JPH0729404A - Reflector-driving variable light distribution lamp for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a reflector-driving variable light-distribution lighting apparatus for a vehicle which is sturdy and simple in structure, and capable of controlling light-distribution with high precision. CONSTITUTION:A shade 4 for intercepting part of the radiation light reflux and a lens 2 are disposed in front on an optical axis of a reflector 7 having a bulb 6. The reflector 7 is suspended freely swingable right and left by means of a pair of links juxtaposed in lateral direction, so that it is moved in right and left directions, being driven by an actuator 14. Due to swing characteristic of the links 9, 9 the reflector 7 moves along the locus of an arc with its center above the reflector. In the case, when the radiation light flux is swung right and left, the larger the angle of the swing, the more downward from the horizontal level the radiation flux is deflected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reflector drive type variable light distribution lamp for a vehicle, which has a structure for detecting a turning motion of a vehicle and controlling a headlamp so that the light distribution is suitable for a running condition. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a turning motion of a vehicle is sensed by a steering sensor or the like, and a reflector of a projector lamp is moved left and right with respect to a lens and a shade.
Various light distribution variable headlamps having a structure in which the light distribution by the reflector is swung left and right to be changed have been proposed. In this type of variable light distribution type headlamp, it is necessary to have a structure in which the direction of the irradiation light beam is slightly changed downward when the light distribution is swung left and right, and a guide rail and an inclined rotation support shaft are used. It constitutes the support structure of the reflector.

That is, what is shown in FIG. 7 is a reflector 50.
Are supported so as to slide along the guide grooves 53, 53 formed in the guide wall 52, and the reflector 50 is swingably displaced in the arrow A direction by the motor 54. The shape of the guide grooves 53, 53 is curved in the vertical direction, and the reflector 50 slidingly displaced along the guide grooves 53, 53 is moved in the vertical direction (arrow B) at the same time as the horizontal direction (arrow A). It has a structure for controlling the light distribution pattern of the irradiation light flux by swinging to.

The reflector shown in FIG. 8 is a reflector 50.
Is pivotally supported in the direction of arrow A by a rotary shaft 55 that is inclined with respect to the optical axis (inclination angle θ), and the reflector 50 is pivotally driven by a motor 54. Alternatively, when it is swung to the right (arrow A), a tilted swing shaft 55 simultaneously forms a curved swing locus (arrow C) that is also displaced in the vertical direction, and controls the light distribution pattern of the irradiation light flux. ing.

[0005]

However, in this type of headlamp light distribution variable mechanism, the structure of the mechanism is complicated, so that the movable part becomes heavy, and the center of gravity of the mechanism is changed from the rotational center of the rotational movement. Since they are separated from each other, the moment of inertia becomes large, which has a drawback that the response time is delayed.
Further, since it is necessary to ensure accurate movement, there has been a problem that a precise and high processing precision such as a design processing of a guide groove and a design processing of an inclination angle of a rotary shaft is required, which causes a rise in production cost. .

The present invention was devised in view of the above problems, and is a vehicle lighting fixture that is robust and has a simple structure and that is capable of highly accurate light distribution control. An object of the present invention is to provide a variable lamp.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a reflector drive type variable light distribution lamp for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided with a light beam emitted to a front optical axis position of a reflector provided with a lighting valve. In a lamp including a shade and a lens that block a part of the light and displacing the reflector in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis with respect to the lens to change the direction of an irradiation light beam, the reflectors are arranged side by side. The gist of the present invention is that the structure is such that it is supported by a pair of links so as to be swingable in the left-right direction, and that the reflector is displaced leftward or rightward by reflector drive means capable of drive control.

[0008]

According to the above construction, since the reflector is suspended by the pair of links so as to be swingable in the left-right direction and the swinging portion is driven and displaced by the reflector driving means, the reflector is When it is displaced leftward or rightward according to the characteristics of the link, it is displaced along an arcuate locus having an upper center point. As a result, when the irradiation light flux is swung to the left or right, the irradiation light flux is deflected downward from the horizontal level as the swing angle increases, and the reflector drive is controlled in conjunction with the rotation angle of the steering of the automobile. When controlled by the means, it becomes possible to change the direction of the irradiation light beam in correspondence with the traveling conditions of the automobile.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a reflector drive type variable light distribution lamp for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a principle device for carrying out the present invention. A lamp frame 1a, which is an alternative to the lamp housing 1, has a lens 2 such as a collimator lens located at the front end of the optical axis L. A shade 4 is fixedly held via a lens frame 3, a shade 4 is erected on the rear side of the lens 2, and a lighting bulb 6 serving as a light source is provided via a reflector frame 5 erected on the rear side of the shade 4. It has a structure in which a reflector 7 to which is attached is carried.

As for the positions of the lens 2, the shade 4, and the reflector 7, the bulb 6 is arranged at the first focal position F1 of the parabolic reflecting mirror surface 8 formed on the inner surface of the reflector 7 and the second focal position F2. And the lens 2 are configured so that their focal positions substantially coincide with each other, and the shade 4 is arranged between the first focal position F1 and the second focal position F2 to block a part of the light beam emitted from the bulb 6. Has become.

