JPH0757507A - Headlight leveling mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly rotate a worm wheel by easily and precisely supporting the worm wheel on a case body. CONSTITUTION:A circularly extended recessed groove 12 is formed on the outer periphery of the tube section 10 of a worm wheel 9, and a circularly extended protruded stripe 16 is formed on the inner periphery of the cylindrical main section 14 of a positioning member 13 screwed to a case body 6. The recessed groove 12 and the protruded stripe 16 are slidably coupled, and the worm wheel 9 is supported on the case body 14 rotatably and movably in the axial direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel headlamp leveling mechanism. In detail, the worm wheel is rotatably supported by the case body so as not to be movable in the axial direction, and the worm wheel is screwed to the worm wheel, and is supported by the case body so as not to be rotatable and movable in the axial direction. A head that is provided with a moving body that is moved in the axial direction by the rotation of the worm wheel, and that connects the moving body with a tilting member of the headlamp, that is, a member whose irradiation direction is changed by tilting it. In a lamp leveling mechanism, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel headlamp leveling mechanism capable of easily and accurately supporting a worm wheel on a case body and smoothly rotating the worm wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A worm wheel rotatably supported in a case body so as to be immovable in the axial direction and a worm wheel screwed together with the case body are non-rotatable and movable in the axial direction. A moving body supported and moved in the axial direction by rotation of the worm wheel, the moving body being connected to a tilting member of the headlamp, that is, a member whose irradiation direction is changed by tilting the moving member. There is a headlamp leveling mechanism.

In such a headlamp leveling mechanism, the worm wheel is rotatably supported on the case body so as not to be movable in the axial direction, but conventionally, as disclosed in JP-A-4-242001. , The front case and the back case of the case body divided into two parts in front and back are formed with cylindrical support parts, respectively, and the two support parts sandwich the worm wheel from the front and rear so that they can rotate and cannot move in the axial direction. I was trying to support.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional headlamp leveling mechanism, the worm wheel is supported by the supporting portions formed on the front case and the back case, which are the largest members among the constituent members. Since it is sandwiched from the front and rear, if the dimensional accuracy is not very good, there is a problem that the sandwich will be too tight or too loose.

If the clamping is too tight, the rotation of the worm wheel is hindered, and if it is too loose, it causes backlash.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention forms a ring-shaped ridge or groove on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion of the worm wheel, and forms it in the case body. The fixed positioning member is formed with a groove or a protrusion that slidably engages with a protrusion or a groove of the worm wheel, whereby the worm wheel is rotatable with respect to the case body and is not movable in the axial direction. It was designed to be imperatively supported.

[0007]

Therefore, in the headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention, the worm wheel is supported by the concavo-convex connection of the worm wheel and the positioning member, which are significantly smaller than the case body. Even without it, the worm wheel can be supported so that it can rotate smoothly.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

In the figure, 1 is a headlamp, 2 is its lamp body, 3 is a reflecting mirror supported by the lamp body 2 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and 4 is a lens covering the front opening of the lamp body 2. Is.

In this embodiment, the reflecting mirror 3 is a tilting member in which the irradiation angle is changed by tilting the reflecting mirror 3. However, in addition to this, in the space defined by the lamp body and the lens. It is also possible to support the lamp unit itself, which is provided with a reflecting mirror and a light source, rotatably with respect to the vehicle body, and use this lamp unit as a tilting member.

Reference numeral 5 is a headlamp leveling mechanism fixed to a vehicle body (not shown).

Reference numeral 6 designates a case body, which is formed by combining a front case 7 and a back case 8 which are divided into two parts in front and back.

Reference numeral 9 is a worm wheel, which is a case body 6.
It is rotatably supported by. The worm wheel 9 cannot move in the front-rear direction.

A cylindrical portion 10 having a cylindrical shape is formed on the worm wheel 9, and a thread groove 11 is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 10. Further, an annular groove 12 is formed on the outer peripheral surface near the front end of the tubular portion 10.

Reference numeral 13 is a positioning member, which is formed by integrally forming a main portion 14 having a short cylindrical shape in the axial direction and mounting pieces 15, 15 protruding from the main portion 14 in opposite directions. Then, on the inner peripheral surface of the main portion 14, the protrusion 1 extending in an annular shape
6 is formed.

The mounting pieces 15, 15 of the positioning member 13 are fixed in the case body 6 by screwing, and the cylindrical portion 10 of the worm wheel 9 rotates in the main portion 14 of the positioning member 13. The ridge 1 of the positioning member 13 is fitted into the groove 12 of the worm wheel 9 in a freely fitted state.
6 is slidably engaged. As a result, the worm wheel 9 is rotatably supported in the case body 6 and is immovable in the axial direction.

The worm wheel 9 and the positioning member 13
The groove 12 and the ridges 16 formed in the above may be formed by forming a ridge on the worm wheel 9 and forming a groove on the positioning member 13.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a motor fixed in the case body 6,
A worm gear 18 is rotated by the motor 17, and the worm gear 18 is meshed with the worm wheel 9. Therefore, when the motor 17 is driven, the worm wheel 9 is rotated.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a screw holding shaft, which has a cylindrical shape having a length about twice that of the tubular portion 10 of the worm wheel 9, and a thread 20 is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. In addition, anti-rotation projections 21, 21 are integrally provided on the rear end portion so as to project in mutually opposite directions.

