KR20050023893A - Apparatus for level adjusting of vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A level regulating device for a lamp of a vehicle is provided to prevent load from being applied on a vertical regulating unit by supporting load with a pivot unit and a horizontal regulating unit and to restrict a reflecting mirror from being separated by vibration and shock due to firm combination of a ball joint unit. CONSTITUTION: A level regulating device for a lamp of a vehicle is composed of a housing(2) mounted to the vehicle; a bending bracket(1') to which at least one lamp assembly is installed; and a pivot unit, a horizontal regulating unit(50), and a vertical regulating unit(40) for connecting the bending bracket and the housing in first, second, and third positions, respectively. The first and second positions are arranged on the upper end of the bending bracket. A middle position of the first and second positions is contacted at right angle with a line that the center of gravity applied on the bending bracket is extended vertically. The pivot unit and the horizontal regulating unit are connected to the housing by a bolt fixing unit and coupled to the bending bracket by a ball joint unit. The third position is arranged at the lower end of the bending bracket. The vertical regulating unit is fixed and linked to the bending bracket. The bending bracket is moved longitudinally by an actuator.

Description

Level control device for vehicle lamps {APPARATUS FOR LEVEL ADJUSTING OF VEHICLE LAMP}

The present invention relates to a level control device for a vehicle lamp that automatically maintains a constant lighting state regardless of acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. More specifically, the level adjustment is not only strongly coupled to vibration or shock transmitted to the lamp. It relates to a level control device for a vehicle lamp configured to minimize the load on the vertical adjustment portion for.

In general, the vehicle is provided with an illumination function for viewing the object in front of the night when driving at night, and an equalizing device for informing the driving state of the vehicle to other vehicles or other road users. For example, an equalizer such as a headlamp for illuminating the front of a vehicle is generally arranged to be illuminated in a constant direction, and there is a problem in that the amount of light to be illuminated is relatively changed when the vehicle is running, particularly during acceleration or deceleration. That is, when the vehicle is being accelerated, the amount of light emitted from the vehicle being accelerated is increased in the driving vehicle of the vehicle running on the other side, and as a result, the glare is increased. On the contrary, when the vehicle is decelerating, a problem arises in that the amount of light decreases and the visible distance in front becomes short.

In order to compensate for the change in the amount of illumination light according to the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle so that a constant lighting state is always maintained, a technique called dynamic auto leveling has been introduced. This dynamic automatic leveling technique is such that the direction in which the headlamp of the vehicle illuminates slightly up and down automatically according to the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle. If the headlamp is slightly lowered when accelerating and the headlamp is slightly upward when decelerating, the problems caused by the above-described light quantity change can be largely solved.

An example of such a level adjusting device for a vehicle lamp is the device disclosed in EP 0 537 569 B1, the schematic structure of which is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, a headlamp assembly 100 of a vehicle is provided with a reflector 1 for collecting and reflecting lamps and light in a lamp space defined by a housing 2 and a generally transparent lens cover 3 in front. do. The illumination direction of the headlamp is made by adjusting the position of the reflector 1. The apparatus for adjusting the position of the reflector includes a pivoting means (not shown), a horizontal adjusting means 20 and a vertical adjusting device 10. The pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means 20 have a generally similar structure. The horizontal adjustment means 20 has a long bar-shaped body 24, the ball 22 is inserted into the upper holder 5 of the reflector is formed at one end is fixed to the ball joint coupling. At the other end, a fixed cap 27 is formed and inserted into and fixed to a holder 7 formed in the housing. By changing the position where the fixing cap 27 engages with respect to the holder 7, the horizontal state of the reflector can be manually adjusted. And the lower end of the reflector is mounted with a vertical adjustment means (10). The vertical adjustment means is a ball joint by a ball 12 which is inserted into the holder 8 formed in the housing, the body 14 forward or backward by the actuator 16, and also inserted into the holder 6 formed at the bottom of the reflector It is fixed by a bond. Accordingly, when the actuator 16 is automatically operated by the control signal according to the acceleration / deceleration state of the vehicle, the reflector moves forward or backward at the lower side, and as a result, the ball joint coupling of the upper pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means By rotating based on the reference, the lamp illumination direction in the desired direction can be adjusted.

By the way, in such a conventional automatic level adjusting device, the ball joint coupling structure included in order to allow the reflecting mirror to be rotatable has a problem in that it is easy to remove because it is weak to vibration and impact. In general, in a vehicle, shock generated by an engine or the like and an impact generated by an irregular road surface is generally transmitted through a metal body. Therefore, there is a demand that the ball joint coupling structure must be strongly improved against vibration.

