JPH06255421A - Ceiling indirect lighting structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a ceiling indirect lighting structure for a vehicle in which the upper part of a pillar trim does not project into the vehicle inner side constantly, and the area to light a head lining can be extended. CONSTITUTION:This ceiling indirect lighting structure for a vehicle is composed by providing a pillar trim 8 in which the trim upper part 11 whose upper end 8a is abutted to the lower end 9 of a head lining 7 is formed bendably to the vehicle inner side A; a thermal variable member 13 provided to the vehicle outer side B of the trim upper part 11, and extension-deformed in a heating condition; a lamp main body 15 provided at the vehicle outer side of the trim upper part 11; and a heating unit 14 provided to the thermal variable member 13, and to emit the heat linking to the lighting of the lamp main body 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle ceiling indirect illumination structure for indirectly illuminating a vehicle ceiling from above a pillar trim.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vehicular ceiling indirect lighting structure, for example, those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are known (for a similar technique, see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-67045). In the figure, A is the inside of the vehicle and B is the outside of the vehicle.

1 is a headlining forming a ceiling,
2 is a center pillar and 3 is a rear pillar. An upward lamp body 4 is housed in the upper portion of the center pillar 2 and the rear pillar 3 to illuminate the headlining 1 to form indirect illumination inside the vehicle.

The structure of the center pillar 2 shown in FIG. 7 will be described below as an example. A pillar trim 5 is provided on the inner side of the center pillar 2, and an upper trim upper portion 6 of the pillar trim 5 is protruded toward the inner side of the vehicle by a distance D from a lower end portion 1 a of the headlining 1. Therefore,
A predetermined gap S ₁ is formed between the upper end portion 6 a of the trim upper portion 6 and the lower end portion 1 a of the headlining 1, and the lamp main body 4 facing upward is arranged in the gap S ₁ and the head from the lamp main body 4 is arranged. Illuminating lining 1.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional technique, since the upper part 6 of the trim protrudes toward the inside of the vehicle by D more than the lower end part 1a of the headlining 1, Even when not required, a step corresponding to the protrusion amount D is always formed between the headlining 1 and the pillar trim 5, which is very disadvantageous in terms of appearance. Further, since the upper part 6 of the trim projects to the inside of the vehicle, the space inside the vehicle is also compressed, which is disadvantageous in terms of space.

Further, the upper trim 6 and the headlining 1
Since the light is emitted by using the gap S ₁ with the lower end portion 1a as the irradiation port, the irradiation angle is inevitably narrowed and the range H ₁ for illuminating the headlining 1 tends to be small.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and the upper part of the pillar trim does not always project to the inner side of the vehicle, and further, the range for illuminating the headlining can be expanded. An indirect lighting structure is provided.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a retractor for a safety belt according to the present invention has an upper part of a trim in which a lower end part of a head lining is brought into contact with an upper end part of the head lining and the upper part of the trim is freely bendable to the inside of the vehicle. Pillar trim formed on the
A heat variable member that is provided on the vehicle outer surface of the trim upper portion and expands and deforms when heated, a lamp main body that is disposed at the vehicle outer position of the trim upper portion, and a heat variable member that is provided on the heat variable member and interlocks with the lighting of the lamp body. And a heating element that generates heat.

[0009]

[Function] When the lamp body is not lit, the upper end of the trim upper part is in contact with the lower end of the headlining. Therefore, there is a stepped portion between the upper trim part and the headlining that hinders the appearance. Does not occur.

When the lamp body is turned on to illuminate the headlining, the heating element heats the heat varying member as the lamp body is turned on, so that the heat varying member is stretched and deformed. Since only the heat varying member provided on the outer side of the trim above the vehicle expands and deforms, the trim upper part bends toward the inside of the vehicle around the lower end of the heat varying member. Therefore, a gap is formed between the upper part of the trim and the lower end of the headlining, and the light of the lamp body can be emitted from this gap. At this time, since the upper part of the trim is bent and inclined, the range in which the headlining is illuminated by the lamp body is expanded.