The screw holding shaft 19 is positioned inside the tubular portion 10 of the worm wheel 9 so as to be fitted therein.
The thread 20 is screwed into the thread groove 11 of the worm wheel 9.

Reference numerals 22 and 22 denote guide projection walls projecting forward from the back case 8, each having a semi-arcuate shape when viewed from the front-rear direction, and these two guide projection walls 22 and 22 are one circle. They are located on the circumference and are spaced apart from each other by a marginal interval, and these two intervals are the sliding slits 23, 2.
It is said to be 3.

The rotation preventing projections 21, 21 of the screw holding shaft 19 are slidably engaged with the sliding slits 23, 23 respectively. As a result, the screw holding shaft 19 is in a non-rotatable state.

Then, when the worm wheel 9 is rotated, the screw holding shaft 1 screwed to the worm wheel 9 is rotated.
Since the case body 9 is non-rotatably supported by the case body 6, it is sent forward or backward depending on the direction of rotation of the worm wheel 9.

Reference numeral 24 is an adjusting screw, the middle portion of which is a columnar supported portion 25, the front end portion is a screw shaft portion 26, and the rear end portion is a square columnar operating portion 27. There is.

Then, the adjusting screw 2
4, the supported portion 25 is the screw holding shaft 1
It is rotatably supported on the shaft 9, but not axially movable. The approximately front half of the adjusting screw 24 is projected forward from the case body 6, and the operating portion 27
Is in a state of being projected to the rear of the case body 6. And
The screw shaft portion 26 is screwed into a nut 28 supported at a position near the turning end of the reflecting mirror 3, whereby the headlamp leveling mechanism 5 and the reflecting mirror 3 which is a tilting member are connected.

When the worm wheel 9 rotates and the screw holding shaft 19 moves in the front-rear direction, the adjusting screw 24 supported by the worm wheel 9 moves in the front-rear direction, so that the reflecting mirror 3 tilts in the up-down direction. To be done.

Reference numeral 29 is a resistance type sensor, and a case 30
The movable element 31 is movably supported in the front-rear direction, and the resistance value changes depending on the relative position of the movable element 31 with respect to the case 30. Further, a spring unit (not shown) is associated with the mover 31, so that the moving force toward the front is elastically biased. The end of the mover 31 of the sensor 29 is located in one of the sliding slits 23, 23 and is elastically contacted with one of the rotation stop projections 21, 21 of the screw holding shaft 19 from behind. There is.

However, as the screw holding shaft 19 moves in the front-rear direction, the position of the mover 31 of the sensor 29 changes, and the resistance value of the sensor 29 changes. Therefore,
By detecting this resistance value, the screw holding shaft 19, and by extension, the adjusting screw 24
Can be detected, and from this, the tilt angle of the reflecting mirror 3 can be detected.

7 and 8 show a modification of the positioning member.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a positioning member, which has a U-shaped support wall 33 when viewed from the front-rear direction, and a protrusion 34 extending along the longitudinal direction is provided on the inner surface of the support wall 33 so as to project therefrom. There is. Further, attachment pieces 35, 35 are provided so as to project from positions on the opposite sides of the outer surface of the support wall 33.
5 is fixed to the case body 6 by screwing. And
The ridge 34 of the positioning member 32 and the concave groove 12 of the worm wheel 9 are slidably engaged with each other, so that the worm wheel 9 can rotate with respect to the case body 6 and can move in the axial direction. Supported imperviously. When using such a positioning member 32, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the worm wheel 9 from moving toward the U-shaped opening of the support wall 33.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, the headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention is such that the worm wheel rotatably supported by the case body and the worm wheel are screwed together and cannot be rotated by the case body. And a movable body that is supported so as to be movable in the axial direction and is moved in the axial direction by the rotation of the worm wheel. In the headlamp leveling mechanism adapted to be connected to the member to be changed, a ring-shaped protruding ridge or groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion of the worm wheel, and the positioning member fixed to the case body is provided with the worm wheel. A groove or ridge that slidably engages with the ridge or groove is formed, which allows the worm wheel to rotate on the case body. And movement in the axial direction is characterized by being supported impossible.

Therefore, in the headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention, the worm wheel is supported by the concavo-convex connection of the worm wheel and the positioning member, which are members that are significantly smaller than the case body, so the dimensional accuracy is severe. Even without it, the worm wheel can be supported so that it can rotate smoothly.

It should be noted that the shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment when the present invention is carried out, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited by these. Must not be interpreted as.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an outline of a headlamp leveling mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an enlarged main part.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the positioning member.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view showing a modified example of the positioning member.

8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Reflector (Tilt member) 5 Headlamp leveling mechanism 6 Case body 9 Worm wheel 12 Recessed groove 13 Positioning member 16 Projection strip 19 Screw holding shaft (moving body) 32 Positioning member 34 Projection strip

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A worm wheel rotatably supported by a case body and a worm wheel screwed together with the worm wheel. The case body rotatably and axially movably supports the worm wheel. In a headlamp leveling mechanism, wherein the moving body is connected to a tilting member of the headlamp, that is, a member whose irradiation direction is changed by tilting the moving body. Forming a ring-shaped ridge or groove on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion of, and a groove or ridge that slidably engages with the ridge or groove of the worm wheel on the positioning member fixed to the case body. The headlamp leveling mechanism is characterized in that the worm wheel is supported by the case body so as to be rotatable and not axially movable. .