JPH1083705A - Adjusting device of beam optical axis for head lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assure an easy assembly without any looseness of a worm wheel in an adjusting device of a beam optical axis for a head lamp which rotates the worm wheel in order to adjust the beam optical axis. SOLUTION: This adjusting device of a beam optical axis for a head lamp comprises a worm gear 38 rotated by a motor 36, and a worm wheel 15 moved to an axial direction when rotated by making thread-engagement with a holding column 25 for a holding member 24 fixed into a case member and meshing with the worm gear 38; and a shaft 27 being threadengaged with the worm wheel 15 and moving to the axial direction in association with the axial movement of the worm wheel 15. A reflection mirror in which an optical axis is changed on account of tilting is tilted by the shaft 27 moving to the axial direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel headlight irradiation axis adjusting device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technology for facilitating assembly of a headlamp irradiation axis adjustment device that rotates a worm wheel to adjust an irradiation axis without causing backlash of the worm wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An irradiation axis adjusting apparatus for a headlight for adjusting an irradiation axis by rotating a worm wheel is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
2402.

In the headlamp irradiation axis adjusting device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-282402, the worm wheel is held between the front and rear by a case body and a holding body supported by the case body. It is supported so that it can rotate freely and cannot move in the axial direction.

[0004]

In the headlight irradiation axis adjusting device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-282402, for example, the clearance between the case body and the worm wheel is mutually different. Since it depends on the molding accuracy of the holder, it is easy to compose with relatively high accuracy.However, the holder is attached to the case body, and the attachment is usually performed by caulking, screwing, etc. It is inevitable that the accuracy will vary. Therefore, if the holder is formed with such accuracy that the clearance between the holder and the worm wheel is minimized, the clearance between the holder and the worm wheel may be too small. There is a problem.

[0005] Therefore, if the clearance between the holding body and the worm wheel is made large in design, there is a problem that play may occur between the two.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent backlash in assembling a worm wheel and to easily assemble the worm wheel.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlamp according to the present invention comprises a worm gear rotated by a motor, a case body or a member fixed to the case body. A worm wheel, which is engaged with the worm gear and is moved in the axial direction by rotating, and a shaft supported by the worm wheel and moved in the axial direction in conjunction with the movement of the worm wheel in the axial direction. The tilting member whose irradiation axis is changed by being tilted is tilted by the axial movement of the shaft.

Therefore, in the headlamp illumination axis adjusting device of the present invention, the worm wheel is screwed to the case body or a member fixed to the case body, so that the worm wheel is loosely attached to the case body. Can be assembled without any.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headlamp irradiation axis adjusting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of an irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlight according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a headlamp, 2 is a lamp body thereof, 3 is a reflecting mirror rotatably supported on the lamp body 2 in a vertical direction, and 4 is a lens covering a front opening of the lamp body 2. It is.

In this embodiment, the reflecting mirror 3 is a tilting member whose irradiation angle is changed by tilting the reflecting mirror. However, in addition to this, the reflecting mirror 3 may be formed in a space defined by a lamp body and a lens. The lamp unit itself, in which a reflector and a light source are arranged, is supported so as to be tiltable with respect to the vehicle body, and this lamp unit may be used as a tilting member.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a headlamp leveling mechanism fixed to the vehicle body or the lamp body 2 (not shown). The headlamp leveling mechanism changes the irradiation angle by tilting the tilting member by remote operation from a driver's seat or the like or automatic operation based on the detection result of the leaning of the vehicle body. It also has a function of performing so-called initial aiming, which is an adjustment of the irradiation angle performed at the time of inspection or inspection.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a case body, which is formed by integrally combining a front case 7 and a back case 8 made of synthetic resin, which are divided into two parts at the front and rear.

The front wall 9 of the front case 7 has an insertion hole 1
0 is formed, and a cylindrical portion 11 protruding forward from an outer opening edge of the insertion hole 10 is integrally formed. In addition, a support cylinder 12 is integrally provided to protrude inward from an inner opening edge of the insertion hole 10. An inner flange 13 protruding inward is formed at a front end of the cylindrical portion 11, and guide grooves 14, 14 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on an inner peripheral surface thereof.

The worm wheel 15 includes a wheel portion 16, a cylindrical supported portion 17 protruding forward from a front end of the wheel portion 16, and a screw portion 18 protruding rearward from a rear end of the wheel portion 16. It is formed in.

