JPH09274811A - Vehicular headlamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize the deflection of a body bottom face portion resulting from the weight of a lighting circuit case, and the risk of the thermal deformation of the body bottom face portion in the case of fitting the lighting circuit case for a discharge bulb onto the bottom face portion outer face. SOLUTION: A lattice-like reinforcement rib 68d is formed at the peripheral region of the fitting portion of the lighting circuit case 40 on a body 12 bottom face portion 68 so as to increase the rigidity of the peripheral region of the fitting portion. Thereby, the extreme deflection of the body bottom face portion 68 resulting from the weight of the lighting circuit case 40 is prevented. By the existence of the reinforcement rib 68d, a wide contact area between the lighting circuit case 40 and the body bottom face portion 68 is avoided so that the accumulation of heat produced by a lighting circuit 42 between the lighting circuit case 40 and the body bottom face portion 68 is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular headlamp having a discharge bulb, and more particularly to a structure for mounting a lighting circuit case, which houses a lighting circuit of the discharge bulb, to a lamp body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a discharge bulb has been used as a light source of a vehicle headlamp since it can emit high-intensity light.

[0003] In a headlamp having such a discharge bulb, it is necessary to provide a lighting circuit for applying a high voltage to the discharge bulb and lighting the discharge bulb. Since it is composed of components, it is usually mounted on the lamp of a headlight while being housed in a lighting circuit case. Since this lighting circuit case is relatively large, it is difficult to house it inside the lamp body in terms of securing space.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 0, the lighting circuit case is often provided outside the lamp body.

[0004]

However, since the lighting circuit case in which the lighting circuit is housed has a considerable weight, it is necessary to simply attach the lighting circuit case to the outer surface of the lamp body as in the prior art. In the structure, the weight of the lighting circuit case may cause the lamp body to largely bend.

Further, the lighting circuit has a considerably high temperature when the discharge bulb is lit, but the mounting of the lighting circuit case to the lamp body is
Conventionally, as disclosed in the above publication, since the lighting circuit case and the outer surface of the lamp body are in contact with each other over a wide range, part of the heat generated in the lighting circuit is in the air. There is a risk that the lamp body will not be dissipated in the lamp and will be trapped between the lighting circuit case and the lamp body, and thus the lamp body will be thermally deformed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to minimize the bending of the lamp body due to the weight of the lighting circuit case and to minimize the risk of thermal deformation of the lamp body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle headlight that can be restrained to the limit.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by devising a portion around the lighting circuit case mounting portion of the lamp body.

That is, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, the discharge bulb, the lamp body for housing the discharge bulb, the lighting circuit for lighting the discharge bulb, and the lighting circuit are housed. In a vehicle headlamp equipped with a lighting circuit case attached to the outer surface of the lamp body, in a portion around the mounting portion of the lighting circuit case in the lamp body,
It is characterized in that a reinforcing uneven portion is formed.

The "lamp body" is not limited to a specific member as long as it is a constituent member of the headlamp and houses the discharge bulb. For example, in a headlamp provided with a reflecting mirror movable type aiming mechanism (an aiming mechanism that tilts a reflecting mirror housed in a space formed by a lens and a body in a lamp in which a lens is attached to a body). A reflector such as a body or a head-mounted reflecting mirror having a movable unit aiming mechanism (an aiming mechanism that tilts the reflecting mirror as a unit together with the lens in a lamp in which the lens is attached to the reflecting mirror) is used as a lamp body. Can be adopted.

The above-mentioned "lighting circuit" is not particularly limited in its specific constitution as long as it is a circuit for "lighting up the discharge bulb", and is a circuit having both a starting circuit and a stabilizing circuit. Alternatively, the circuit may include only one of the starting circuit and the stabilizing circuit.

The above-mentioned "reinforcing concave-convex portion" should be formed in a concave-convex shape at least on the outer surface side of the lamp body, and can reinforce "a peripheral portion of the lighting circuit case mounting portion of the lamp body". However, the shape, arrangement, etc. are not particularly limited.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the reinforcing uneven portions are formed in the lighting circuit case around the mounting portion of the lamp body, the rigidity of the mounting portion peripheral area is increased. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lamp body from being largely bent due to the weight of the lighting circuit case. Also, due to the presence of the reinforcing uneven portion,
Since the lighting circuit case and the outer surface of the lighting body do not come into surface contact over a wide range, it is possible to prevent heat generated in the lighting circuit from being trapped between the lighting circuit case and the lighting body.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the lighting circuit case is attached to the outer surface of the lamp body, the bending of the lamp body due to the weight of the lighting circuit case can be minimized and the lamp body is thermally deformed. The risk of can be minimized.

