JPH10326508A - Optical axis adjuster for head lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a gear member disposed beyond one's reach to be rotated manually. SOLUTION: A gear member 26 is disposed in a manual rod 9. A rotary operating shaft 33 is fixed to a lamp housing 1. A mesh gear 36 is formed at the rotary operating shaft 33, to be meshed with teeth 28 of the gear member 26, As a result, when the rotary operating shaft 33 is rotated manually, rotating force is transmitted to the manual rod 9 via the mesh gear 36 and the gear member 26 to rotate the manual rod 9, whereby a reflector 3 is moved slantwise with respect to the lamp housing 1 so as to adjust an optical axis. Consequently, even if the manual rod 9 is disposed beyond one's reach, arrangement of the rotary operating shaft 33 within easy reach can allow the manual rod 9 beyond one's reach to be manually rotated with ease via the rotary operating shaft 33, the mesh gear 36 and the gear member 26 within easy reach, thus adjusting the optical axis.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting the optical axis of a headlight such as a headlamp (headlight) or a fog lamp (auxiliary headlight) of an automobile. The present invention relates to a headlight optical axis adjusting device in which the optical axis is adjusted by the rotation of a so-called auto-leveler, especially when the manual rod is placed in a place that is out of reach of the vehicle design. The present invention relates to an optical axis adjusting device for a headlight, which can easily and manually rotate an unreachable manual rod via a rotating operation shaft, a meshing tooth, and a gear member to adjust the optical axis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A headlamp generally includes a light source bulb, a reflector having a reflection surface for reflecting light from the light source bulb forward, and a mounting body on which the reflector is tiltably mounted. On the other hand, a headlight optical axis adjusting device (so-called auto-leveler) includes an actuator provided in an actuator unit and a drive rod attached to the actuator unit so as to be non-rotatable around the axis and movable in the axial direction. A speed reduction mechanism interposed between the drive rod and the actuator, an adjustment screw attached to the drive rod so as to be rotatable around the axis and not to be movable in the axial direction, and engaged with the adjustment screw. A manual rod. The above-mentioned manual rod is rotatably mounted on the mounting body and protrudes from the mounting body, the actuator unit is mounted on the mounting body, and the adjusting screw is mounted on the reflector via screw mounting. I have.

When the above-described actuator is driven, the driving force of the actuator is transmitted to the drive rod via a speed reduction mechanism, and the drive rod moves forward and backward in the axial direction, whereby the adjusting screw is integrated with the drive rod. The optical axis is adjusted by moving the reflector forward and backward in the axial direction, and the reflector is tilted with respect to the mounting body. Also, when the manual rod is manually rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the adjusting screw, and the adjusting screw is rotated, with the result that the screw mounting moves forward and backward with respect to the adjusting screw by the screw feed action, and the reflector is mounted. The optical axis is adjusted by tilting with respect to the body.
The optical axis adjustment by the manual rod is mainly performed at the time of initial setting. The above-mentioned headlight optical axis adjusting device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-164789.

[0004]

However, in the conventional headlight optical axis adjusting device described above, the manual rod is rotatably mounted on the mounting body and protrudes from the mounting body. For this reason, in the case where the manual rod is placed in a place that is out of reach of the vehicle design, it may be difficult to manually rotate the unreachable manual rod to adjust the optical axis. is there.

[0005] The present invention can be applied to the case where the manual rod is placed in a place which is out of reach of the vehicle design.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a headlight optical axis adjusting device that can easily and manually rotate the inaccessible manual rod via a rotation operation shaft, a meshing tooth, and a gear member to adjust the optical axis. And

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a gear member is non-rotatably mounted on a manual rod, and a rotary operation shaft is rotatably mounted on a mounting body. The rotating operation shaft is provided with meshing teeth for meshing with the teeth of the gear member and transmitting the rotational force of the rotating operation shaft to the manual rod via the gear member. It is characterized by being.

As a result, in the headlight optical axis adjusting device of the present invention, when the rotary operation shaft is manually rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the manual rod through the meshing teeth and the gear member,
The manual rod rotates, and the reflector is tilted with respect to the mounting body to adjust the optical axis.

