JPH1134953A - Lighting system for bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily adjust light-taking-in quantity into an optical sensor, by forming a receiving light window introducing light to the optical sensor in the head case, providing a cover which covers the receiving light window from outside of the head case such that it can open and close, and arbitrarily adjusting area covered with the cover of the receiving light window. SOLUTION: In a headlamp 3 of a bicycle, hub DC dynamo is used for power supply, a front lens 8 is adhered on the front surface of the head case 7, and a lamp 10 is placed a focal position of a reflecting mirror 9 adhered inside of the front lens 8. Because the headlamp has a built-in control substrate 14 in which electronic components and electronic circuits are installed, and an optical sensor 15 which is mounted to the control substrate 14 detects light taken-in through a receiving light window 16 which is formed on the lower side of the head case 7, the lamp 10 is automatically lightened when it becomes dark in circumference. By providing a cover 19 which covers the receiving light window 16 such that it can open and close, and by arbitrarily adjusting area covered by the cover 19 of the receiving light window 16, timing for automatically lightening the bulb can be adjusted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for a bicycle, in which the brightness of the surroundings is detected by an optical sensor and the light is automatically turned on when it becomes dark and automatically turned off when it becomes bright.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a bicycle illuminating device which detects the brightness of the surroundings with an optical sensor and turns on automatically when it becomes dark and turns off automatically when it becomes bright is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-23380. As shown in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 60-99843, a battery using a battery instead of a dynamo is known.

[0003] In either case, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor cannot be arbitrarily adjusted. Therefore, when the surroundings are bright, such as during the daytime, the lighting device cannot be turned on even if the visibility is significantly reduced due to dense fog or the like, and it is not possible to inform the oncoming vehicle or the like of the position of the bicycle, which lacks safety. There was a problem. Moreover, the surrounding brightness when the lighting device starts to light cannot be adjusted according to personal preference.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention enables a simple structure and operation to adjust the amount of light taken in by an optical sensor, so that when the visibility is reduced due to dense fog or the like, even in a bright daytime. An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting device for a bicycle that can be turned on and that can adjust the brightness of the surroundings when the lighting is started according to personal preference.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the brightness of the surroundings is detected by an optical sensor and automatically turned on when the surrounding area becomes dark,
In a bicycle lighting device that automatically turns off when it becomes bright, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor can be arbitrarily adjusted.

[0006] With this configuration, the illumination device can be turned on even when the surroundings are bright by reducing the amount of light taken into the optical sensor. Conversely, by increasing the amount of light taken, the lighting device must be darkened. The original usage that the lighting device does not light can be performed.

Specifically, according to the present invention, a light receiving window for guiding light to an optical sensor is provided in a head case, a cover for covering the light receiving window from the outside of the head case is provided, and the light receiving window is covered by the cover of the light receiving window. By adjusting the area arbitrarily, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor can be adjusted. With this configuration, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor can be easily adjusted.

More specifically, according to the present invention, the cover for covering the light receiving window has one end pivotally supported by the head case and the other end covering the light receiving window. One end of the cover is pivotally supported on the head case by a male screw mounted on the head case and a nylon nut screwed into the male screw.

[0009] With this configuration, one end pivot of the cover is not loosened by the vibration during running of the bicycle, and the cover can always be operated reliably.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A headlight is shown as the lighting device of the embodiment. As a power source, a so-called hub dynamo 2 mounted on a hub of a front wheel 1 of a bicycle is used. The hub dynamo has a structure as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-3-258673, and the description thereof is omitted here. 3
Denotes a headlight, which is mounted on a mounting piece 5 of the front fork 4 via a bracket 6.

The headlamp 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 7 denotes a head case, on which a front lens 8 is mounted. A reflecting mirror 9 is mounted inside the front lens 8, and a bulb 10 is disposed at a focal position of the reflecting mirror 9. The bulb socket 11 is mounted in a socket holder 12. A base 13 for mounting a control board is formed integrally with the socket holder 12. Reference numeral 14 denotes a control board on which electronic components and electronic circuits are incorporated. An optical sensor 15 is mounted on the control board 14. On the lower surface of the head case 7, a light receiving window 16 for receiving light into the optical sensor 15 is formed. The light receiving window 16 is closed by a transparent plate.