Furthermore, when a load applied to the reflector is applied to the vertical adjustment means operated by the actuator, there is a problem that the lamp adjustment operation in the desired direction is not smoothly performed. That is, since the adjustment of the headlamp in the vertical direction is made at a very fine angle, the signal level applied to the actuator or the intensity of the signal pulse is also changed slightly. However, when the load is already loaded on the component to be moved by the actuator, the force applied to finely adjust by the actuator cancels the load already loaded, and as a result, adjustment of the reflector is not performed.

Accordingly, there is an urgent need for a new automatic lamp control device for a new vehicle lamp, which solves the problems of the conventional automatic level control device, which is resistant to vibrations and shocks, and has a favorable load distribution.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the problem of the conventional vehicle lamp level control device as described above and to propose a new vehicle lamp level control device having additional advantages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a level control apparatus for a vehicle lamp having a structure in which the reflector is not separated or removed from the housing even under vibration or shock in any vehicle driving state.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for adjusting the level of a lamp for a vehicle having a structure that attenuates vibrations transmitted from a vehicle body to reduce excessive shaking of illuminated light.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a level control apparatus for a vehicle lamp having a structure in which the direction adjustment can be made without the transmission of the force causing the deformation of the reflector.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a level control apparatus for a vehicle lamp having a structure in which the load is supported at the upper end and the load applied to the lower end is minimized.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention includes a housing mounted to a vehicle and a bending bracket on which at least one lamp assembly is mounted, the pivot means connecting the bending bracket and the housing in a first position and a second position. It provides a device for adjusting the level of the lamp assembly having a horizontal adjustment means for connecting at and a vertical adjustment means for connecting at a third position, wherein the first and second positions are at the top of the bending bracket. Located in the side, the middle of these two positions are perpendicular to the vertical line extending the center of gravity of the bending bracket, the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means are connected to the housing by bolt fixing means, ball joint means Is connected to the bending bracket by; The third position is located at the lower side of the bending bracket, the vertical adjustment means is fixedly connected to the bending bracket, it is configured to move the bending bracket back and forth by an actuator. Accordingly, not only the leveling can be made finer and more satisfactorily by the bolt means, but also a stronger coupling is possible, thereby providing a device which is resistant to vibration and whose load distribution can be preferably adjusted.

Here, the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means, one end fixed by the bolt fixing means is inserted into a holder formed in the housing is fixed. The holder is formed with ribs to help support the load so that the load transmitted to the lower side can be minimized or not caught at all.

The ball joint means, the ball of the sphere respectively formed on one end of the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means are respectively inserted into the retainer mounted at a position corresponding to the housing so that the ball is rotatably coupled in the retainer Here, the hook means is further provided to further prevent the ball from retracting from the retainer. Therefore, it can be fixed so as not to be removed by vibration or shock of any vehicle.

The retainer may be coupled to the housing by hooking. Accordingly, there is an effect that the assembly work is easy to increase the assembly work. Furthermore, a plurality of grooves are formed in a wall defining a space for accommodating the ball of the retainer, giving flexibility to the retainer so that it is easy to rotate when the ball is forward mounted and within the space. Accordingly, the vibration and shock generated by the vehicle body can be prevented from being transmitted to the lamp by further having a function of absorbing vibration.

In addition, the vertical adjustment means is further provided with a joint portion bent up and down. Accordingly, even when there is a load applied to the vertical adjustment means, the load can be absorbed by the joint portion. Furthermore, the joint part may be composed of two parts detachably coupled to each other. In this case, it further has the advantage of easy assembly.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 and 3 schematically show the structure of an apparatus for adjusting the level of the headlamp assembly 200 of a vehicle according to the invention. The headlamp assembly 200 has a lamp space defined by a housing 2 mounted on a vehicle and a transparent cover 3 in front of it, in which a bending bracket 1 'is mounted and at least one lamp assembly is mounted. ) Is included. By adjusting the position of the bending bracket 1 ', the level of the lamp can be adjusted up and down as described with reference to FIG. For the sake of convenience, the headlamp assembly and the bending bracket are discussed below, but those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to such components. In addition, for convenience of description, the illumination direction of the headlamp assembly 200 is referred to as the front and the top / bottom of Figure 2 is referred to as the top and bottom.

The level control apparatus for a vehicle lamp according to the present invention includes three components for connecting the bending bracket and the housing 2 at three positions of the bending bracket 1 '. This component is a pivot means 60 connecting the bending bracket and the housing in a first position, a horizontal adjusting means 50 connecting in a second position and a vertical adjusting means 40 connecting in a third position. . What's new in these three components is the new structure, which is resistant to vibrations and increases in assembly, in the ball joint joint to the bending bracket. Furthermore, it is characteristic that the bolt means are employed in the portion to be combined with the housing. In addition, it has a feature that a structure is adopted so that most of the load, preferably all of them, are applied only to the two components at the top by appropriately distributing the load of the lamps applied to the bending brackets.