When the lamp main body is turned off, the heat varying member returns to its original length, so that the upper part of the trim rotates to the outside of the vehicle and the upper end of the trim comes into contact with the lower end of the headlining.

By providing an elastic member for urging the trim upper portion to the vehicle body side with a force smaller than the deformation force of the heat varying member on the vehicle outer side surface of the trim upper portion, the return rotation of the trim upper portion to the vehicle outer side is further facilitated. It can be done quickly. In addition, if the lower end of the headlining is recessed toward the outside of the vehicle by a thickness corresponding to the upper end of the trim to accommodate the upper end of the upper trim, the surface of the upper trim and the head The surface of the lining is flush with the surface, further improving the appearance. In addition, instead of the heat-variable member that expands and deforms, a heat-variable member that bends and deforms toward the inside of the vehicle during heating may be used.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 showing the structure of a center pillar. It should be noted that the description overlapping with the conventional one is omitted.

The "lower end" of the headlining 7 according to this embodiment has a stepped portion 9 which is recessed to the outside of the vehicle by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the upper end 8a in order to accommodate the upper end 8a of the pillar trim 8. Has become. Therefore, the surface of the headlining 7 and the surface of the pillar trim 8 are flush with each other, and the appearance is improved.

A recess 10 is formed on the vehicle outer surface of the pillar trim 8 along the horizontal direction.
The upper side of the is the upper part 11 of the trim. Notches (not shown) are formed at both ends of the pillar trim 8 at the same positions as the recesses 10 so that the trim upper portion 11 can be easily bent into the passenger compartment. A skin 12 is attached to the entire outer surface of the pillar trim 8 on the vehicle side. And on the inside of the trim upper part 11,
A heat variable member 13 made of crystalline plastic that is heated and stretched and deformed is adhered, and a heat wire heating element 14 is further attached to the heat variable member 13 (see FIG. 5).
The heating element 14 has the same electric circuit 1 as the wiring 16 of the lamp body 15 arranged outside the trim upper portion 11 of the vehicle.
The wiring 18 led from 7 is connected to the lamp body 1
The heating element 14 is energized in conjunction with the energization of the heating element 5.

Further, on the side of the heat varying member 13 of the trim upper portion 11, the upper end 19a is connected to the upper trim upper portion 11 and the lower end 19b is connected to the pillar trim 8 below the concave portion 10 with the recess 10 as the center. A spring member 19 as an “elastic member” is provided (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Since the upper end 19a and the lower end 19b of the spring member 19 respectively have elastic force in a direction away from the pillar trim 8, the spring member 19 consequently moves the trim upper part 11 and
It is biased so as to rotate to the outside of the vehicle about the recess 10. However, the biasing force of the spring member 19 is smaller than the deforming force of the heat varying member 13.

Next, the operation will be described. First, in order to illuminate the headlining 7, a switch (not shown) is operated to energize the lamp body 15 from the electric circuit 17 through the wiring 16. Then, the lamp body 15 is turned on, but at the same time, the heating element 14 is also energized from another wiring 18, and the heating element 14 generates heat to heat the heat varying member 13. When the heat variable member 13 is heated, it expands and deforms due to thermal expansion. On the other hand, since the outer skin 12 of the trim upper portion 11 does not particularly extend, the trim upper portion 11 is centered on the concave portion 10 near the lower end of the heat variable member 13 according to the same principle as that of the bimethail.
It bends toward the inside of the vehicle against the biasing force of the spring member 19.
At this time, since the recess 10 is provided, the trim upper portion 1
No. 1 is easily bent inside the car.

[0018] In this way, when the trim upper 11 bent toward the vehicular inner side, the clearance S ₂ is generated between the stepped portion 9 of the upper portion 8a and the head lining 7 trim top 11, the lamp body through the gap S ₂ The light of 15 can be applied to the headlining 7. In this case, the upper part 11 of the trim is bent and inclined, so that the lamp body 1
The range H ₂ for illuminating the headlining 7 at 5 is expanded as compared with the conventional case. Moreover, a part of the light from the lamp body 15 is also reflected on the interior side surface of the trim upper portion 11 in this inclined state and then illuminates the headlining 7, so that the range H ₂ is changed to the light of the lamp body 15. Well illuminated.