In the present invention, the material of the lamp body is not particularly limited, but in the case of a lamp body made of a material having a relatively low rigidity and being easily thermally deformed, such as a resin molded product, It is particularly effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention.

In the above structure, as described in claim 2, if the reinforcing concave and convex portion is formed by a plurality of ribs formed on the outer surface of the lamp body, the cord connecting the discharge bulb and the lighting circuit is inserted. It is possible to simultaneously form the reinforcing concave-convex portion at the time of forming the opening for allowing the opening in the lamp body.

In this case, if the plurality of ribs are arranged in a lattice pattern as described in claim 3, the reinforcing function can be enhanced by the continuity in strength.

The reinforcing concave-convex portion may be composed of a plurality of ribs formed in different arrangements on the inner surface and the outer surface of the lamp body as described in claim 4. By doing so, a high reinforcing function can be ensured even if the rib shape formed on each of the inner and outer surfaces of the lamp body is set to a simple shape. At this time, if the ribs on the inner surface of the lamp body are set so as to extend in the mold removing direction at the time of molding the lamp body, the molding can be easily performed.

As described above, it is sufficient that the lighting circuit includes at least one of the starting circuit and the stabilizing circuit. However, as described in claim 5, the lighting circuit includes both circuits. In such a case, the weight and the amount of heat generation of the lighting circuit become larger, so that it is particularly effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line -II and a view in the direction of arrow III.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a headlamp 10 according to this embodiment is a combination lamp having a headlamp function and a fog lamp function, and is a space formed by a body 12 and a lens 14. On the mirror 16
Are provided so as to be tiltable in vertical and horizontal directions. The headlamp 10 is a headlamp provided on the right side of the vehicle. The headlamp provided on the left side of the vehicle is symmetrical in structure with respect to the structure of the illustrated headlamp, and has the same left and right light distribution. is there.

The body 12 is an injection-molded product made of resin, and a pair of upper and lower stud bolts 18 and 20 are provided at the outer end in the vehicle width direction, and the body 12 is inward in the vehicle width direction. A bracket 22 having an elongated hole 22a formed at the end is integrally formed with the body 12. Then, with the stud bolts 18 and 20 being inserted into the mounting holes of the vehicle body and the slots 22a being aligned with the mounting holes of the vehicle body, nuts (not shown) are tightened to the stud bolts 18 and 20 and The headlight 10 is mounted on the vehicle body by inserting bolts into the long holes 22a and the mounting holes of the vehicle body and tightening nuts (not shown).

The reflecting mirror 16 has a reflecting portion 16A for a main lamp of a headlamp, a reflecting portion 16B for both a main lamp and a sub lamp of a headlamp, and a reflecting portion 16C for a fog lamp arranged in series in a horizontal direction. It is integrally formed with.
A point P0 shown in FIG. 1 is an aiming fulcrum where the reflecting mirror 16 is supported by the body 12 with a ball joint.
Is a vertical aiming point at which the reflecting mirror 16 is supported by the body 12 via an aiming screw (not shown) so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction. A point P2 indicates that the reflecting mirror 16 is connected to the aiming screw (not shown). The left and right aiming points are supported by the body 12 via the body 12 so as to be tiltable in the left and right directions.

A halogen bulb 24 having a C-8 type single filament is attached to the reflection part 16A on the optical axis Axa, and the reflection part 16B is provided.
Is equipped with a C-8 type discharge bulb (metal halide bulb) 26 on its optical axis Axb.
The reflector 16C includes a halogen bulb 28 having a C-6 type single filament on its optical axis Axc.
Is attached. In addition, in the reflecting portion 16B,
The shade 3 should be located in front of the valve 26.
2 are provided. The halogen bulbs 24 and 2
8 is designed to be directly connected to a power source through a connector (not shown), but the discharge bulb 26 requires a high voltage for its lighting, and therefore, the lighting circuit via the plug 36 and the cord 38. After being connected to the lighting circuit 42 housed in the case 40 once, it is connected to the power supply. An aluminum die-cast plug cover 44 is attached to the plug 36, and the cord 38 has a cord main body covered with a mesh type metal shield cover. The lighting circuit case 40, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3,
Body 1 covered with bracket 46 (protective member)
It is attached to 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the lighting circuit case 40 is attached to the bracket 46 and the bracket 46 is attached to the body 12. Further, FIG. 5 shows the lighting circuit case 40.
It is a perspective view which shows each and bracket 46 individually.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lighting circuit case 4 is provided.
Numeral 0 includes a case main body 48 and a cover 50 made of aluminum die-cast, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The lighting circuit case 40 has a case body 48.
With the lighting circuit 42 housed therein, the case body 48
The inside is filled with an epoxy resin and covered with a cover 50, whereby the lighting circuit 42 is molded and a solid unit is constituted by the lighting circuit 42. The cover 50 has an opening 50a through which the cord 38 is inserted. Around the opening 50a of the cover 50, double opening flange portions 50b and 50c are formed. The cover 50 includes a cap 64 made of aluminum die-cast with the cord 38 inserted therein, and the cap 64 closes the opening 50a. Also,
A cord 54, one end of which is connected to the lighting circuit 42 and the other end of which is connected to a plug 52 for power supply connection, is inserted into the cover 50 through a bushing 56. As shown in FIG. 4, the lighting circuit 42 includes a starting circuit 42A and a stabilizing circuit 42B.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket 46 is a press-formed product of a steel plate having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and includes a bottom surface portion 58 and a pair of standing walls at the front and rear end edges thereof. The parts 60 and 62 are integrally formed.

