JPS6060047A - Radiating angle controller of automobile's head lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain a head lamp to radiate light at a constant angle with respect to the road surface by controlling the radiation angle according to the longitudinal inclination of a car caused by unbalance load. CONSTITUTION:For example, if baggages are carried into the trunk of a car, which is halted on a horizontal roadface (h), the suspension springs (e) of the rear wheels (c) are urged to be compressed so that the body (a) of the car sinks at the rear side. Head lamps 7, is inclined along with the body (a) to shift the direction of radiation upward. At this time a level gauge 1 generates no output because the angle of an axle housing (f) with respect to the longitudinal direction is zero, while another level gauge 2 which is mounted on the car body (a) generates output because the gauge 2 detects the angle thereof with respect to said direction. A controller 4 calculates the difference between the outputs of both the level gauges 1 and 2 and inputs the controlling value proportional to the difference value to a control motor 5. The motor 5 turns the head lamps 7 through an output shaft by the demanded angle downwards so as to control the radiation angle properly.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides control to maintain a constant irradiation angle with respect to the road surface by controlling the irradiation angle of the headlights in response to the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle body due to load imbalance. Regarding equipment.

Conventionally, when a large load is applied to the rear of a car, such as when a large load is loaded into the back seat or trunk of a passenger car, the rear suspension springs bend greatly, causing the car body to tilt toward the rear, causing the front The lights were oriented upwards and did not illuminate the road properly, making driving at night dangerous.

The present invention eliminates such drawbacks and, when the vehicle body is tilted in the front-rear direction with respect to the road surface due to unbalanced load,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device that controls the vertical illumination angle of a headlamp with respect to a vehicle body so that the road surface always correctly illuminates a certain distance ahead.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the attached (=J drawings).

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention, in which when a front axle is attached to a vehicle body a, a rear wheel C is attached to a suspension spring d, etc.
! : The first spirit level 1 is attached to the axle housing f, which houses the drive shaft of the rear wheel, and has an output function of detecting the inclination angle in the front and rear direction with respect to the horizontal plane and outputting it as an electric signal. In addition, a second spirit level 2 with the same function is attached to the bottom of the vehicle body a, and a switch 3 is attached to the support part of the door g to detect the opening and closing of the door and output an electric signal. The output signals of the first and second level gauges 1.2 and the switch 3 are connected to a control device 4 installed in the vehicle body a. This control device 4 calculates the difference between the longitudinal inclination angle of the axle housing f detected by the first level 1 and the longitudinal inclination angle of the vehicle body a detected by the second level 2, Moreover, only when the door g opening signal is input from the switch 3, a control value proportional to the difference in the tilt angle is output, and the door g is opened from the switch 3.
It has a function of not outputting a control signal when a blockage signal is input.

A control motor whose output shaft 6 accurately rotates to a phase corresponding to the control value of the control device 4 is installed at the front of the vehicle body a, and a headlamp 7 is attached to the output shaft 6. By rotating the output shaft 6, the output shaft 6 is tilted up and down to change the irradiation angle.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The vehicle body a is parallel to the road surface in a standard loaded state, and in this state, the irradiation direction of the headlights 7 is adjusted so as to form a certain angle substantially parallel to the road surface and illuminate a certain distance ahead, If you load heavy items into the back seat or trunk while the vehicle is stopped on a level road surface,
The suspension spring e of the rear wheel C is greatly bent, and the vehicle body a is tilted towards the rear, and the headlight 7 is tilted along with the vehicle body ~ and a, and the illumination direction is directed upward. At this time, the front and rear of the axle housing f The inclination angle A1 in the direction is 0 and the output of the first level 1 is 0, whereas the second level 2 attached to the vehicle body a detects the inclination angle A2 of the vehicle body a in the longitudinal direction. Then, in the control device 4, the difference between the output values of the first and second level gauges 1.2, that is, -A2 is calculated, and a control value proportional to that value is input to the control motor 5, The output shaft 6 rotates to the -A2 phase, which causes the headlight 7 to rotate downward by the same angle, so its illumination direction is at the same angle as when the vehicle body a was horizontal with respect to the road surface. is maintained. Such control of the illumination direction of the headlights 7 is performed only when the door g is open. When the driver closes the door g, the control device is activated by the door g closing signal issued from the switch 3. The output of the control signal from 4 is stopped, and therefore, even if the vehicle body a tilts forward or backward while driving, the headlight 7 remains fixed to the vehicle body a, and even if the vehicle body a vibrates due to unevenness of the road surface. Accordingly, the headlight 7 does not oscillate unstablely. When the vehicle is stopped on a sloped road surface 11, the first and second
Since the outputs Δ1 and A2 of the spirit level 1.2 are the same and the difference is 0, the headlight 7 is fixed to the vehicle body a in its standard state, and the unbalanced load causes the vehicle body a to move forward and backward. When A2 changes, a control value proportional to the change is output from the control device 4, and the headlamp 7 is tilted by driving the control motor 5. When the unbalanced load is removed by unloading and the vehicle body a returns to its standard position parallel to the road surface, the difference between the outputs A, A2 of the first and second levels 1.2 becomes 0.
Therefore, the output shaft 6 of the control motor 5 moves back to the phase 0 position, and the headlight 7 also returns to its original position. When an excessive load is applied to the front part of the vehicle body a and the front part tilts, the headlight 7 tilts upward by the tilt angle due to the same effect as described above, and the irradiation angle with respect to the road surface changes. is kept constant.

As specifically explained by the above embodiments.

The vehicle headlight irradiation angle control device of the present invention includes a means for detecting the difference in the inclination angle in the longitudinal direction between a part of the axle, a through housing, etc. on the axle side of the suspension spring and the vehicle body, and a means for detecting the opening/closing of a door. means for outputting a control value proportional to the difference in the tilt angle only when the door is opened; and means for controlling the vertical illumination angle of the headlight with respect to the vehicle body in accordance with the control value. The main idea is that even if the vehicle body is tilted in the longitudinal direction due to unbalanced cargo, the angle of illumination of the headlights on the road surface can be kept constant, and moreover, while driving. This prevents unstable fluctuations in the irradiation angle due to vibrations, thereby ensuring safe night driving.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing its operating order. a: Vehicle body b, c: Wheels d, e: Suspension spring f: Axle housing g: Door h: Road surface 1.2: Level 3: Switch 4: Control device 5: Control motor 6:
Output shaft 7: Headlight angle Applicant Chuo Spring Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Hiroshi Noguchi

Claims (1)

[Claims] means for detecting the difference in inclination angle in the longitudinal direction between a portion of the axle housing or the like closer to the axle than the suspension spring and the vehicle body; a means for detecting opening/closing of a door; and means for controlling the vertical illumination angle of the headlight with respect to the vehicle body in accordance with the control value. Device