As described above, even if the manual rod is located at a location that is inaccessible due to the design of the vehicle, if the rotary operation shaft is located at a location that is accessible, the manual rod that cannot be reached is accessible. The optical axis can be adjusted by easily and manually rotating the rotary shaft through a rotating operation shaft, a meshing tooth, and a gear member that can be easily reached.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the headlight optical axis adjusting device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This example describes a reflector movable type vehicle headlamp. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a lamp housing as a mounting body for a headlight for an automobile. A lens 2 is disposed in a front opening of the lamp housing 1, and
A reflector 3 is attached to the lamp housing 1 so as to be tiltable by a pivot mechanism (not shown) or the like. The reflector 3 is provided with a reflection surface 4 for reflecting light from a light source bulb (not shown) forward.

The above-described lamp housing 1 and reflector 3
An optical axis adjustment device (a so-called automatic leveler) for a headlight is interposed between the headlights. The optical axis adjustment device of this headlight
A motor 6 as an actuator provided in the actuator unit 5; a drive rod 7 attached to the actuator unit 5 so as to be non-rotatable around the axis and movable in the axial direction; A speed reducing mechanism (not shown) interposed therebetween, and an adjusting screw 8 attached to the drive rod 7 so as to be rotatable around the axis and immovable in the axial direction.
The manual rod 9 engaged with the adjusting screw 8
And.

The above-mentioned manual rod 9 is made of a resin such as POM (polyacetal (acetal resin)), and has a hemispherical shoulder 10 at one end as shown in FIGS. A flange-shaped (flange-shaped) convex portion 11 at an intermediate portion, and a hexagonal column-shaped engaging rod portion 12 at the other end. A recess 13 is provided on one end surface of the manual rod 9, and an engagement groove 14 is provided on the bottom of the recess 13. The engaging rod portion 12 and the convex portion 11 of the manual rod 9 are pressed into the through hole 16 of the hemispherical receiving portion 15 of the lamp housing 1 from the inside to the outside of the lamp housing 1. The part 10 is pressed against the inner surface of the receiving part 15 of the lamp housing 1, and the convex part 11 of the manual rod 9 is pressed against the edge of the through hole 16 of the receiving part 15. As a result, the manual rod 9 is attached to the lamp housing 1 so as to be rotatable around the axis and immovable in the axial direction, and the engaging rod portion 12 of the manual rod 9 projects outward from the lamp housing 1. It will be. An O-ring 17 is provided between the lamp housing 1 and the manual rod 9.
Is interposed. Although not shown, a hexagonal engagement groove for hexagonal wrench engagement, a + engagement groove for plus driver engagement, and a minus engagement for minus driver engagement are provided on the end surface of the engagement rod portion 12 of the manual rod 9 described above. A groove or the like may be provided.

The above-described actuator unit 5 has a structure in which the motor 6, the speed reduction mechanism, the drive rod 7, and the adjusting screw 8 are built in and attached to a casing 18 having a two-part structure. The above-mentioned drive rod 7 is attached to the above-mentioned casing 18 so as to be non-rotatable around the axis and movable in the axial direction. A rack (not shown) is integrally provided on the outer surface of the drive rod 7. The gear (not shown) of the rack reduction mechanism is engaged. In addition, the above-described drive rod 7
Has a hollow cylindrical shape, and a flange portion (flange portion) 21 at an intermediate portion of the adjusting screw 8 is rotatable around an axis between the step portion 19 and the claw portion 20 on the hollow inner surface of the drive rod 7. And it is attached so that it cannot move in the axial direction. The above-mentioned actuator unit 5 is attached to the inside of the lamp housing 1 to which the manual rod 9 is attached first by a plurality of screws, in this example, three screws 22. At this time, the manual rod 9 is engaged with the adjusting screw 8 by inserting the engaging plate 23 at one end of the adjusting screw 8 into the engaging groove 14 of the manual rod 9. Since the casing 18 of the actuator unit 5 attached to the lamp housing 1 is in contact with one end surface of the manual rod 9, it is possible to prevent the manual rod 9 from dropping inside from the through hole 16 of the lamp housing 1. In addition, since the drive rod 7 faces the concave portion 13 of the manual rod 9, there is no possibility that the drive rod 7 will hinder the forward and backward movement.