The bottom surface 58 has a flat surface as a general surface, but a bead 58a, a small hole 58b, and a case mounting portion 58.
c and are formed. The bead 58a is a bead projecting upward, and as shown in FIG. 3, is formed in a pair symmetrically arranged so as to extend toward the pair of upright wall portions 60 and 62. The small holes 58b are formed at five positions in a cross shape including the center position of the bottom surface portion 58. Further, the case mounting portion 58c is
At the four corners of the bead 58a with respect to the general surface of the bottom surface portion 58.
Each of the case mounting portions 58c is formed with a case mounting hole 58d. In addition, short and upward flange portions 58e are formed at the left and right edge portions of the bottom surface portion 58 so as to extend, thereby preventing the rigidity of the bracket 46 from being reduced.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lighting circuit case 4 is provided.
No. 0 is mounted on the four case mounting parts 58c, and at two case mounting parts 58c in the diagonal direction, a steel screw 6 screwed into the case mounting hole 58d.
It is attached to the bracket 46 by 6. In addition,
The case mounting holes 58d to which the screws 66 are not screwed are present in the remaining two case mounting portions 58c.
This is because the lighting circuit case 40 can be commonly used for headlights on the left and right sides of the vehicle. The lighting circuit case 40
The bracket 46, which is electrically connected to the bracket 46 via the screw 66, is grounded to the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the pair of standing wall portions 60, 62 of the bracket 46, beads 60a, 62a extending in the vertical direction so as to project to the inner surface side thereof are respectively arranged at predetermined intervals. One pair is formed. Also, the above 1
A flange portion 60b is provided at the upper end of the pair of standing wall portions 60 and 62,
62b are formed respectively. The flange portion 60b of the standing wall portion 60 is formed so as to be raised one step at two places to form a body mounting seat 60c, and body mounting holes 60d are formed in each of the body mounting seats 60c. Similarly, the flange portion 62b of the standing wall portion 62 is also formed so as to be raised one step at two places to form a body mounting seat 62c, and each of these body mounting seats 62c is also formed with a body mounting hole 62d. ing.

Steel stud bolts 70 projecting downward are provided at four locations on the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12. The bracket 46 is mounted on the body 12 by inserting the stud bolts 70 into the body mounting holes 60d, 60d, 62d, 62d, and then tightening the nuts 72 on the stud bolts 70, respectively. It is supposed to be.

As shown in FIG. 4, an opening slightly larger than the opening 50a formed in the cover 50 of the lighting circuit case 40 is formed in the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12, and the periphery of this opening is formed. Double opening flange 68
b and 68c are formed. These double opening flange portions 68b and 68c are arranged alternately with the double opening flange portions 50b and 50c of the cover 50 when the bracket 46 is attached to the body 12.
At that time, the opening flange portion 68c is brought into contact with the upper surface of the cover 50, and the opening flange portion 68b is brought into contact with the packing 76 arranged between the opening flange portions 50 and 50c, thereby sealing the periphery of the opening 50a. To ensure.

As shown in FIG. 3, a reinforcing rib 68 for increasing the rigidity of the bottom surface portion 68 is provided on the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12 in the vicinity of the mounting portion of the bracket 46.
d is formed.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12 with the bracket 46 not attached.
As shown in the figure, the reinforcing rib 68d is formed in a lattice shape so as to surround the double opening flange portions 68b and 68c and the four stud bolts 70.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 46 is
When this is attached to the body 12, a slight gap is formed between the upper surface of the cover 50 of the lighting circuit case 40 supported by the bracket 46 and the lower surface of the reinforcing rib 68d of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12. As shown in FIG.
Height dimensions of 0 and 62 are set.