In the level control apparatus of a vehicle lamp according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pivot means 60 and the horizontal adjustment means 50 is located on the upper side of the bending bracket 1 ', the middle of these two positions is the bending The center of gravity of the bracket meets the vertically extending line. The pivot means 60 and the horizontal adjustment means 50 are connected to the housing 2 by bolt fixing means, and to the bending bracket 1 'by ball joint means.

More specifically, the pivot means 60 and the leveling means 50 have a generally similar structure. That is, at one end, generally round balls 62 and 52 are formed for the ball joint coupling structure. The balls 62 and 52 are inserted into and fixed to the retainers 61 and 51 fixed to the upper holders 34 and 35 of the bending bracket 1 '. The bodies 64, 54 extending from the balls 62, 52 further have deformed body parts 65, 55, which are formed with nut holes, housings It is inserted into and fixed to the holders 39 and 37 which are fixed to (2). The body inserted into the holder 39, 37 is firmly fixed to the housing 2 by bolts 67, 57 and washers 68, 67. Thus, the part fixed by the bolt fixing means 67, 68; 57, 58 is inserted into and fixed to the holders 39 and 37 formed integrally or rigidly and fixedly fixed to the housing 2, whereby the bending bracket 1 ' All of the load of the lamp assembly may be supported. In addition, even when manually adjusting the horizontal has the advantage that can be adjusted at any time by rotating the bolt forward or backward.

Referring to FIG. 4, a form in which the bodies 55 and 65 of the pivoting means and the horizontal adjusting means are inserted into the holders 37 and 38 formed in the housing is shown in a perspective view. In the case of the pivoting means, the body inserted into the holder is preferably fixed so as not to move. In the illustrated example, a key 652 formed in a body having a round outer circumference and a key groove of a holder 39 having a cylindrical boring corresponding thereto are engaged so that the body 65 does not move in the holder 39. . On the other hand, in the case of the horizontal adjustment means, there is shown a configuration using a holder 37 and a corresponding body 55 of the rectangular cross section. The horizontal adjustment means 50 preferably has a form in which the play is present to allow a certain amount of movement to the left and right. In the illustrated example, an open space is formed at one side of the body 55 so that the body 55 can be flexibly moved in the holder 37 when the bending bracket coupled to one end of the horizontal adjusting means is moved. Consists of. Furthermore, ribs 372 and 392 are formed between the holders 37 and 39 and the housing 2 to help support the load so that the load transmitted to the lower side is minimized or not caught at all.

Referring to Fig. 5, the ball joint means includes a retainer 61 in which a ball 62 of a sphere formed at one end of the pivoting means 60 (the horizontal adjusting means 50 has a similar structure) is mounted at a position corresponding to the housing. Can be formed by forward insertion. Once the ball 62 is inserted into the retainer 61, it is impossible to move forward or backward, but can be rotated in a predetermined range. At this time, by hooking the retainer 61 on the front surface of the ball 62, a hook 622 is further provided so that the ball 62 is further prevented from going backward. Therefore, it can be fixed so as not to remove the vibration or shock of any vehicle.

Furthermore, the retainer 61 can also be coupled to the housing 2 by hooking. Hook means 616 is further provided for this purpose. Accordingly, there is an effect that the assembly work is easy to increase the assembly work. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of grooves 618 are formed in the wall 612 that defines the space in which the retainer 61 accommodates the balls 62 so that the balls are mounted forward and It is desirable to have a structure that gives flexibility to the retainer to facilitate rotation in the space. In other words, the retainer 61 has a structure in which a hook 616 is formed at one side of the center base 614 and a wall 612 is formed to have a space for receiving balls with a plurality of grooves 618 at the other side. Do Accordingly, the impact force generated in the vehicle body and transmitted to the retainer 61 through the housing can be absorbed by the flexibility of the retainer 61, resulting in a lamp assembly resistant to vibration.

Referring again to FIG. 2, it is shown that the vertical adjustment means 40 is disposed on the lower end side of the bending bracket 1 ′. The vertical adjustment means 40 is fixedly connected to the bending bracket 1 'at one end and moved to move the bending bracket 1' forward and backward by the actuator 46 relative to the housing 2 at the other end. Body 42, 44.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the body of the vertical adjustment means 40 is formed with a joint. The joint part is further provided with a joint part that is bent up and down, and does not respond to the force in the extending direction of the body, that is, the forward and backward directions, and is a structure that can be bent in response only to the force from the top to the bottom or bottom to top. Accordingly, even if a load applied to the vertical adjustment means is present in a slight state, the downward force by the load can be absorbed by the joint before acting on the motor or the actuator.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, the joint is preferably composed of two parts 442 and 424 that are detachably coupled. In this case, it further has the advantage of easy assembly. That is, the body of the vertical adjustment means 40 includes a first member 44 extending from the actuator 46 and a second member 42 having one end 422 connected to the bending bracket 1 '. do. Insertion rings 442 and insertion grooves 424 may be correspondingly formed at portions where the two members 44 and 42 are connected. In the illustrated example, the two members of FIG. 7 are separated from each other, and in the direction of the arrow, the intermediate engagement state of FIG. 8 is rotated, and the process of turning to the final engagement state of FIG. 9 is shown.

