JPH10172306A - Light fixture for vehicle and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light fixture for a vehicle made of plastic having a hard coat film on a surface thereof, wherein the hard coat is prevented from adhering to a fitting part of the lens for fitting to a lamp body. SOLUTION: A light fixture for vehicle has a lens 7 made of plastic with a hard coat film 16 on its surface, wherein the lens 7 contains a fitting part 10 which is fitted into an installing groove 6 formed on a lamp body 2 and a flange part 11 protruding outwardly in front of the fitting part 10, and the hard coat film 16 is formed on an outer surface of the flange part 11 except both a back plane thereof the fitting part 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a novel vehicle lamp and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for preventing a hard coat film from adhering to a fitting portion of a vehicle made of plastic having a lens having a hard coat film formed on a surface thereof and fitted to a lamp body of the lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Compared with glass lenses, plastic lenses are lighter, have better impact resistance, and are harder to break.
It has a number of excellent advantages such as a wide degree of freedom in shape design, easy formation of sharp lens cuts, and improvement in light distribution performance. The advantage of such a plastic lens is that it is suitable as a lens for an automotive lamp, which is required to be reduced in weight and to have excellent impact resistance and light distribution control by the lens.

[0003] On the other hand, on the other hand, the scratch resistance is poor and easily damaged, the weather resistance is poor and deteriorated by ultraviolet rays of sunlight, the solvent resistance is poor and cracks occur when a solvent adheres,
And the like.

Therefore, conventionally, a hard coat film of a hard film containing an ultraviolet absorber is formed on the surface of a plastic lens to cover the above-mentioned disadvantages of the plastic lens.

[0005] Fig. 4 shows an example a of a vehicle lamp provided with a plastic lens having such a hard coat film.

The lamp body b has a recess c with an open front.
And the bulb d is supported at the center of the rear wall. An outwardly protruding installation edge e is formed at the opening edge of the lamp body b, and the installation edge e has an installation groove f that opens forward.
Are formed.

The front lens g is formed by integrally forming a front portion h large enough to cover the front opening of the lamp body b and a side portion i protruding substantially rearward from the periphery of the front portion h. The rear end j is a fitting portion. The base k of such a front lens g is formed of a transparent synthetic resin, for example, a polycarbonate resin, a methacrylic resin, or the like. A hard coat film 1 is formed.

The front lens g is fitted into the mounting groove f of the lamp body b via the sealing member m such as hot melt, and is attached to the lamp body b.

[0009]

Incidentally, the formation of the above-mentioned hard coat film 1 has been carried out, for example, as follows. That is, an ultraviolet-curable resin composition was applied to the outer surface of the lens substrate k by a spray coating method or a dipping method, and the resin composition was cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays onto the outer surface to form a hard coat film l.

However, when the hard coat film l adheres to the fitting portion j, there is a problem that the adhesive force with the sealing material m is reduced.

Therefore, the fitting portion j is masked by a masking jig n as shown in FIG. 5 and the resin composition is applied by a spray coating method or a dipping method, and the hard coat film 1 adheres to the fitting portion j. However, it is time-consuming, and if the accuracy of the masking jig n is not good, the resin composition will enter the fitting portion j from the gap with the masking jig n. There is a problem that the masking jig n becomes expensive. If the accuracy of the masking jig n is too high, the masking jig n
There is a problem that the fitting part j may be damaged when attaching. Further, when the masking jig n is removed after the application of the resin composition, the resin composition may flow toward the fitting portion j.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reliably and inexpensively prevent the resin composition from adhering to the fitting portion.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a vehicle lamp in which a lens is fitted into a mounting groove formed in a lamp body; The hard coat film is formed on a rear surface of the flange portion and an outer surface of a portion excluding a fitting portion on a front side of the flange portion.

Therefore, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention, the flange portion serves as a partition for applying the resin composition.
By using a simple jig having a wall on which the rear surface of the flange portion is placed, it is possible to reliably prevent the hard coat film from adhering to the fitting portion. In addition, the jig only needs to be capable of securely mounting the rear surface of the flange portion, does not require high dimensional accuracy, can be formed at low cost, and attaches the lens base to the jig. When mounting, there is no possibility that the fitting portion may be damaged. Furthermore, the flange portion can block the flow in the direction of the fitting portion after the application of the resin composition.

Further, according to the method for manufacturing a vehicular lamp of the present invention, there is provided a coating jig having a wall surrounding an outer surface of a fitting portion of a lens, the hard jig having the flange mounted on the upper end of the wall. The treatment liquid is applied, and then the hard coat treatment liquid is cured to obtain a lens having a hard coat film formed on the rear surface of the flange portion and on the outer surface of the portion except for the fitting portion.