The screw portion 24 at the other end of the adjusting screw 8 is screwed into a screw mounting 25 attached to the reflector 3. As a result, the adjusting screw 8 is screwed into the screw mounting 25.
And is attached to the reflector 3 via.

Here, if the manual rod 9 is arranged at a location where it can be reached, the manual rod 9 is directly rotated with a tool such as a hexagon wrench, a Phillips screwdriver, a flathead screwdriver, etc. The reflector 3 is tilted with respect to the lamp housing 1 via the screw 8 and the screw mounting 25 to adjust the optical axis (mainly the optical axis at the time of initial setting).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 26 denotes a gear member. The gear member 26 is made of, for example, a resin such as POM (polyacetal (acetal resin)). As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, one end of the gear member 26 has a circular flange portion (flange portion). ) 27 are provided integrally, and the outer surface of the other end of the gear member 26 is chamfered.
7, a plurality of protruding teeth 28 are integrally provided at equal intervals. A hexagonal engagement hole 29 is provided inside the gear member 26, and the engagement hole 29
Is provided with a stepped portion 30 and an inclined portion 31 at one end. As shown in FIG. 6D, between the stepped portion 30 and the inclined portion 31 of the gear member 26, an elastic engaging claw elastically engaged with the convex portion 11 of the manual rod 9 having a semicircular cross section. 31
May be provided integrally.

In the figure, reference numeral 33 denotes a rotation operation shaft. At one end of the rotary operation shaft 33, a plate-shaped meshing tooth 36 is provided. The meshing teeth 36 have a chamfered outer shape and are inclined with respect to the axial direction of the rotary operation shaft 33. On the other hand, a hexagonal head is integrally provided at the other end of the rotation operation shaft 33. Although not shown, the hexagonal head may be provided with a hexagonal engagement groove for hexagonal wrench engagement, a + engagement groove for plus driver engagement, a -engagement groove for minus driver engagement, and the like.

When the above-mentioned manual rod 9 is arranged in a place where it cannot be reached, the gear member 26 is attached to the engaging rod portion 12 of the above-mentioned manual rod 9 which protrudes outward from the lamp housing 1. The stepped portion 30 of the gear member 26 is externally fitted via the engagement hole 29 and
And the gear member 26 is non-rotatably mounted on the manual rod 9. At this time, the gear member 26 is movable in the axial direction with respect to the engagement rod portion 12 of the manual rod 9. Next, the meshing teeth 36 of the rotary operation shaft 33 are meshed with the teeth 28 of the gear member 26, and the rotary operation shaft 33 is set within a reachable range, and the rotary operation shaft 33 is attached to the lamp housing 1 described above. It is rotatably mounted via a bracket 34 and a screw 35. At this time, the gear member 26 is fixed to the engaging rod portion 12 of the manual rod 9 by the meshing teeth 36 of the rotation operation shaft 33. As a result, the rotary operation shaft 3
3 is transmitted to the manual rod 9 via the gear member 26.

The optical axis adjusting device for a headlamp according to the present invention in this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the optical axis adjusting operation will be described below. First, when the motor 6 of the actuator unit 5 is driven, the driving force (rotational force) of the motor 6 is transmitted to the drive rod 7 via the speed reduction mechanism, and the drive rod 7 does not rotate around the axis but in the axial direction. The adjusting screw 8 moves forward and backward in the axial direction integrally with the drive rod 7, and the reflector 3 tilts with respect to the lamp housing 1 to adjust the optical axis.

When the rotary operation shaft 33 is manually rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the manual rod 9 via the meshing teeth 36 and the gear member 26 of the rotary operation shaft 33, and the manual rod 9 is moved in the axial direction. Rotate around the axis without moving.
Then, the rotational force of the manual rod 9 is transmitted to the adjusting screw 8, and the adjusting screw 8 rotates around the axis without moving in the axial direction, and accordingly, the screw mounting 25 is screwed to the adjusting screw 8 by the screw feed action. On the other hand, it does not rotate around the axis but moves forward and backward in the axial direction, and the reflector 3 tilts with respect to the lamp housing 1 to adjust the optical axis. The optical axis adjustment by the rotation operation shaft 33 and the manual rod 9 is mainly performed at the time of initial setting.

