JP3133246B2 - Vehicle headlights - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle headlight,
In particular, it relates to the configuration of the shade.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a headlight for a vehicle is configured such that light from a light source body (filament or the like) of a bulb is controlled by a reflecting mirror and a lens to obtain a required light distribution pattern. In recent years, a headlight configured to obtain a required light distribution pattern by light distribution control only by a reflecting mirror without relying on a lens has been developed.

By the way, when the upper light is irradiated in front of the lamp, glare is given to the oncoming vehicle driver or the pedestrian, so that when the auxiliary light is turned on, a light distribution pattern in which the upper light is suppressed as much as possible can be obtained. Is important. On the other hand, if no upward light is generated, there is a problem that a so-called overhead sign such as a road guide plate or a road sign in the upper front becomes difficult to see when the vehicle is driven by the auxiliary light.

For this reason, conventionally, when a lens step 2s is formed on the lens 2 as shown in FIG. 7A, a part 2sA of the lens step 2s is used for illuminating the overhead sign. And FIG.
As shown in (b), when the lens 2 is transparent and the light distribution control step 4s is formed in the reflecting mirror 4, a part 4sA of the light distribution control step 4s is used for overhead sign irradiation. Thus, a device for generating a required upper light is devised.

[0005]

However, the headlight having the above-mentioned conventional overhead sign irradiation structure has the following problems.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, when a part 2sA of the lens step 2s is used for irradiating an overhead sign, the part 2sA of the part 2sA is formed in forming an original light distribution pattern. The transmitted light is lost, and it is not easy to harmonize the design of the part 2sA with the other part of the lens step 2s, which causes the appearance of the lamp to deteriorate.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), even when a part 4sA of the light distribution control step 4s is used for irradiating an overhead sign, the above-described method is required for forming an original light distribution pattern. The reflected light from the portion 4sA is lost, and the portion 4sA and the light distribution control step 4s
It is not easy to harmonize with other parts of the design,
Since the lens is transparent, the appearance of the lamp may be reduced. In particular, when the light distribution control step 4s is formed without a step to improve the appearance, the provision of the portion 4sA allows the step to be formed. This is not preferred.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a required overhead sign irradiation without reducing the amount of light for forming a light distribution pattern and without impairing the appearance of a lamp. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular headlamp capable of performing the operation.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention focuses on the fact that many headlamps are provided with a shade for cutting harmful light generated when forming a sub-light distribution pattern. The above object is achieved by obtaining overhead sign irradiation light using the internal reflection of the shade.

That is, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, a bulb having a light source body, a reflecting mirror for reflecting light from the light source body forward, and a lens disposed in front of the reflecting mirror And a shade surrounding the bulb, wherein the reflectance of a predetermined area on the inner surface of the shade is set higher than the reflectance of an area other than the predetermined area on the inner surface of the shade. It is a feature.

The "predetermined region" is not particularly limited in its position, size, etc., as long as it can obtain overhead sign irradiation light by reflected light from the predetermined region.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reflectance of a predetermined area on the inner surface of a shade provided to surround a bulb is set higher than the reflectance of other areas. Therefore, the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, the light from the light source body reflected in the predetermined region having a relatively high reflectance is reflected by the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror and transmitted through the lens, so that the reflecting mirror and the lens are not modified. In addition, it is possible to obtain light necessary for overhead sign irradiation. On the other hand, the areas other than the predetermined area are set to have relatively low reflectance,
The adverse effect on the light distribution pattern formation due to the light reflected from the region can be minimized.

Therefore, according to the present invention, required overhead sign irradiation can be performed without reducing the amount of light for forming the light distribution pattern and without impairing the appearance of the lamp.

In the above configuration, the specific configuration for setting the reflectance of the predetermined area higher than the reflectance of the other areas is not particularly limited.
As described in claim 2, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the reflection processing is performed on the predetermined area and the non-reflection processing is performed on other areas. The reflectance of the other area can be set extremely low while the reflectance of the other area can be set extremely low, so that the overhead sign irradiation light is secured by the internal reflection of the shade and the adverse effect on the light distribution pattern formation due to the internal reflection of the shade is prevented. It is easy to achieve both.

The type of headlamp to which the present invention is applied is not particularly limited. However, as described in claim 3, a light distribution control step is formed on the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror. In the case of a headlight in which a lens step is not formed on the lens, the reflection surface of the reflector inside the lamp can be clearly seen through the lens. When used, this portion has a surface shape significantly different from other portions of the light distribution control step, and causes a reduction in the appearance of the lamp, but
The adoption of the configuration of the present invention is effective because there is no fear of such a deterioration in appearance. In particular, when the reflecting surface has no step between the light distribution control steps as described in claim 4, only the step for illuminating the overhead sign of the light distribution control step is performed. This is particularly effective because a step is formed and stands out.