As described above in detail, in this embodiment, the lighting circuit case 4 on the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12 is used.
Since the reinforcing rib 68d is formed in the peripheral portion of the mounting portion 0, the rigidity of the peripheral portion of the mounting portion can be increased,
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12 from being largely bent due to the weight of the lighting circuit case 40. In addition, the presence of the reinforcing rib 68d prevents the lighting circuit case 40 and the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12 from making surface contact over a wide range, so that the heat generated in the lighting circuit 42 is generated by the lighting circuit case 40 and the body. It is possible to prevent it from being caught in the space between the bottom surface portion 68 and the bottom portion 68.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the lighting circuit case 40 is attached to the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12, the bending of the bottom surface portion 68 due to the weight of the lighting circuit case 40 is minimized. Can
Moreover, the risk of thermal deformation of the bottom surface portion 68 can be minimized.

Moreover, the reinforcing rib 68d is provided on the body 1
Since it is formed on the outer surface of the second bottom surface portion 68, the reinforcing rib 68d can be simultaneously molded by a slide mold for molding the opening flange portions 68b and 68c. Further, since the reinforcing ribs 68d are formed on the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 so as to be arranged in a lattice pattern, the reinforcing function can be enhanced by the continuity in strength. Further, in the present embodiment, when the bracket 46 is attached to the body 12, the reinforcing rib 6 is
Since a slight gap is formed between the lower surface of 8d and the upper surface of the cover 50 of the lighting circuit case 40,
The risk of thermal deformation of the body 12 can be further reduced.

The body 12 is a resin molded product having a relatively low rigidity and easily deformed by heat, and the lighting circuit 42 is provided with a starting circuit 42A and a stabilizing circuit 42B and has a considerably large weight and a large amount of heat generation. Therefore, it is particularly effective to adopt the configuration of this embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the reinforcing ribs 68 formed in a square lattice pattern on the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12.
The reinforcing rib 68 has been described above.
Instead of d, a reinforcing rib 68d ′ formed in an oblique lattice shape as shown in FIG. 7A, or a reinforcing rib 68d ″ having a circular shape as shown in FIG. 7B is adopted. It is also possible to obtain the same effects as in the above embodiment in these cases.

As shown in FIG. 8, reinforcing ribs 68d1 extending linearly in the left-right direction are formed on the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 68 of the body 12, and the inner surface of the bottom surface portion 68 is linear in the front-rear direction. By forming the reinforcing rib 68d2 extending in the direction of, it is possible to obtain a reinforcing rib having a square lattice shape, which is substantially similar to the reinforcing rib 68d of the above-described embodiment. Thus, by forming the reinforcing ribs 68d1 and 68d2 on the outer surface and the inner surface of the bottom surface portion 68 in a mutually orthogonal arrangement,
Even if each of the reinforcing ribs 68d1 and 68d2 has a simple linear shape, a high reinforcing function can be ensured. Moreover,
Since the reinforcing rib 68d2 on the inner surface side extends in the front-rear direction and coincides with the mold removing direction at the time of molding the body 12, the moldability of the body 12 is not impaired by forming the reinforcing rib 68d2. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 1;

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

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the lighting circuit case and the bracket according to the embodiment as separate products.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a bottom surface portion of the body of the above embodiment in a state where the bracket is not attached.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 6, showing a modified example of a reinforcing rib formed on the bottom surface portion.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing another modification of the reinforcing ribs.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Headlight 12 Body (Lamp) 14 Lens 16 Reflector 26 Discharge Valve 36 Plug 38 Code 40 Lighting Circuit Case 42 Lighting Circuit 42A Starting Circuit 42B Stability Circuit 46 Bracket 48 Case Body 50 Cover 50a Opening 50b, 50c Opening Flange 58 bottom surface part 60, 62, 64 standing wall part 60b, 62b flange part 60c, 62c body mounting seat 60d, 62d body mounting hole 68a bolt insertion hole 68b, 68c opening flange part 68d, 68d ', 68d ", 68d1, 68d2 reinforcing rib 70 Stud bolt 72 Nut 76 Packing

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A discharge bulb, a lamp body that houses the discharge bulb, a lighting circuit that lights the discharge bulb, and a lighting circuit case that houses the lighting circuit and is attached to an outer surface of the lamp body. A vehicle headlamp comprising: a vehicular headlamp, wherein a reinforcing concave-convex portion is formed in a region around a mounting portion of the lighting circuit case in the lamp body. 2. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing concave-convex portion comprises a plurality of ribs formed on an outer surface of the lamp body. 3. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of ribs are arranged in a grid pattern. 4. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing uneven portion is composed of a plurality of ribs formed on the inner surface and the outer surface of the lamp body in mutually different arrangements. 5. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the lighting circuit includes a starting circuit and a stabilizing circuit.