When the lamp main body 15 is de-energized by turning off the light, the heating element 14 is also de-energized, the heat varying member 13 cools and returns to its original length, so that the trim upper part 11 is exposed to the outside of the vehicle. The upper end 8a of the head lining 7 is rotated.
It is in a state of being housed in the stepped portion 9 of. At this time, since the spring member 19 is provided on the vehicle outer side surface of the pillar trim 8, the return rotation of the trim upper portion 11 to the vehicle outer side is quickly and reliably performed. The surface of the pillar trim 8 that has been restored in this manner is flush with the surface of the headlining 7, so that the appearance becomes good again.

Although the preferred embodiment has been described above, the present invention also includes the following modifications.

Instead of the heat-variable member 13 that only expands and deforms, a heat-variable member having a structure in which it bends by heating, such as a shape memory alloy or a bimetal, may be adopted. The mounting position in this case is not limited to the vehicle outer side of the trim upper portion 11, and may be mounted on the vehicle inner side of the trim upper portion 11 or may be embedded in the trim upper portion 11. Further, in this case, the spring member 19 and the like are not necessary (the spring member 19 is not essential even in the above-mentioned embodiment).

The portion of the trim upper portion 11 that is the center of bending is not limited to the recessed portion 10, and the trim upper portion 11 may be separated from the pillar trim 8 and connected by a component such as a hinge to make it easier to bend.

The heat varying member 13 is not limited to crystalline plastic, and may be a metal or the like having a high coefficient of thermal expansion.

The outer side surface of the upper trim portion 11 is made to be a mirror surface so that the light of the lamp body 15 is further reflected in the headlining 7.
You may make it reflect to the side.

The lamp body 15 may be attached to the outer side of the trim upper portion 11 and the lamp body 15 may be pulled out to the inner side of the vehicle together with the trim upper portion 11. By doing so, the range H ₂ for illuminating the headlining 7 is further expanded.

[0026]

The vehicle ceiling indirect lighting structure of the present invention comprises:
As described above, since the upper end of the trim upper part is in contact with the lower end of the headlining when the lamp body is not lit, there is a gap between the trim upper part and the headlining. There is no step that hinders the appearance.

When the lamp body is turned on to illuminate the headlining, the upper trim portion bends inwardly with the lamp body. Therefore, the headlining is illuminated over a wide area from between the bent upper trim portion and the headlining. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a non-illuminated state of a lamp body of a vehicle ceiling indirect lighting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a lighting state of a lamp body.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a pillar trim.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a penetrating shaft taken along a line SA-SA shown by an arrow in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a DA portion indicated by an arrow in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle showing a conventional example.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SB-SB shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Headlining 8 Pillar trim 8a Upper end of trim top 9 Step (lower end of headlining) 11 Trim top 13 Heat variable member 14 Heating element 15 Lamp body 19 Spring member (elastic member)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pillar trim in which an upper part of a trim in which an upper end is brought into contact with a lower end of a headlining is formed to be bendable inward of a vehicle, and an outer side surface of the upper part of the trim is extended and deformed when heated. An indirect vehicle ceiling including a heat varying member, a lamp body disposed at a vehicle outer side position above the trim, and a heating element provided in the heat varying member and generating heat in association with lighting of the lamp body. Lighting structure. 2. The lower end portion of the headlining is a stepped portion which is recessed toward the outside of the vehicle by a thickness corresponding to the upper end portion of the upper trim portion to accommodate the upper end portion of the upper trim portion. The indirect lighting structure for a vehicle described above. 3. The vehicle ceiling indirect according to claim 1, wherein an elastic member for urging the trim upper portion toward the vehicle body with a force smaller than the deforming force of the heat varying member is provided on the vehicle outer surface of the trim upper portion. Lighting structure. 4. The indirect lighting structure for a vehicle ceiling according to claim 1, wherein the variable heat member is replaced with a member that is bent and deformed toward the inside of the vehicle when heated.