The wheel portion 16 has the largest outer diameter among the above three portions, and has a thick disk-shaped main portion 1.
9 and a cylindrical cylindrical portion 20 protruding forward from the outer edge of the front end of the main portion 19, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the main portion 19 and the cylindrical portion 20 are continuous with each other. Is formed. The inner diameter of the tube portion 20 is formed sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the support tube 12 of the front case 7.

The supported portion 17 is a wheel portion 16.
And the outer diameter thereof is formed sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 20 of the wheel portion 16 and slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the support cylinder 12 of the front case 7.

The screw portion 18 of the worm wheel 15 is formed coaxially with the wheel portion 16 and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the supported portion 17.
2 are formed.

A threaded hole 23 is formed in the axial portion of the wheel portion 16 and the screw portion 18 so as to penetrate them.

A holding body 24 is fixed to the case body 6, and a holding cylinder 25 is formed on the holding body 24. The axis of the holding cylinder 25 coincides with the axis of the support cylinder 12. The inner hole is a screw hole 26.

The worm wheel 15 has the supported portion 17 rotatably inserted into the support cylinder 12 of the front case 7 and the screw 22 of the screw portion 18 having the holding member 24.
The screw hole 26 is screwed with the case body 6 so as to be rotatable with the case body 6, and by the rotation, the front-rear direction (axial direction)
Supported to move to.

The shaft 27 has a cylindrical shape that is long in the axial direction as a whole, and has a flange 28 projecting outward at a position near the front end, and guided projections 29 project from the outer peripheral surface of the flange 28. Have been. A thread 30 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a portion on the rear side from the flange 28.
Further, a support hole 31 is provided through the shaft center portion.

In the shaft 27, the guided projections 29 are slidably engaged with the guide grooves 14 on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 11 of the front case 7, so that the shaft 27 is The screw 30 is screwed into the screw hole 23 of the worm wheel 15.

The adjusting screw 32 is formed by integrally forming a screw shaft portion 33, a supported portion 34 continuing behind the screw shaft portion 33, and a connecting portion 35 continuing behind the supported portion 34. The supported portion 34 is rotatably supported by the support hole 31 of the shaft 27 and cannot move in the front-rear direction. The connecting portion 35 is formed such that the rear end portion 35a has a rectangular cross section.

A motor 36 is fixed in the case body 6, and a pinion 37 is fixed to a rotating shaft of the motor 36.
A worm gear 38 is rotatably supported in the case body 6, and the worm gear 38 is meshed with the tooth groove 21 of the wheel portion 16 of the worm wheel 15. A spur gear 39 formed coaxially and integrally with the worm gear 38 is meshed with the pinion 37. As described above, the portion of the worm wheel 15 where the tooth groove 21 is formed is formed to be sufficiently longer in the axial direction than the worm gear 38 with which the tooth groove 21 meshes.

Therefore, when the motor 36 is driven, the worm wheel 15 is rotated via the worm gear 38.

An aiming rod 40 is provided in the back case 8.
Are rotatably supported. The aiming rod 40
Consists of a connecting shaft portion 41 and a crown gear portion 42 integrally provided at the rear end of the connecting shaft portion 41. The connecting shaft portion 41 is rotatably supported by the back case 8, and the crown gear portion 42 is exposed on the rear surface side of the back case 8.

The connecting shaft 41 has a connecting hole 4 opened at the front end.
3 are formed, and the cross-sectional shape of the connection hole 43 is substantially rectangular.

The connecting portion 35 of the adjusting screw 32 is connected to the connecting shaft portion 4 of the aiming rod 40.
It is slidably inserted into one connection hole 43. Thereby, the adjusting screw 32 is connected to the connecting portion 35 thereof.
Is connected to the connecting shaft portion 41 of the aiming rod 40 so as to be slidable in the axial direction and non-rotatable in the direction around the axis. Then, the screw shaft portion 33 of the adjusting screw 32 is screwed to a nut body 44 supported by the reflecting mirror 3.