Therefore, in the method of manufacturing a vehicular lamp according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and reliably obtain a lens having no hard coat film attached to the fitting portion.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicular lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Reference numeral 1 denotes a headlight for an automobile, and a lamp body 2 has a recess 3 having an open front surface, and a light bulb 4 is supported at the center of the rear wall. A mounting edge 5 protruding outward is formed at an opening edge of the lamp body 2, and a mounting groove 6 opening forward is formed in the mounting edge 5.

The front lens 7 has a front portion 8 large enough to cover the front opening of the lamp body 2 and a side portion 9 protruding substantially rearward from the periphery of the front portion 8. The rear end portion 10 is a fitting portion, and a flange portion 11 protrudes outward in front of the fitting portion 10 on the outer surface of the side surface portion 9.

A plurality of engaging portions 13, 13,..., Which are separated by two ridges 12, 12 extending in the width direction at intervals in the circumferential direction, are formed on the front surface of the flange portion 11. Are formed on the outer edges of the engaging portions 13, 13,....

The base 15 of such a front lens 7 is formed of a transparent synthetic resin, for example, a polycarbonate resin, a methacrylic resin, or the like.
A hard coat film 16 of a hard film containing an ultraviolet absorber is formed on a portion except for the rear surface of the flange portion 11 and the flange portion 11. The thickness of the hard coat film 16 is in the range of 3 to 8 μm. If it is 3 μm or less, scratch resistance and weather resistance will be poor, and if it is 8 μm or more, heat resistance will be inferior, and the hard coat film will be clouded or wrinkled.

The thickness of the hard coat film 16 in the engagement portions 13, 13,... Is larger than the thickness of the other portions. Nevertheless, it is important not to exceed 8 μm.

The front lens 7 has a fitting portion 10
Is fitted into the installation groove 6 of the lamp body 2 via a sealing material 17 such as a hot melt,
One end of each of the clips 18, 18,... Formed by bending in the shape of a letter is engaged with the engaging portion 1 on the front surface of the flange portion 11 of the front lens 7.
Are attached to the lamp body 2 with the other end elastically contacting the rear surface of the installation edge 5 of the lamp body 2.

The hard coat film 16 is formed on the front lens 7.
The substrate 15 is formed, for example, as follows.

First, the surface of the front lens substrate 15 is cleaned, and a hard coat treatment solution is applied to a predetermined portion of the outer surface of the lens substrate 15 whose surface has been cleaned.

At this time, the lens base 15 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
The hard coat treatment liquid is applied while being placed on the coating jig 19 shown in FIG. That is, the coating jig 19 has a box shape with an open upper surface, and its opening edge 19a is
When the lens base 15 is placed on the coating jig 19 with a shape corresponding to the rear surface of the flange portion 11, the rear surface of the flange portion 11 is exactly in contact with the opening edge 19 a of the coating jig 19. It has become. In this way, with the lens substrate 15 placed on the coating jig 19, the hard coat treatment liquid is applied by spray coating to the fitting portion 1 on the outer surface.
0 and the portion excluding the rear surface of the flange portion 11 are painted.

The hard coat treatment liquid is composed of a UV-curable resin composition and a solvent. As the resin composition, for example, a polyfunctional acrylate type (commonly called acrylic type) or silicone type is used.

The lens substrate 15 coated with the hard coat treatment liquid is heated in a heating furnace (not shown), and the solvent in the hard coat treatment liquid is evaporated.

The lens substrate 15 which has been heated in the heating furnace to evaporate the solvent from the hard coat treatment liquid and leave the resin composition on the surface is irradiated with ultraviolet light in an ultraviolet irradiation furnace (not shown), The hard coat film 16 is formed by curing the resin composition.

In the above-described automotive headlamp 1, when the hard coat film 16 is formed on the base 15 of the front lens 7, the lens base 15 is placed on the coating jig 19.
Is placed and the hard coat treatment liquid is applied.
No hard coat treatment liquid adheres to
Since the flange portion 11 serves as a barrier, the applied hard coat treatment liquid does not flow toward the fitting portion 10. Therefore, the hard coat film 1 is
There is no disadvantage due to the attachment of 6, that is, a disadvantage that the adhesive strength with the sealing material 17 is reduced. In addition, since the flange portion 11 serves as a barrier in terms of shape, the coating jig 19 does not need to be in close contact with the fitting portion 10, and the coating portion 19 can be placed on the upper edge 19a. It is possible to manufacture the lens base at low cost without requiring high precision,
5. Especially, there is no possibility that the fitting portion 10 is damaged.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, the vehicle lamp of the present invention is a vehicle lamp having a lens made of plastic and having a hard coat film formed on the surface thereof, wherein the lens is a lamp. A fitting portion fitted into an installation groove formed in the body, and a flange portion protruding outward at a front side of the fitting portion; It is characterized in that it is formed on the outer surface of the part excluding the part.

