FIG. 2, there is a large degree of freedom in designing the overall shape of the lamp housing, and no manual bonding operation is required, so that automation is possible. Are suitable . Furthermore, there is no possibility of causing any trouble in the health management of the worker in the bonding operation.

FIG. 2B shows an embodiment different from the above, and is an enlarged sectional view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2A in the embodiment. In the figure (A) of the above embodiment, the lens 2'is provided with the flange 2b and the protector 14 is brought into contact with the flange, so that the cross section of the protector 14 is L-shaped. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the lens 2 ″ is not provided with a flange, and thus the protector 15 has a cylindrical shape. In addition, since the lens has no flange, the lens can be easily injection-molded, and the outer shape of the entire lamp can be made small. In any of the above-mentioned examples, there is a compatibility between the protector and the lens when selecting materials for the lens, the lamp housing, and the protector. It is selected so that it will be fused during the insert injection molding shown in FIG. 1 and that it will be fused during insert injection molding because of the compatibility between the protector and the lamp housing.

[0010]

[Effect of the device]

 According to the vehicular lamp of the present invention, the lens is installed and fixed without providing the lamp housing seal groove, so that a problem caused by the seal groove (the shape of the lamp housing becomes complicated and injection molding is difficult). , The design freedom of the lamp housing as a whole is restricted) is prevented. Further, since it is not necessary to heat-bond the lamp housing and the lens to each other, problems (cracking due to thermal stress) associated with heat-fusion can be prevented. Further, since the protector is fixed to the lamp housing without adhering the protector to the lamp housing, problems associated with the adhering (health care for workers and long adhering time) can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of constructing a vehicular lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 (A) and 2 (B) are cross-sectional views of a main part in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a protector and a seal groove in a conventional vehicle lamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1 '... Lamp housing, 1a ... Seal groove, 1b,
... Flange, 1c ... Ridge, 2 ... Lens, 2b ... Flange, 2c ... Groove, 3 ... Reflector, 4 ... Light source bulb, 5 ...
Socket, 6 ... Seal, 7 ... Seal retainer, 8 ... Car body, 9
... protector, 10 ... mold (instep), 11 ... mold (second),
12 ... parting line, 13 ... cavity, 14 ...
Protector.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A vehicle lamp comprising: a lens that covers a front opening of a lamp housing; and a protector interposed between the lamp housing and a vehicle body, wherein the protector is fixed to the lamp housing. A groove is provided at a position where the lens is opposed to and abuts the lamp housing, and a protrusion that fits into the groove is provided on the lamp housing, and the protector is provided on the lamp housing and the lens. On the other hand, a vehicular lamp which is closely attached along a ring-shaped surface. 2. The lens has a flange portion around the lens, the protector has an L-shaped cross section, and one side of the L-shape is in contact with the flange of the lens. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The lens does not have a flange portion around its periphery, and the protector has a cylindrical shape that contacts the periphery of the lens and the periphery of the lamp housing. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1.