When the motor 36 rotates, the worm wheel 15 rotates as described above. And
When the worm wheel 15 rotates, the screw portion 18 of the worm wheel 15 is screwed with the screw hole 26 of the holder 24, and the screw portion 18 is moved in accordance with the rotation direction.
As it is screwed or unscrewed with respect to 4, the worm wheel 15 will move in the axial direction. In addition, the shaft 27 has its thread 30 screwed into the screw hole 23 of the worm wheel 15 and cannot rotate with respect to the case body 6. The worm wheel 15 is moved forward or backward. The thread 2 of the worm wheel 15
2 is the same as the direction of the thread 30 of the shaft 27, the advancing direction of the worm wheel 15 and the shaft 27 is reversed. The moving direction and the moving amount with respect to the case body 6 can be defined. In this case, since a deceleration effect occurs, the torque can be increased. When the directions of the threads 22 and 30 are reversed, the advancing direction of the worm wheel 15 and the shaft 27 becomes the same direction, and the stroke of the shaft 27 can be made larger than the stroke of the worm wheel 15. In addition, downsizing is possible, and the reaction of the tilting operation of the reflecting mirror 3 is quickened.

As the worm wheel 15 is rotated in this manner, the shaft 27 moves in the front-rear direction, and the portion of the reflector 3 where the nut body 44 is supported is displaced in the front-rear direction. , The reflecting mirror 3 is tilted.

The leveling is performed as described above, but the initial aiming is performed by rotating the crown gear portion 42 of the aiming rod 40 with a tool such as a Phillips screwdriver. Thus, the adjusting screw 32 is rotated, and the screw shaft portion 33 is screwed or untwisted into the nut body 44 according to the direction of the rotation. Therefore, the nut body 44 of the reflecting mirror 3
Is displaced in the front-rear direction,
The reflecting mirror 3 is tilted.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlight according to the present invention.

The headlamp leveling mechanism 5A has only a leveling function.

The case body 45 is composed of a synthetic resin front case 46 and a back case 47 which are divided into two parts.

The front case 46 is integrally formed with a cylindrical support tube 48 projecting forward.
An inwardly projecting inner flange 49 is formed at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the
0 and cutouts 51, 51 located at the edge of the insertion hole 50 are formed.

The worm wheel 52 is formed by integrally forming a wheel portion 53 and a screw portion 54. Wheel section 53
Is composed of a thick disk-shaped main portion 55 and a cylindrical tube portion 56 projecting rearward from the outer edge of the rear end of the main portion 55. The outer peripheral surfaces of the main portion 55 and the tube portion 56 are It is continuous,
The tooth groove 57 is formed there.

The screw portion 54 projects rearward from the center of the rear surface of the main portion 55 of the wheel portion 53 in a columnar shape, and a thread 58 is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. A support hole 59 is formed in the main portion 55 and the screw portion 54 of the wheel portion 53 so as to penetrate through their axial centers.

A holding body 60 is fixed to the case body 45, and a holding cylinder 61 is formed on the holding body 60. The axis of the holding cylinder 61 coincides with the axis of the support cylinder 48. The inner hole is a screw hole 62.

The worm wheel 52 has a thread 58 of a screw portion 54 screwed into a threaded hole 62 of a holder 60, whereby the worm wheel 52 is rotatable with the case body 45, and is rotated in the front-rear direction. Supported to move to.

The shaft 63 is formed integrally with an intermediate sliding shaft portion 64, a spherical portion 65 protruding from the front end of the sliding shaft portion 64, and a supported portion 66 continuous with the rear end of the sliding shaft portion 64. Become composed.

The sliding shaft portion 64 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and ridges 67, 67 extending in the axial direction are provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The supported portion 66 has a columnar shape having a smaller outer diameter than the sliding shaft portion 64.

The supported portion 66 is rotatably supported by the support hole 59 of the worm wheel 52 so as not to be able to move in the axial direction.
Hole 56 formed in the inner flange 49 of the support cylinder 48
And the protrusions 67 are slidably engaged with the notches 51, 51 formed in the inner flange 49. Therefore, the shaft 63 is movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the case body 45 and cannot rotate. Although not shown, a ball receiving member is supported by the reflecting mirror instead of the nut body 44, and the ball portion 65 of the shaft 63 is connected to the ball receiving member in a ball joint shape.

A motor 68 is fixed in the case body 45,
A pinion 69 is fixed to a rotation shaft of the motor 68. Further, a worm gear 70 is rotatably supported in the case body 45, and the worm gear 70 is engaged with the tooth groove 57 of the wheel portion 53 of the worm wheel 52. A spur gear 71 formed coaxially and integrally with the worm gear 70 is meshed with the pinion 69. As described above, the worm wheel 5
The portion where the second tooth groove 57 is formed is formed to have a sufficiently long axial length with respect to the worm gear 70 with which the second tooth groove 57 meshes.