The shade 4 includes a reflector frame 5
The upper edge of the front edge portion 7a and the pair of links 9, 9 with respect to the upper frame portion
It has a support structure in which the lower end 7b is slidably sandwiched between the guide plates 10 so as to freely swing in the left and right directions. Both ends of the link rods 11, 11 of the same length are rotatably connected via pin shafts 12, 12.

Reference numeral 13 indicates a drive mechanism for the reflector 7, and a swing arm 15 is pivotally attached to the output shaft end of an actuator 14 such as a rotary solenoid fixedly mounted on the reflector frame 5, and the swing is performed. Arm 15
The swinging end of the actuator and the front edge of the reflector 7 are connected via a connecting rod 16, and the actuator 14 is reciprocally rotated (arrow X).
Thus, the reflector 7 is displaced along the locus indicated by the arrow Y.

Further, the valve 6 is inserted into the reflector 7 through a through hole formed in the rear portion of the reflector 7, and is fixed by pressing so that the flange portion 6a is pressed against the outer edge of the through hole by a set spring 17. , Shade 4 again
Forms a light shielding edge 18 along the cut line of the light flux.

Next, the operation of the reflector drive type variable light distribution type vehicular lamp of the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. When the actuator 14 is driven (arrow X),
The reflector 7 suspended from the links 9 and 9 via the swing arm 15 and the connecting rod 16 swings along the swing trajectory (arrow Y) curved upward due to the pivoting movement of the links 9 and 9. It moves dynamically. The swing locus Y has an arc shape having a center point at the upper side, and therefore, the irradiation light flux transmitted through the lens 2 has a center of the light flux so that an arc-shaped locus S having a center point at the lower side is drawn. The point P moves.

(1) When traveling on a straight road (see FIG. 3) When traveling on a straight road, the actuator 14 is driven to the neutral position so that the optical axis of the reflector 7 coincides with the axis of the lens 2. The pattern of the irradiation light flux is shown in Fig. 3 (b).
As shown in, the center point P of the light flux is near the vertical axis V and the horizontal axis H. And the portion above the horizontal axis H is the shade 4
Has been cut by.

(2) When traveling on a left curved road (see FIG. 4) When traveling on a left curved road, the optical axis of the reflector 7 moves to the right side with respect to the axis of the lens 2 (see FIG. 4 (a)). As described above, the actuator 14 is rotationally driven and controlled according to the rotation angle of the steering wheel. The pattern of the irradiation light flux is shown in Fig. 4.
As shown in (b), since the center point P of the light beam is displaced leftward from the vertical axis V and moves along the locus indicated by S, it is displaced downward from the horizontal axis H as the steering rotation angle increases. A portion above the horizontal axis H is cut by the shade 4. (In addition, when traveling on the right curve road, it operates in the opposite direction.)

The above principle device can be applied to a headlamp as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example.
The above-mentioned structure is arranged in the housing 1 of the headlamp, and is housed in the lamp chamber 20 covered with the outer lens 19. (The description of the structure will be omitted by giving the same reference numerals as the description of the principle device described above.)

[0018]

As described above, the variable light distribution type lighting device for a reflector drive type vehicle according to the present invention suspends the reflector so as to be swingable in the left-right direction by a pair of links, and the swinging portion is driven and displaced by an actuator. With this configuration, when the reflector is displaced to the left or right according to the characteristics of the link, it is displaced along an arcuate locus having a center point above. As a result, it is possible to obtain a preferable light distribution locus of the irradiation light flux with an extremely simple structure of a link, and when it is controlled by an actuator that is controlled in conjunction with the rotation angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle, the optimum light distribution suitable for the traveling conditions of the vehicle can be obtained. It has a characteristic that the light distribution can be secured, and the effect obtained by implementing the present invention is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment showing the structural principle of a reflector drive type variable light distribution lamp for a vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the rear side.

FIG. 3 is a rear view (a) of the lamp and an irradiation light beam pattern (b) when the lamp is operating on a straight road, showing the operation of the lamp.

FIG. 4 is a rear view (a) of the lamp and a pattern (b) of a luminous flux when the vehicle is traveling on a left curved road, showing the operation of the lamp.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an embodiment of a headlamp equipped with the reflector-driven vehicle light distribution variable lamp of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view in which the headlamp is partially cut away.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a first example of a conventional reflector-driven vehicle light distribution variable lamp.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view showing a second example of a conventional reflector drive type variable light distribution lamp for a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 lens 4 shade 5 reflector frame 6 valve 7 reflector 9 link 10 guide plate 13 reflector drive mechanism 14 actuator 15 swing arm 16 connecting rod

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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shade and a lens for blocking a part of an irradiation light beam are arranged at a front optical axis position of a reflector, and the direction of the irradiation light beam is changed by displacing the reflector in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis with respect to the lens. In the lamp, the reflector is suspended and supported so as to be swingable in the left-right direction through a pair of laterally-arranged links, and the reflector is driven to be displaced leftward or rightward by a reflector driving means capable of driving control. A variable light distribution lamp for a reflector drive type vehicle, which is configured as described above.