Therefore, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention, the flange portion serves as a partition for applying the resin composition.
By using a simple jig having a wall on which the rear surface of the flange portion is placed, it is possible to reliably prevent the hard coat film from adhering to the fitting portion. In addition, the jig only needs to be able to securely mount the rear surface of the flange portion, does not require high dimensional accuracy, can be formed inexpensively, and attaches the lens base to the jig. When mounting, there is no possibility that the fitting portion may be damaged. Furthermore, the flange portion can block the flow in the direction of the fitting portion after the application of the resin composition.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lens is attached to the lamp body by a clip whose both ends are engaged with the front surface of the flange and the lamp body. The thickness of the hard coat film at the portion where the clip is engaged is made larger than the thickness of the hard coat film at the other portions, so that the strength of the portion where stress is applied by the engagement of the clip is increased and the flange portion of the lens base is damaged. Can be prevented from sticking.

Further, in the invention according to the third aspect, since the thickness of the hard coat film is set to 3 to 8 μm, the thickness of the hard coat film can be set to an optimum value.

The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a vehicular lamp having a lens made of plastic and having a hard coat film formed on a surface thereof, wherein the base of the plastic lens is a lamp body. A fitting portion fitted into an installation groove formed in the lamp body when mounted on the lamp body, and a flange portion protruding outward in front of the fitting portion, surrounding the outer surface of the fitting portion. A hard coat treatment liquid is applied in a state where the flange portion is placed on the upper end of the wall portion of a coating jig having a wall portion, and then the hard coat treatment solution is cured, and the rear surface of the flange portion and the fitting are applied. A lens in which a hard coat film is formed on an outer surface of a portion excluding a portion is obtained.

Therefore, in the method for manufacturing a vehicular lamp according to the present invention, the hard coat film is prevented from adhering to the fitting portion only by placing the lens base on the coating jig and applying the hard coat treatment liquid. Can be Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably obtain a lens having no hard coat film attached to the fitting portion.

It should be noted that the specific shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and the technical features of the present invention are not limited thereto. The scope should not be construed as limiting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle lamp of the present invention and a method of manufacturing the same together with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which is a schematic front view of the vehicle lamp.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the lens base is placed on a coating jig.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional vehicle lamp.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which a masking jig is mounted on a lens of a conventional vehicular lamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automotive headlamp (vehicle lamp), 2 ... Lamp body, 6 ... Installation groove, 7 ... Front lens (lens), 10 ... Fitting part, 11 ... Flange part, 16 ... Hard coat film, 18
... clips, 19 ... painting jig

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular lamp having a lens made of plastic and having a hard coat film formed on a surface thereof, wherein the lens has a fitting portion fitted into an installation groove formed in a lamp body; A flange portion protruding outward at a front side of the fitting portion, wherein the hard coat film is formed on a rear surface of the flange portion and an outer surface of the lens except for the fitting portion. Vehicle lighting. 2. A lens in which both ends of the lens are attached to the lamp body by clips engaging with the front surface of the flange and the lamp body, and a hard coat film at a portion of the flange where the clip is engaged. 2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the thickness is greater than the thickness of the hard coat film in other portions. 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the hard coat film has a thickness of 3 to 8 μm. 4. A method of manufacturing a vehicular lamp having a lens made of plastic and having a hard coat film formed on the surface thereof, wherein the base of the plastic lens is formed on the lamp body when attached to the lamp body. A wall of a coating jig having a fitting portion fitted into the installation groove and a flange portion protruding outward in front of the fitting portion, and having a wall portion surrounding an outer surface of the fitting portion; The hard coat treatment liquid is applied in a state where the above-mentioned flange portion is placed on the upper end of the portion, and then the above-mentioned hard coat treatment liquid is hardened to harden the outer surface of the portion except for the rear surface of the flange portion and the fitting portion. A method for manufacturing a vehicular lamp, comprising obtaining a lens having a coated film formed thereon.