Then, the light sensor 15 receives the light taken in from the light receiving window 16 and detects the brightness of the surroundings. The light bulb 10 is not turned on when it is bright, and is turned on automatically when it becomes dark. Has become. Terminal plate 1 is connected to bulb 10
The power of the dynamo 2 is supplied via the power supply 7.

In the vicinity of the light receiving window 16 provided on the bottom surface of the head case 7, a cover 19 whose one end is rotatably supported by a rivet 18 is attached. The cover 19 is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3 so that the other end of the cover 19 covers the light receiving window 16. Reference numeral 20 denotes a handle formed integrally with the cover 19, and is used when the cover 19 is rotated.

The cover 19 is pivotally supported by the rivets 18 to such an extent that the cover 19 can be moved by hand and does not move due to the vibration of the running bicycle, and the light receiving window 16 can be covered by an arbitrary amount (area). I can do it. That is, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor 15 can be adjusted by adjusting the area of the light receiving window 16 covered by the cover 19. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the light receiving window 16 is completely covered, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which the light receiving window 16 is completely covered.

Therefore, if the light receiving window 16 is completely covered with the cover 19 as shown in FIG.
The headlight 3 can be turned on even in the daytime when it is bright, and it can be turned on even in the daytime when the visibility is significantly reduced due to dense fog or the like, and the safety for oncoming vehicles can be improved.

The covering of the light receiving window 16 with the cover 19 is shown in FIG.
, The light sensor 15 automatically turns on when it becomes dark according to the surrounding brightness and turns off automatically when it becomes bright. Then, by adjusting the area of the light receiving window 16 covered by the cover 19 as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to adjust the surrounding brightness at the start of lighting according to the preference of the user. That is, the light receiving window 16
As the area covered by the cover 19 increases,
The surrounding brightness when starting to light can be increased.

The light bulb 10 may blink instead of lighting, and the concept of lighting in the present invention includes blinking.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment, in which one end of a cover 19 is provided with a male screw 30 mounted on the bottom of the head case 7.
, Which is pivotally supported by a nylon nut 31 screwed into the male screw 30. The elasticity of the nylon nut 31 absorbs the vibration of the running bicycle, and the
Is designed not to sag.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor can be arbitrarily adjusted. Therefore, by reducing the amount of light taken into the optical sensor, even if the surroundings are bright, The illuminating device can be turned on, and when the visibility is reduced due to, for example, dense fog, the lighting device can be turned on even in bright daylight to enhance the safety for oncoming vehicles. Conversely, by increasing the amount of light taken in, the original usage can be achieved in which the lighting device can be turned on only when it becomes dark. That is, the brightness at the start of lighting can be adjusted according to the user's preference.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by arbitrarily adjusting the area covered by the cover of the light receiving window,
The amount of light taken into the optical sensor from the outside can be easily adjusted, and according to the invention of claim 3, the area covered by the light receiving window can be adjusted by a simple operation of rotating the cover. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the pivotal operation of the cover can always be reliably performed without the one-end pivot portion of the cover becoming loose due to the vibration during running of the bicycle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle to which a lighting device of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lighting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the lighting device.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the lighting device in a different state.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the illumination device in a different state.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 15 optical sensor 3 headlight 7 head case 16 light receiving window 19 cover 18 rivet 30 male screw 31 nylon nut

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bicycle lighting device in which an ambient light is detected by an optical sensor and automatically turned on when the surrounding area becomes dark, and automatically turned off when the area becomes bright, the amount of light taken into the optical sensor is determined. Bicycle lighting device that can be adjusted arbitrarily. 2. A light-receiving window for guiding light to the optical sensor is provided in the head case, a cover for covering the light-receiving window from the outside of the head case so as to be openable and closable is provided, and an area covered by the light-receiving window cover is arbitrarily adjusted. The lighting device for a bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device can be used. 3. The bicycle lighting device according to claim 2, wherein the cover has one end pivotally supported by the head case, and the other end covers the light receiving window. 4. The bicycle lighting device according to claim 3, wherein one end of the cover is pivotally supported on the head case by a male screw mounted on the head case and a nylon nut screwed into the male screw.