Accordingly, when the motor 68 is driven, the worm wheel 52 is rotated via the worm gear 70. Then, when the worm wheel 52 rotates, the screw portion 54 of the worm wheel 52 is
Threaded, so that the screw 5
The worm wheel 52 moves in the axial direction because the worm wheel 4 is screwed or untwisted with respect to the holder 60. Accordingly, the shaft 63 supported by the worm wheel 52 moves in the axial direction. Thereby, the reflecting mirror connected to the shaft 63 via the ball receiving member is tilted.

In the above two embodiments, each of the worm wheels 15 and 52 is screwed to the holding members 24 and 60 fixed to the case members 6 and 45. For example, you may make it screw with back case 8,47.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description, the irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlight according to the present invention is screwed to a worm gear rotated by a motor and a case body or a member fixed to the case body. A worm wheel meshed with the worm gear and moved in the axial direction by rotating, and a shaft supported by the worm wheel and moved in the axial direction in conjunction with the movement of the worm wheel in the axial direction. The tilting member whose irradiation axis is changed by this operation is tilted by the axial movement of the shaft.

Therefore, in the headlamp irradiation axis adjusting device of the present invention, the worm wheel is screwed to the case body or a member fixed to the case body, so that the worm wheel is loosened with respect to the case body. It can be assembled without any. Also, the assembling is easy.

In the invention according to the second aspect,
Since the shaft is screwed to the worm wheel and supported by the case body so as to be non-rotatable and movable in the axial direction, the screw connection between the worm wheel and the case body and the screw connection between the worm wheel and the shaft are made. By selecting the pitch and the direction, the direction and amount of movement of the shaft with respect to the rotation of the worm wheel can be freely set.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the shaft is supported by the worm wheel so as to be rotatable and immovable in the axial direction, and is supported by the case body so as not to be rotatable. The configuration becomes simple.
Also, the assembling is easy.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
Since the pitch and / or orientation of the screw engagement between the shaft and the worm wheel is selected such that the axial movement of the shaft is smaller than that of the worm wheel, it is possible to increase the driving torque by the shaft. it can.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the pitch and / or direction of the screw engagement between the shaft and the worm wheel is such that the movement of the shaft in the axial direction is larger than that of the worm wheel. As described above, since the selection is selected, the amount of movement of the shaft with respect to the rotation of the worm wheel can be increased, the size of the device can be reduced, and the response of the tilting operation of the tilting member can be accelerated.

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

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlamp according to the present invention together with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline thereof.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

4 shows a second embodiment of the irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlamp according to the present invention, together with FIG. 5, which is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head lamp, 3 ... Reflecting mirror (tilting member), 5 ... Head lamp leveling mechanism (Headlight irradiation axis adjustment device),
Reference numeral 6: case body, 15: worm wheel, 27: shaft, 5A: headlamp leveling mechanism (headlight irradiation axis adjusting device), 36: motor, 38: worm gear, 4
5: Case body, 52: Worm wheel, 63: Shaft, 68: Motor, 70: Worm gear

Claims (5)

[Claims] A worm gear rotated by a motor, a worm wheel screwed into a case body or a member fixed to the case body, meshed with the worm gear, and moved in the axial direction by rotating; A shaft supported by the wheel and moving in the axial direction in conjunction with the axial movement of the worm wheel, wherein the tilting member whose irradiation axis is changed by being tilted is tilted by the axial movement of the shaft. An irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlamp. 2. The irradiation axis of a headlight according to claim 1, wherein the shaft is screwed to a worm wheel and supported by a case body so as to be non-rotatable and movable in an axial direction. Adjustment device. 3. The headlight according to claim 1, wherein the shaft is supported by the worm wheel so as to be rotatable and immovable in the axial direction, and is supported by the case body so as not to be rotatable. Irradiation axis adjustment device. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pitch and / or orientation of the screw engagement between the shaft and the worm wheel is selected such that the axial movement of the shaft is smaller than that of the worm wheel. 3. The irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlight according to 2. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pitch and / or orientation of the screw engagement between the shaft and the worm wheel is selected such that the axial movement of the shaft is greater than that of the worm wheel. 3. The irradiation axis adjusting device for a headlight according to 2.