Referring to FIG. 10, the headlamp assembly is shown as a perspective view from the rear with all the parts except the housing 2 and the bolts 57 and 67 assembled. FIG. 11 also shows the bolts 57, 67 mounted in FIG. 10 without the housing 2 from the rear. FIG. 12 shows the assembly of FIG. 10 mounted on the housing 2 from the front with no front transparent lens cover 3 this time.

The level control device for a vehicle lamp having the above structure is advantageous in that it is not only resistant to vibration and shock, but also provides a good device capable of smoothly adjusting the load by adjusting the distribution of loads.

In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. It is noted that the illustrated embodiments are merely illustrative examples of features of the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Within the scope of the appended claims, those skilled in the art can readily conceive of other embodiments that modify, modify, and combine the various features of the invention. Therefore, it should be pointed out that the idea of the present invention should be interpreted as described in the claims, not by the specific embodiments described.

According to the level control apparatus of a vehicle lamp according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as described above, the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means at the top to support all the load, thereby preventing the load on the vertical adjustment device at the bottom do. In addition, the strong coupling state of the ball joint means can be fixed so as not to be removed by any vibration or shock as well as buffer the vibration of the vehicle body, it is possible to significantly reduce the vibration of the lamp caused by the vehicle body vibration. In addition, the assembly of the retainer and the like is easy to reduce the production cost. Furthermore, by minimizing the load on the vertical adjustment device, the size of the actuator can be reduced and a significant effect is prevented when the ram level is adjusted.

Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional level control device for a vehicle lamp.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the level control device for a vehicle lamp in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means of the level adjusting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention from above.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing in more detail the holder formed in the housing of the pivot means or leveling means of the level adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing in more detail the ball joint portion of the pivot means or leveling means of the level adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing in more detail the structure of the retainer in the ball joint portion of Figure 4;

7 to 9 are perspective views showing the structure and the assembly process of the vertical adjustment device of the level control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 and 11 are a perspective view from behind showing a headlamp assembly having a structure of a level adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a perspective view showing in front of a headlamp assembly having a structure of a level adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of the main parts of the drawing>

1 ??: Bending bracket 34,35,36: Bracket holder

37, 38, 39: housing portion holder 40: vertical adjustment means

42,44: connection member 46: actuator

50: horizontal adjustment means 60: pivot means

51,61: Retainer 52, 62: Ball

54, 55, 64, 65: body 57, 67: bolt

Claims (7)

Pivoting means (60) and a bending bracket (1 ') on which the housing (2) mounted on the vehicle and at least one lamp assembly (80) is mounted, and connecting the bending bracket and the housing in a first position; In the apparatus for adjusting the level of the lamp assembly having a horizontal adjusting means 50 connecting in two positions and a vertical adjusting means 40 connecting in a third position: The first and second positions are located on the upper side of the bending bracket, and the middle of these two positions meets the line perpendicular to the vertically extending line of the center of gravity of the bending bracket, wherein the pivot means and the horizontal adjusting means are bolts. Connected to the housing by fastening means and connected to the bending bracket by ball joint means; The third position is located at the bottom side of the bending bracket, the vertical adjustment means is fixedly connected to the bending bracket, configured to move the bending bracket back and forth by an actuator The level control apparatus of the vehicle lamp characterized in that. 2. The level control apparatus of a vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein said pivot means and said horizontal adjustment means are inserted into and supported by holders (37, 39) formed in said housing, one end being fixed by said bolt fixing means. 3. The ball joint means according to claim 2, wherein the ball joint means is provided with retainers (51, 61) in which balls (52, 62) of the spheres respectively formed at one end of the pivot means and the horizontal adjustment means are mounted at positions corresponding to the housing. Each of the balls is rotatably coupled to the inside of the retainer by being forwardly inserted, wherein hook means is further provided to further prevent the ball from retracting from the retainer. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the retainer is coupled to the housing by hooking. 5. The retainer of claim 4, wherein a plurality of grooves 618 are formed in a wall defining a space for accommodating the ball of the retainer, so that the retainer is flexible to facilitate rotation when the ball is forward mounted and within the space. To give, the level control device of the vehicle lamp. The device for adjusting the level of a vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vertical adjustment means further includes a joint portion bent vertically. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the articulation portion consists of two parts detachably coupled.