As described above, even when the manual rod 9 is placed in a place where the hand cannot be reached due to the design of the vehicle, the hand rod 9 which is not reachable is rotated by the rotation operation shaft 33,
The optical axis can be adjusted by easily and manually rotating through the meshing teeth 36 and the gear member 26.

In particular, in this embodiment, the gear member 26 is fixed to the manual rod 9 by the hexagonal column-shaped engaging rod portion 12 of the manual rod 9 and the hexagonal engaging hole 2 of the gear member 26.
9 and the meshing of the teeth 28 of the gear member 26 with the meshing teeth 36 of the rotary operation shaft 33.
A component for fixing the gear member 26 to the manual rod 9 is unnecessary.

In this embodiment, since the meshing teeth 36 of the rotary operating shaft 33 are inclined with respect to the axial direction of the rotary operating shaft 33, the axial direction of the rotary operating shaft 33 and the gear member 26 ( There is a degree of freedom in the angle between the drive rod 7, the adjusting screw 8, and the manual rod 9) in the axial direction. That is, the rotation operation shaft 33 can be arranged to be inclined at an arbitrary angle with respect to the gear member 26.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle headlamp of the movable reflector type has been described. However, the present invention can also be used for a vehicle headlamp of the movable lamp unit type. In the case of this lamp unit movable type, the mounting body is a vehicle body, and the reflector and the light source bulb are a lamp unit.

[0024]

As described above, according to the headlight optical axis adjusting device of the present invention, the gear member is non-rotatably mounted on the manual rod, and the rotary operation shaft is rotatably mounted on the mounting body. Since the operating shaft is provided with meshing teeth for meshing with the teeth of the gear member and transmitting the rotational force of the rotary operating shaft to the manual rod via the gear member, the rotational operation is performed. When the shaft is manually rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the manual rod via the meshing teeth and the gear member,
The manual rod rotates, and the reflector is tilted with respect to the mounting body to adjust the optical axis. In this way, even if the manual rod is placed in a place that is out of reach of the vehicle design, if the rotary operation shaft is placed in a place that can be reached, the hand rod that is out of reach can be moved. The optical axis can be adjusted by easily and manually rotating through the rotating operation shaft, the meshing teeth, and the gear member that can be reached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial rear view of an automotive headlamp equipped with a headlight optical axis adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

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

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1;

5A is a side view of the manual rod, FIG. 5B is a front view of the manual rod, FIG. 5C is a rear view of the manual rod, and FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. .

6A is a rear view of the gear member, FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 6A, and FIG.
FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the gear member.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lamp housing (mounting body), 2 ... Lens, 3 ... Reflector, 4 ... Reflection surface, 5 ... Actuator unit,
6 ... motor (actuator), 7 ... drive rod,
8 ... Adjust screw, 9 ... Manual rod, 10 ... Shoulder, 11 ... Protrusion, 12 ... Engaging rod, 13 ... Recess, 14 ...
Engagement groove, 15 receiving portion, 16 through hole, 17 O-ring,
Reference Signs List 18 casing, 19 step, 20 claw, 21 flange, 22 screw, 23 engaging plate, 24 screw, 25 screw mounting, 26 gear member, 27 flange, 28 ... Tooth portion, 29 ... engaging hole, 30 ... step portion, 31 ... inclined portion, 32 ... elastic engaging claw, 33 ... rotating operation shaft, 34 ... bracket, 35 ... screw, 36 ... meshing tooth.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A headlight having a reflector tiltably attached to a mounting body, a device for adjusting an optical axis of the headlight, comprising: an actuator; A manual rod protruding from the mounting body, wherein the reflector is tilted with respect to the mounting body by driving the actuator and by rotation of the manual rod, and the optical axis of the headlight is adjusted. In the optical axis adjusting device for a lamp, a gear member is non-rotatably mounted on a portion of the manual rod protruding from the mounting body, and a rotation operation shaft is rotatably mounted on the mounting body. The rotating operation shaft is provided with meshing teeth for meshing with the teeth of the gear member and transmitting the rotational force of the rotating operation shaft to the manual rod via the gear member. An optical axis adjusting device for a headlight.