In the present invention, the shape of the shade is not particularly limited. However, as described in claim 5, the shade has a shape such that direct light from the light source is incident only on the reflection surface. If you set the shade shape,
It is particularly effective to adopt the configuration of the present invention. That is, when the shade shape is set in this way,
While it is possible to reliably prevent glare by completely cutting off stray light that is not necessary for forming a light distribution pattern, it is also impossible to obtain overhead sign irradiation light, so the irradiation direction was confirmed as in the present invention. By performing the overhead sign irradiation using the reflected light on the inner surface of the shade, it is possible to secure the overhead sign irradiation light while controlling the generation of stray light.

As described above, the formation position of the predetermined area is not particularly limited. However, when a light distribution pattern is formed while cutting stray light, the upper part on the opposite lane side becomes particularly dark. Therefore, it is effective to set the reflected light in the predetermined area at a position where the reflected light can be emitted upward in the opposite lane side via the reflecting surface and the lens.

Further, the above-mentioned shade usually has a shade main body and a leg for supporting the shade body on a reflecting mirror. By setting the predetermined area in the vicinity of the leg of the shade main body, it becomes easy to set the predetermined area to have a relatively higher reflectance than other areas.

[0020]

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

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

This headlamp 10 is a so-called two-lamp headlamp (corresponding to a four-lamp headlamp in a four-wheeled vehicle) mounted on a two-wheeled vehicle, and is formed by a lens 12 and a body 14. A reflector unit for the main lamp and a reflector unit for the sub lamp are arranged in the lamp room to be able to aim. The illustrated reflector unit 16 is a reflector unit for a sub lamp. The reflecting mirror unit 16 includes a bulb 18, a reflecting mirror 20, and a shade 22.

The reflecting mirror unit 1 in the lens 12
The front part 6 is formed as a transparent lens having no light distribution control function. This lens 12 has its effective part 1
2a is formed stepwise so as to be flush with the vehicle body side cowl 102, and is in contact with the vehicle body side cowl 102 via the end cover 24 above and below the effective portion 12a. An inner cover 26 is provided on the inner surface side of the lens 12 so as to prevent a portion other than the reflection surface 20a of the reflection mirror 20 from being seen inside the lamp. The lens 12 and the inner cover 26 are attached to the body 14 via a sealant 28. This body 1
4, a socket cover 30 is mounted on the rear end opening.

The valve 18 is an H7 valve having a so-called C-8 type single filament 18a. An adapter 32 is mounted on the valve 18, and the adapter 32 has the socket cover 3.
0 is attached.

The reflection mirror 20 is a reflection mirror made of FRP, and its reflection surface 20a has a light distribution control step 20s in the form of a vertical stripe that is partially curved as shown in FIG.
(For right light distribution) is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, these light distribution control steps 20s are formed in a cross-sectional waveform having no step. The reflecting mirror 20 extends from the filament 18 a (light source) of the bulb 18 to the reflecting surface 2.
Light distribution control is performed on the light incident on Oa in the light distribution control step 20s to form a light distribution pattern P of right light distribution as shown by a solid line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 20c is formed near the rear apex of the reflection surface 20a so that a pair of shade attachment portions 20b and a spring fixing portion for fixing a valve can be formed. .

The shade 22 includes a shade body 22a.
And a pair of legs 22b. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the pair of claws 22c of each leg 22b are mounted and fixed to the reflecting mirror 20 such that the claws 22c abut on the shade mounting portion 20b. ing. The shade main body 22a is formed in an umbrella shape so as to surround the valve 18, and the rear end face 22 is formed.
d is set to have a shape such that the direct light from the filament 18a is incident only on the reflection surface 22a. Thereby, harmful stray light generated at the time of forming the light distribution pattern, such as direct light toward the front of the lamp, reflected light from the upper and lower inner wall surfaces of the reflecting mirror 20, reflected light from the inner cover 26, and the like, is reliably cut. Has become.

The shade 22 is entirely chrome-plated in order to improve the appearance of the lamp.
However, the area A on the inner surface of the shade main body 22a (the area shown by the hatched lines in FIGS. 1 and 4) is subjected to a heat-resistant black coating treatment from above the chromium plating treatment layer. As is clear from FIG. 4, the shade main body 22a
The area B other than the area A (that is, the area not subjected to the black coating process) B on the inner surface is set in the vicinity of the rear end face 22c of the shade main body 22a and in the vicinity of the pair of legs 22b. The chromium plating layer is formed so as to remain in a substantially rectangular shape. Thereby, the area A
Constitutes a non-reflection processing area, and area B constitutes a reflection processing area. Then, of the light incident on the inner surface of the shade main body 22a from the filament 18a, the light incident on the area A is almost absorbed and no reflected light is generated, while the light incident on the area B is reflected with a certain reflectance. As a result, the light enters the reflecting surface 20a of the reflecting mirror 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the light reflected on the area B and incident on the reflection surface 20a becomes slightly upward light, passes through the lens 12, and is emitted to the front of the lamp. The light emitted in this manner is, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, slightly above the HH line (horizontal line passing through the lamp central axis Ax), the VV line (the lamp central axis Ax).
Relatively weak overhead sign irradiating light (50 to 400 cd) that spreads slightly to the opposite lane side across a vertical line passing through
Pohs). Then, the overhead sign OHS installed above the front of the vehicle on the vehicle traveling path is irradiated with the overhead sign irradiation light Pohs. In FIG. 5, L1 is a road center line, and L2 and L3 are road side edge lines of the own lane and the oncoming lane.

As described in detail above, in the present embodiment, the reflection processing by chrome plating is performed on the region B of the inner surface of the shade main body 22a of the shade 22 provided so as to surround the valve 18, and Since the non-reflection treatment using black paint is applied to A, the following operation and effect can be obtained.

That is, the light from the filament 18a reflected in the region B having a high reflectance is reflected by the reflecting surface 2 of the reflecting mirror 20.
Since the light is reflected at Oa and transmitted through the lens 22 and radiated upward in front of the lamp, it is possible to obtain light necessary for illuminating the overhead sign without touching the reflecting mirror 20 and the lens 22 at all. On the other hand, since the reflected light from the region A is hardly generated, the adverse effect on the light distribution pattern can be prevented.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, required overhead sign irradiation can be performed without reducing the amount of light for forming the light distribution pattern and without impairing the appearance of the lamp.

In particular, the reflecting mirror 20 in the present embodiment
Since the reflecting surface 20a does not have a step between the light distribution control steps 20s, if a part of the light distribution control step 20s is used for illuminating the overhead sign, the step is performed only on that part. Since the step is formed, the step is very conspicuous through the transparent lens 12. However, in the present embodiment, there is no possibility that such a deterioration in appearance may occur.

In the headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment, the shape of the shade book 22a of the shade 22 is set such that the direct light from the filament 18a is incident only on the reflection surface 20a. Since there is almost no possibility that a part of the stray light happens to become the overhead sign irradiation light, the configuration of the present embodiment in which the overhead sign irradiation is performed using the shade internal reflection light whose directionality has been confirmed is particularly effective. is there.

In the present embodiment, the area B is set in the vicinity of the leg 22b of the shade main body 22a.
Since the chrome-plated portion that is continuous with the leg portion 22b is formed, masking or the like can be easily performed when performing the black coating process on the region A.

In the above embodiment, the filament 18a is used as a light source, but other light sources (for example, a discharge light emitting portion of a metal halide lamp).
Can of course be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the description has been given of the two-lamp type headlamp for a two-wheeled vehicle. However, the same configuration can be adopted for a one-lamp type headlamp. The same configuration can be adopted for the headlamp, and in these cases, the same operation and effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the headlight for right light distribution has been described. However, the same configuration can be adopted for the headlight for left light distribution. In this case,
The light distribution pattern P of the left light distribution and the overhead sign irradiation light Pohs as shown in FIG. 6 are obtained, and the same operation and effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 shows the reflector unit of the headlight, II in FIG.
Direction arrow view

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

4 shows the shade of the headlight as a single item, FIG.
(a) and IVb (b)

FIG. 5 is a light distribution pattern showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a light distribution pattern showing an operation of a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Headlight for vehicles 12 Lens 12a Effective part 14 Body 16 Reflector unit 18 Valve 20 Reflector 20a Reflection surface 20b Shade attachment part 20c Hole 20s Light distribution control step 22 Shade 22a Shade main body 22b Leg 22c Claw 22d Rear end face 26 Inner cover Ax Lamp central axis A Non-reflection processing area B Reflection processing area (predetermined area) L1 Road center line L2 Road side edge line of own lane L3 Road side edge line of oncoming lane OHS overhead sign P Light distribution pattern Pohs overhead sign Irradiation light

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle comprising: a bulb having a light source body; a reflecting mirror for reflecting light from the light source body forward; a lens disposed in front of the reflecting mirror; and a shade surrounding the bulb. A headlamp for a vehicle, wherein the reflectance of a predetermined area of the inner surface of the shade is set higher than the reflectance of an area other than the predetermined area. 2. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area has been subjected to a reflection processing and an area other than the predetermined area has been subjected to a non-reflection processing. 3. The headlight for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a light distribution control step is formed on the reflection surface, and no lens step is formed on the lens. 4. The vehicle headlight according to claim 3, wherein the reflection surface does not have a step between the light distribution control steps. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the shade is set to allow direct light from the light source to enter only the reflecting surface. Headlights. 6. The predetermined area is set at a position where the light from the light source body that has been reflected by the predetermined area and then reflected by the reflecting surface and transmitted through the lens can be irradiated upward in the opposite lane. The vehicle headlight according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: 7. The shade has a shade main body and a leg for supporting the shade main body on a reflector, and the predetermined region is set in a region near the leg of the shade main body. The vehicle headlight according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: