JPH01283702A - Inclinating device of front lamp for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an inclinating device in a thin form by installing a motor, a warm gear, a warm wheel, and a detection means in a case to hold a driving shaft, and arranging the detection means coaxial to the warm wheel while arranging the warm wheel in parallel to the driving shaft. CONSTITUTION:The device has a case 26 fixed to a holding member 7, a driving shaft 40 held movable longitudinally in the case 26, and a regulation rod 46 which is held by the driving shaft 40 and the front end is linked to an inclinating member 2. In the case 26, a warm gear 61 rotated by a motor 54, a warm wheel 69 which is geared with the warm gear 61 and moves the driving shaft 40 by its rotation, and a detection means 73 to detect the position of the regulation rod 46, are installed. Since the warm wheel 69 and the detection means 73 are arranged in parallel to the driving shaft 40 on condition that both members are coaxial each other, the size of the case in the direction along the axis of the driving shaft 40 can be reduced up to the total length in the axial direction of the warm wheel 69 and the detection means 73. As a result, the inclinating device can be composed fairly thin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention will be explained in the following order.

A. Industrial field of application B Summary of the invention C1 Prior art [Figure 12] a. General background An example of a conventional tilting device 0 Problems to be solved by the invention [Figure 12] E0 Solved the problem Means F, Embodiment [Figs. 1 to 11] F-1, First embodiment [Figs. 1 to 8] a, Headlamp unit, lamp housing [Figs. 1 to 11] [Figure 5] b1 Rotating fulcrum mechanism [Figure 4] C. Aiming adjustment mechanism [Figure 5] d. Tilting device [Figures 1 to 4, Figures 6 to 8] d-1. Leveling drive Mechanism [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 6 to Fig. 8 d-1-a, casing [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 6, Fig. 7] d-1-b, drive shaft, drive gear [Fig. 1, Fig. 7, Fig. 8] d-1-c, adjustment lot [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 7, Fig. 8] [Fig. 8] d-1-d, Motor, worm gear, worm wheel [Fig. 1, Fig. 7, Fig. 8] d-1-e, Sensor [Structure] [Fig. 1, Fig. 8] d-1 -f, Sensor drive means [Figures 1, 7, and 8 d-1-g, Sensor [function] d-1-h, Installation to lamp housing, connection between adjustment rod and headlight unit Connection [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4] d-2, Aiming operation section [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 8] d-2-a, Aiming operation axis d- 2-b, Connecting body d-3, Operation d-3-a, Aiming adjustment in the vertical direction d-3-b, Leveling F-2, Second embodiment [Figure 9] F-3, Application example [FIGS. 10 and 11] Effects of the G9 Invention (A. Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a novel tilting device for a vehicle headlamp. Specifically, a tilting member that is tilted when adjusting the irradiation direction is tiltably supported by a support member, and an adjustment rod connected to the tilting member, a drive shaft supporting the adjustment rod, and the drive shaft are moved. This invention relates to a tilting device for a vehicle headlamp, which is equipped with a worm wheel for detecting the position of the adjustment rod, and a detection means for detecting the position of the adjustment rod, and the arrangement relationship between the drive shaft, the worm wheel, and the detection means is devised. By doing so, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel vehicle headlamp tilting device that can be made thinner.

(B. Summary of the Invention) The tilting device for a vehicle headlamp of the present invention is such that a tilting member that is tilted when adjusting the irradiation direction is tiltably supported on a support member, and an adjustment rod connected to the tilting member. A tilting device for a vehicle headlamp, comprising: a drive shaft supporting the adjustment rod; a worm wheel for moving the drive shaft; and a detection means for detecting the position of the adjustment rod. The worm wheel is arranged in parallel with the drive shaft and the detection means is arranged coaxially with the worm wheel, thereby
The drive shaft, worm wheel, detection means, etc. can be housed in a case in a compact state, and this type of tilting device can be constructed in a thin shape.

(C, Prior Art) [Figure 12] (a, General Background) For example, some automobile headlight devices require initial aiming adjustment, that is, after being installed on the vehicle body and before use or during inspection. In addition to the adjustment of the irradiation direction, there is also a so-called leveling adjustment, that is, the adjustment of the irradiation direction to correct the irradiation direction that has been distorted due to changes in the load applied to the car body. In such a headlamp device, there is generally a member (hereinafter referred to as a "tilting member") that changes the irradiation direction of the headlamp device by changing its orientation with respect to the vehicle body, such as a headlamp unit or a reflector. )
is supported on the lamp housing or lamp body through one pivot point and two adjustment points so as to be tiltable in the horizontal and vertical directions, and adjustment is made in the vertical direction of the two adjustment points mentioned above. The adjustment point is constituted by a tilting device comprising an aiming adjustment means for performing initial aiming adjustment and a leveling adjustment means for performing leveling adjustment. Note that the term "headlamp unit" as used herein refers to one in which a light source is disposed within a lighting space defined by a lamp body and a lens attached to cover the front opening of the lamp body.

There are various types of such tilting devices, but basically they consist of an adjustment rod whose front end is connected to a tilting member, a means for moving the adjustment rod, and a position of the adjustment rod. It consists of detection means etc. for detection.

(b. An example of a conventional tilting device) FIG. 12 shows a tilting device for a vehicle headlamp described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-64548.

A is a headlamp unit that is supported by a lamp housing (not shown) so as to be tiltable in the horizontal and vertical directions, and b is a tilting device. C is a main casing fixed to the lamp housing, d is a substantially cylindrical drive shaft supported by the main casing C so as to be movable in the front and back direction but not rotatable, and e is a drive shaft whose intermediate portion is formed on the drive shaft d. An adjusting rod whose front end is connected to the lower end of the headlamp unit a in a ball joint shape and whose rear end protrudes rearward from the main casing C; a worm wheel h supported and externally screwed onto the drive shaft d;
is a worm gear rotated by motor i and meshed with the worm wheel g.

Therefore, when the adjustment rod e is rotated by grasping its rear end, the adjustment rod e is screwed into or unscrewed from the drive shaft d and rotates forward and backward, so that the headlight unit a moves downward on the road. It is tilted to change its irradiation direction. This is aiming adjustment. Furthermore, when the motor i is rotated by remote control from the driver's seat, the worm wheel g rotates and moves the drive shaft d forward and backward together with the adjustment rod e. -a is tilted downward on the road to change its irradiation direction. This is leveling adjustment.

j is a sub-casing fixed to the lower part of the main casing C, and the sub-casing j has a contact holding plate holding a large number of fixed contacts (not shown) and a movable plate (not shown) facing the contact holding plate k from the front. A sensor n consisting of a rotary plate C supporting a contact point and an intermediate gear m meshing with gear teeth formed on the circumferential surface of the rotary plate is housed, and the intermediate gear m is integrally attached to the worm wheel g. The formed gear 0 and 0 are matched. When the worm wheel g rotates, the adjustment rod e is rotated and the intermediate gear m rotates to rotate the rotary plate 1, thereby detecting the position of the adjustment lot e or the shift position. Incidentally, the amount of movement of the adjustment rod e is controlled by a signal from the sensor n which operates as described above.

(D, Problem I that the invention seeks to solve) [Figure 12] The above-mentioned tilting device has the following problems.

That is, since the sensor n is housed in a sub-casing j separate from the main casing C and is attached to the main casing C, there is a problem that the number of parts increases.
Also, sensor n is Kaku! Since it is arranged in parallel with j@d and the adjustment rod e and diagonally rearward below the worm wheel g, the dimensions in the front-rear and vertical directions become large, and the overall shape of the device becomes very large. There's a problem.

Therefore, in order to reduce the protrusion in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the drive shaft d, it is possible to arrange the sensor n coaxially with the drive shaft d, but if this is done, the size of the firewood in the rear direction will increase. A problem arises in that the overall shape becomes thick.

(E. Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp of the present invention has a motor, a worm gear, and a worm wheel in a case that supports a drive shaft. The worm wheel is arranged in parallel with the drive shaft, and the detection means is arranged coaxially with the worm wheel.

Therefore, according to the vehicle headlamp tilting device of the present invention, the worm wheel and the detection means are arranged coaxially with each other and in parallel with the drive shaft, so that the dimension of the case in the direction along the axis of the drive shaft is It can be shortened to approximately the same length as the total length of the wheel and the detection means in the axial direction,
This allows a tilting device of this type to be constructed fairly thinly.

(F. Embodiment) [FIGS. 1 to 11] Details of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention will be described below according to the illustrated embodiment.

(F-1, First Example) [Figures 1 to 8] Figures 1 to 8 show the first performance and example of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp of the present invention. . The headlight device 1 shown in this embodiment is a so-called unit movable type headlight device.
That is, a headlight unit consisting of a light bulb arranged in a light space defined by a lamp body having a reflective mirror surface and a lens covering the front opening of the lamp body is used as a tilting member, and this headlight unit is tilted toward the vehicle body. This is a type of headlight device that changes the irradiation direction by tilting.

(a, headlamp unit, lamp housing) [Figs. 1 to 5] 2 is a headlamp unit, which is connected to a lamp body 3 formed in a concave shape that opens approximately forward. It consists of a lens 4 attached to a lamp body 3 so as to cover its front opening, and a light bulb 5 supported by the lamp body 3.

The lamp body 3 has a reflective surface 3a facing forward, the light bulb 5 is supported in a light bulb mounting hole 3b formed at the top of the reflective surface 3a, and the light emitting part of the light bulb 5 is connected to the lamp body 3. It is located within a lamp space 6 defined by a lens 4.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a lamp housing made of synthetic resin, which has a substantially concave shape with an opening toward the front, and is fixed to the vehicle body 8 so as to be located on the rear side of the headlight arrangement opening of the vehicle body 8.

Point A, point B, and point 0 (see Figure 2) are headlight unit 2.
is the point supported by the lamp housing 7, point A is the rotation fulcrum, and point B and A are spaced laterally from point A.
The zero point spaced downward from the point is an adjustment part that can adjust the distance between the headlight unit 2 and the lamp housing 7, and the headlight unit 2 is adjusted by these adjustment parts. As a result, it can be tilted in the left-right direction (the direction toward the left in FIG. 2 is defined as the left side, and the direction toward the right is defined as the right side) and in the vertical direction.

Reference numeral 9 denotes an operating shaft arranging portion formed to protrude rearward from a position corresponding to the adjustment portion C point on the lower end portion of the rear wall 10 of the lamp housing 7. This operating shaft arranging portion 9 will be described later. This part is provided with an aiming operation shaft of a tilting device, and has a substantially cylindrical shape with a closed rear end, and a circular support hole 11a is formed in the rear end wall 11. An annular protrusion 11b is formed to surround the support hole 11a.

(b Rotation fulcrum mechanism) [Fig. 4] Reference numeral 12 denotes a rotation fulcrum mechanism constituting the above-mentioned rotation fulcrum portion.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a supported part that protrudes rearward from the rear surface of the lamp body 3, and a metal support shaft 1 is attached to the rear end of the supported part 13.
4 is fixed, and a spherical portion 14a is integrally formed at the lower end of the support shaft 14.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a synthetic resin receiver that is attached to protrude forward from the upper part of the rear wall 1o of the lamp housing 7, and has an open spherical recess 15a formed in its upper surface. The spherical portion 14a of the support shaft 14 is attached to 15a.
is rotatably fitted inside.

Therefore, the headlamp unit 2 has the ball portion 14a of the support shaft 14.
is supported by the receiver 15 (this point is the above-mentioned point A).

) is supported by the lamp housing 7 so as to be tiltable about the center of rotation.

(c. Aiming Adjustment Mechanism) [Fig. 5] Reference numeral 16 indicates an aiming adjustment mechanism that constitutes the adjustment section for the point B.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a substantially cylindrical protrusion that protrudes rearward from the rear surface of the lamp body 3, and a synthetic resin receiver 18 is supported at its rear end. A spherical recess 18a that opens toward the spherical recess 18a and a groove-shaped hole 18b that continuously extends forward are formed at the front end of the spherical recess 18a.

19 is a gear unit, which is connected to the rear wall 1 of the lamp housing 7.
Gear case 20 fixed to the front of 0 and the gear case 2
It consists of a first bevel gear 21 that is rotatably provided in the interior of the vehicle with its axial direction extending along the vertical direction, a second bevel gear 22 that meshes with the first bevel gear 21, and an aiming adjustment shaft 23, and the above-mentioned A screw hole 22a is formed in the boss formed at the center of the second bevel gear 22 and penetrates in the front-rear direction, and the upper end of the operating rod 21a fixed to the first bevel gear 21 projects outside the gear case 20. .

Most of the aiming adjustment shaft 23 has a spiral shape, and has a ball portion 23a and a plate-shaped protrusion 23b protruding forward from the ball portion 23a integrally formed at its front end. is screwed into the screw hole 22a of the second bevel gear 22, and the spherical portion 23a is rotatably fitted into the spherical recess 18a of the receiver 18 (this point is the point B), and The protrusion 23b is slidably engaged with the hole 18b of the receiver 18. Therefore, the aiming adjustment shaft 23 is connected to the receiver 18 in a non-rotatable manner.

Therefore, when the first bevel gear 21 is rotated by the I-kusaku rod 21a, the second bevel gear 22 is rotated, and the aiming adjustment shaft 23, which is screwed to the second bevel gear 22, is sent in the axial direction. , the receiver 18 is moved substantially in the front-back direction, whereby the headlamp unit 2 is tilted substantially in the left-right direction with the straight line connecting the point A and the point 0 as the rotation center axis, and the irradiation direction is shifted in the left-right direction. It will be changed. That is, aiming adjustment is made in the left and right directions.

(d, tilting device) [Figures 1 to 4, Figures 6 to 8
Figure 24 shows a tilting device constituting the adjustment section of the support point C, which is connected to a leveling drive mechanism having an adjustment rod whose front end is connected to the headlamp unit 2. Initial aiming adjustment and leveling adjustment in the vertical direction of the illumination direction of the headlamp unit 2 are performed by this tilting device 24.

(d-1, Leveling Drive Mechanism) [Figures 1, 3, 4, 6 to 8] 25 is a leveling drive mechanism.

(d-1-a, casing) [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 6, Fig. 7] 26 is the casing of the leveling drive mechanism 24, and the front part can be divided into approximately two parts. The half 27 and the rear half 28 are integrally connected.

The front half 27 and the rear half 28 have a longitudinally symmetrical shape for most of them, and the outer shape of the upper half 27 and the rear half 28 when viewed from the front and rear directions is a two-thirds portion 29, 29' (hereinafter referred to as "upper part"). ) is a vertically long rectangle, and the remaining part 30.30' (hereinafter referred to as the "lower part") is approximately semicircular.
The interior of 0.30' is 3 times the interior depth of the top 29.29'.
The depth is about 1/4 to 1/4. Holes 31 are provided at three corners of the upper part 29, 29' except for the upper right end.
．． 31.31 and 31', 31', 31' are formed,
A protrusion 32.32' is formed on the upper end surface at a position substantially corresponding to a corner other than the above three corner parts, and the protrusion 32.32'
Holes 32a and 32'a are formed in '.

Further, a lower approximately central portion 33 of the front wall 33 of the front half 27
a is a circular support hole 34 that is thick and protrudes from both front and back sides and passes through this thick portion 33a in the front and back direction.
is formed, and engagement grooves 34a, 34a extending along the axial direction of the support hole 34 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the support hole 34.

Furthermore, a circular recess 36 is formed approximately at the center of the inner surface of the lower part of the rear wall 35 of the rear half 28 by slightly projecting this portion rearward, and a circular recess 36 is formed at the center of the back wall of the recess 36. A rod insertion hole 37 is formed.

The opening surfaces of these two halves 27 and 28 are abutted against each other, and two of the three holes 31, 31, 31 and 31', 31', 31' except the lower left one are opened. A nut 39.39 is screwed onto the tip of a screw 38.38 inserted into the casing 26, thereby forming a casing 26 having a relatively thin space inside. Note that when these two halves 27 and 28 are combined, the support hole 34 of the front half 27 and the rod insertion hole 37 of the rear half 28 are positioned coaxially.

(d-1-b, drive shaft, drive gear) [Fig. 1, Fig. 7,
FIG. 8 ] 40 is a drive shaft. The drive shaft 40 has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and a substantially middle portion 41 thereof has a slightly larger diameter than the remaining portion, and portions located on opposite sides of the center portion 41 sandwich the axis. Engagement protrusions 41a, 41a are provided protruding from the middle portion 41, and a portion 42 rearward from the intermediate portion 41 is a helical shaft portion.

43 is a drive gear rotated by a worm wheel, which will be described later, and includes a substantially cylindrical boss portion 4.4 and the boss 44.
A screw hole 44a is formed in the center of the boss part 44, and a screw hole 44a is formed in the center of the boss part 44, and a screw hole 44a is formed in the center of the boss part 44. A recess 45a having a small diameter and a depth approximately half the thickness of the gear portion 45 is formed.

The drive gear 43 has a boss portion 44 rotatably fitted into the recess 36 formed in the rear wall 35 of the rear half 28, and a recess 45a formed in the gear portion 45. It is rotatably fitted onto the rear end portion of the thick portion 33a formed in the lower portion 30 of the front half 27,
As a result, it is rotatably disposed at the rear side of the lower end inside the casing 26.

Further, the drive shaft 40 has an intermediate portion 41 slidably inserted into a support hole 34 formed in the thick wall portion 33a of the front half 27, and a screw shaft portion 42 of the drive shaft 40 that is inserted into the boss portion 44 of the drive gear 43.
The engaging protrusion 41a is screwed into the screw hole 44a of the
41a is slidably engaged with the engagement grooves 34a, 34a of the support hole 34, whereby the casing 26
It is placed in a non-rotatable manner at the lower end of the interior.

(d-1-c, adjustment rod) [Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 7, Fig. 8] 46 is a substantially cylindrical adjustment rod; is formed in the helical shaft portion 47, and a quarter portion 48 of the rear end side passage (hereinafter referred to as the “connecting portion”) is formed to have an oval shape in cross section, and an intermediate portion 49 and A wrist flange flange 50 is formed at the boundary with the connecting portion 48, and
An annular groove 51 is formed at the boundary between the intermediate portion 49 and the helical shaft portion 47 .

The intermediate portion 49 of the adjustment rod 46 is rotatably inserted into a support hole 52 formed through the center of the drive shaft 40, and the stopper flange 50 is brought into contact with the rear end of the drive shaft 40. When they come into contact with each other, a retaining ring 53 is engaged with the groove 51 located immediately in front of the hole 52, whereby the retaining ring 53 is supported by the drive shaft 40 so as to be rotatable and immovable in the axial direction.

(d-1-d, motor, worm gear, worm wheel) [Fig. 1, Fig. 7, Fig. 8] 54 is a motor, which has a case 55 that is approximately oval in shape when viewed from the axial direction. A motor support piece 56. is disposed at the upper end inside the casing 26 with the axial direction of the case 55 extending in the left-right direction, and protrusions 55a, 55a provided on both end surfaces of the case 55 project from the rear half 28. 56 and the front wall of the front half 27, the position relative to the casing 26 is fixed, and the pinion gear 5 is attached to the rotating shaft 57.
8 is fixed. Note that the tip of the rotating shaft 57 has a semicircular notch 59. formed in the abutting end surfaces of the halves 27.28.
59 (Only the rear half 24 is shown in Figure 6.)
Supported by

A worm gear 61 and a flat gear-shaped reduction gear 62 whose center is located near one end of the worm gear 61 are integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the worm gear 61 and the reduction gear 62 are integrally formed with a synthetic resin and rotated in parallel to the motor 54. Cylindrical bosses 63.63, which are arranged directly below the motor 54 and protrude from both ends of the worm gear 61, are formed on the abutting surfaces of the worm support piece 64 protruding from the rear half 28 and the half 27.28. The transmission gears 62 are individually rotatably supported in semicircular notches 65 and 65, and are meshed with the pinion gears 58 of the gears 54.

Reference numeral 66 denotes a support shaft for supporting a worm wheel, a sensor, etc., which will be described later, and has approximately the same length as the distance between the front wall 33 and rear wall 35 of the casing 26, and has a support shaft slightly closer to the rear from the center. The portion 66a has a cylindrical shape, and the remaining portion is formed to have a substantially oval shape when viewed from the axial direction, and both front and rear ends thereof are located approximately at the center of the inner surfaces of the front wall 33 and rear wall 35. It is rotatably supported in the formed bearing recesses 67, 67'. Therefore, this support shaft 66 is arranged parallel to the drive shaft 40 and the adjustment rod 46.

68 is a rotating body including a worm wheel 69 and a transmission gear 7 that is coaxial with the worm wheel 69 and has a smaller diameter.
A circular recess 71 having a slightly smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the worm wheel 69 is formed on the front surface of the worm wheel 69, and a support hole 72 is formed in the center. In such a rotary body 68, the cylindrical portion 66a of the support shaft 66 is rotatably inserted into the support hole 72, the worm wheel 69 is engaged with the worm gear 61 of the worm body 60, and the transmission gear 70 is connected to the drive gear 43.
It is meshed with the gear portion 45 of. Therefore, the worm wheel 69 is connected to the drive shaft 40, the adjustment rod 46 and the drive gear 4.
3 is placed in parallel.

When the motor 54 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the drive gear 43 through the path of pinion gear 58 - worm body 60 - worm wheel 69.
3 is rotated, and the drive shaft 40 is moved in the axial direction together with the adjustment rod 46.

(d-1-a, Sensor [Structure]) [Fig. 1, Fig. 8] 73 is a sensor for detecting the position of the adjustment rod 46 that is moved as described above, and is connected to the circuit board and the contact holding plate. It consists of a sensor gear, etc.

74 is a circuit board, which has a circular attachment hole 7 approximately in the center thereof.
5 is formed, two positioning holes 76, 76 are formed, and a large number of terminals 77, 77, . ing.

Reference numeral 78 denotes a contact holding plate having a substantially thick disk shape, and has a circular support hole 79 formed in the center, and a large number of contact holding holes 80 and 80 arranged in an annular position surrounding the support hole 79. ,
... is formed, and there is also a positioning protrusion 8 on the front! , 8
Engineering is being formed.

Reference numeral 82 denotes a rotor, in which a disk portion 83 having a thick center portion and a cylindrical boss portion 85 protruding from a center portion 84 of the disk portion 83 are integrally formed. A hole 86 is formed through the center hole 86, and the center hole 86 has a portion 86a corresponding to the disk portion 83 having a substantially oval cross-sectional shape, and the remaining portion having a circular shape. In addition, one-third of the side channel at the tip end of the boss portion 85 is divided into approximately four equal parts in the direction around the axis by providing a cut groove extending along the axial direction, and has elasticity that has bending elasticity in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. An engagement groove 8 is formed in the pieces 87, 87, .
8.88, . . . are formed.

89 is a substantially ring-shaped conductor support plate, and two substantially semicircular arc-shaped conductors 90 and 90' are formed on the front surface of the plate.
The rear surface is fixed to the front surface of the disk portion 83 of the rotor 82 by fixing means such as adhesive.

The contact holding plate 78 faces the rear surface of the circuit board 74, that is, the surface on which the terminals 77, 77, . . . .76, the position of the rotor 82 is defined by fitting the rotor 82 with the elastic pieces 87, 87, . The contact holding plate 78 is rotatably inserted into the hole 79 and the opening edge of the engaging hole 75 of the circuit board 74 is rotatably engaged with the engaging grooves 88, 88, . . . of the boss portion 85. is held in a pinched manner between the circuit board 74 and the center portion 84 of the disc portion 83. Further, the portion of the support shaft 66 between the columnar portion 86a and the front end thereof is inserted into the center hole 86 of the rotor 82, and a portion 86a of the center hole is formed into an oval shape as described above. Therefore, the rotor 82 and the support shaft 66 are coupled to rotate together.

In addition, the contact holding holes 80, 80 of the contact holding plate 78,...
Spherical contacts 91, 91, . . . and conductive coil springs 92, 92, . . . are housed in this order from the rear side, and the contacts 91, 91, . .92, . . ., the coil springs 92, 92, . .77,... has been contacted.

The rotating body 68 is supported by the support shaft 66 so that its recess 71 fits over the disk portion 83 and conductor support plate 89 of the rotor 83 with some margin.

The support shaft 66 is provided within the casing 26 as described above, with the sensor 73 assembled in this manner and a driven gear, which will be described later, supported at its end on the side opposite to the circuit board 74.

Thus, the sensor 73 is disposed coaxially with the worm wheel 69 and in parallel with the drive shaft 40 .

Note that the circuit board 74 has a protrusion 93 formed on the front half 27.
．． 93 (see FIG. 1), the position within the casing 26 is fixed.

(d-1-f, sensor driving means) [Fig. 1, Fig. 7,
[Fig. 8] Reference numeral 94 denotes a driven gear in the shape of a thin flat gear, and a portion of the support shaft 66 protruding rearward from the worm wheel 69 is inserted into an oval-shaped hole 94a formed in the center thereof. Therefore, it is supported by the support shaft 66 so as to rotate integrally therewith.

Reference numeral 95 designates an intermediate gear, which is integrally formed with a large gear 95a and a small gear 95b, each having a flat gear shape and located coaxially with each other, and rotatably supported by a support shaft 96 supported by the rear half 28. The large gear 95a is connected to the rotating body 6.
The small gear 95b is meshed with the driven gear 94.

Therefore, when the worm wheel 69 rotates, the rotation is decelerated and transmitted to the support shaft 66 via the transmission gear 70, intermediate gear 95, and driven gear 94, and thereby the support shaft 66 is connected to the rotor 82. It will be rotated as a unit. Note that the support shaft 66 and the rotating body 68 are rotated at different speeds.

(d-1-g, sensor [function]) The contacts 91, 91, . . . are the first polarity group and the second polarity group.
It is divided into two groups, the polar side group, and these contacts 9
The terminals 77.77 with which the two electrode contacts 91.91 of 1.91, . . . The rotary switch is connected to the switched contacts of two mutually interlocking rotary switches provided in the rotary switch, and the rotary switch is connected to a power source battery, and any one set of switched contacts is selected in this rotary switch. Accordingly, the above-selected set of switched contacts, the two contacts 91 and 91 connected thereto, and the conductor
A circuit consisting of the motor 90, 90', the motor 54, and the power source is closed so that the motor 54 can be rotated forward or reverse.

When the motor 54 rotates, the rotating body 68 and the drive gear 43 are rotated, so that the drive gear 43 is connected to the drive shaft 4.
0 and the adjustment rod 46 are integrally moved forward or backward, and at the same time, the rotor 82 and conductor support plate 89 of the sensor 73 are rotated, and when these rotate by a predetermined amount,
The conductors 90, 90' are connected to the selected contacts 91 and 91.
When the motor 54 is separated from the motor 54, the circuit described above is opened and the rotation of the motor 54 is stopped. Therefore, the amount and direction of rotation of the motor 54 are determined by the switched contact selected by the rotary switch, and the position of the adjustment rod 46 is detected by the sensor 73.

The control system of the control mechanism including such a sensor 73 is substantially the same as the control system of the control mechanism disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-209932.

(d-1-h, Attachment to lamp housing, connection of adjustment rod and headlight unit) [Figures 1, 3, and 4] The leveling drive mechanism 25 as described above has its casing 26 is arranged so that it is close to the rear wall 10 of the lamp housing 7 from the front side, and the connecting part 48 of the adjustment rod 46 is located in the operation shaft arranging part 9 provided in the lamp housing 7, and the rear wall of the lamp housing 7 The hole (not shown) of the mounting boss 97.97 protruding forward from the casing 26 and the protrusion 32.32 provided on the casing 26
' holes 32a, 32'a and three holes 31, 31, 31 and 31', 31', 31' of half 27.
A long screw 98.98 is inserted from the rear through the screws 31 and 31', and a nut 99.98 is attached to the tip of the screw 98.98.
99 is screwed together, it is fixed to the lamp housing 7.

Further, 100 is a bracket attached to the lower end of the back of the lamp body 3 of the headlamp unit 2, and a nut 101 made of synthetic resin is supported on the bracket 100 with its axis oriented in the front-rear direction. .

Then, the screw shaft portion 47 of the adjustment rod 46 is connected to the nut 10.
1, thereby connecting the adjustment rod 46 and the headlamp unit 2.

(d-2, Aiming Operation Unit) [Figures 1, 3, 4, and 8] 102 is an aiming operation unit.

(d-2-a, Aiming Operation Axis) 103 is an aiming operation axis, which includes a cylindrical intermediate portion 104 and a head 10 formed at the rear end of the intermediate portion 104.
5, a connecting portion 106 located on the front side of the intermediate portion 104, and a truncated conical portion 107 located between the connecting portion 106 and the intermediate portion 04 are formed coaxially and integrally with each other, and the intermediate portion A flange 108 having a larger diameter than the head 105 is formed between the flange 104 and the head 105, and the connecting portion 106 is formed to have a substantially oval shape in cross section. The engagement groove 10 is located closer to the 106 side.
9 is formed.

The aiming operation shaft 103 is inserted into the flange 108 of the intermediate portion 104 from the rear side.
The portion between the engagement groove 109 and the engagement groove 109 is rotatably inserted into the support hole 11a formed in the rear end wall 11 of the operating shaft arrangement portion 9 formed in the rear wall 10 of the lamp housing 7, and the engagement groove 1
A retaining ring 110 is engaged with the lamp housing 7 , thereby fixing the position in the axial direction, that is, the front-rear direction with respect to the operating shaft arranging portion 9 , and with the connecting portion 106 positioned within the operating shaft arranging portion 9 . is rotatably supported.

Thus, the aiming operation shaft 103 is coaxially close to the adjustment rod 46 from the rear.

1, the movement range of the adjustment rod 46 is the position when the rear surface of the intermediate portion 41 of the drive shaft 40 that supports it comes into contact with the front surface of the drive gear 43 (hereinafter referred to as "
"Reverse position." ), the front surface of the intermediate portion 41 of the drive shaft 40 is connected to the front wall 3 of the casing 26 as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.
3.Position when it comes into contact with the inner surface (hereinafter referred to as "maximum forward position")
Say. ), and the relative relationships such as the dimensions of each part of the operating shaft arrangement portion 9 of the lamp housing 7 and the lengths of the adjusting rod 46 and the aiming operating shaft 103 are determined by the adjusting rod 4.
6 is in the retracted position, there is a predetermined interval 1 between the rear end and the front end of the aiming operation shaft 103 (see Fig. 1).
It is designed to have the following.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a waterproof O-ring fitted into the annular protrusion 11b of the operating shaft arrangement portion 9.

(d-2-b, connection body) 112 is the above-mentioned aiming operation shaft 103 and adjustment rod 46
It is a connecting body for connecting between the
The hole 113 has a substantially oval shape when viewed from the axial direction, and a retaining wall 114 is formed approximately in the middle thereof.

In the connecting body 112, the connecting portion 106 of the aiming operation shaft 103 and the connecting portion 48 of the adjustment rod 46 are slidably inserted from both ends into the hole 113 of the connecting body 112. 103 and the adjustment rod 46 are connected to rotate together.

Note that the distance 1 between the adjustment rod 46 and the aiming operation shaft 103 when the adjustment rod 46 is in the retracted position is larger than the thickness of the retaining wall 114 of the connecting body 112;
For example, the length of the connecting body 112 is such that the adjusting rod 46 is moved to the maximum forward position and the connecting body 112 has a retaining wall 114 at the rear end of the adjusting rod 46. The length is such that it will not come off forward from the aiming operation shaft 103 even when it comes into contact with the aiming control shaft 103.

Therefore, the adjustment rod 46 and the aiming operation glaze 1°03 always remain separated from each other in the axial direction, and are integrated via the connecting body 112 even when the adjustment rod 46 is at any position in its movement range. It is connected so that it rotates.

(d-3, Operation) (d-3-a, Aiming adjustment in the vertical direction) So,
When performing initial aiming adjustment in the vertical direction, the aiming operation shaft 103 is rotated. Then, the connecting body 112 and the adjustment rod 46 are rotated integrally with the aiming operation shaft 103, and the adjustment rod 46 is moved to the nut 10 supported by the headlamp unit 2 without changing its axial position.
1, the nut 101 is relatively moved in the front-back direction along the adjustment rod 46, and thereby the tilting device 2
4, the distance between the headlamp unit 2 and the lamp housing 7 is changed, and the headlamp unit 2 is tilted downward on the road as a straight rotation center axis connecting the rotation fulcrum A and the adjustment point B. will be done. Thereby, the irradiation direction is adjusted in the vertical direction.

(d-3-b, Leveling) When performing leveling adjustment, the motor 54 is rotated by remote control. Then, as described above, the drive shaft 40 is moved in the front-rear direction integrally with the adjustment rod 46, so the nut 101 supported by the headlight unit 2 is moved in the front-rear direction. Since the distance between the headlamp unit 2 and the lamp housing 7 is changed and the headlamp unit 2 is tilted downward on the road, the irradiation direction can be adjusted in the vertical direction.

In this case, the connecting body 112 is connected to the connecting part 48 of the adjustment rod 46 and/or the connecting part 10 of the aiming operation shaft 103.
It will be slid against 6. Also, adjustment rod 4
The direction and amount of movement of the motor 6, in other words, the direction and amount of rotation of the motor 54 are controlled by the sensor 73 as described above.

(F-2, Second Embodiment) [FIG. 9] FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention.

The difference between the headlamp device 115 shown in this second embodiment and the headlamp device 1 shown in the first embodiment is the connection structure between the adjustment rod and the headlamp unit, and the connection structure therebetween. Only the part that was Therefore, for the parts that are not different from the headlamp device 1 described above, explanations will be omitted by giving the same reference numerals to the same parts of the headlamp device 1 in the first embodiment. The usage of such codes is the same in the application examples described later.

Reference numeral 116 designates a synthetic resin receiver supported by a bracket 117 integrally formed with the lamp body 3, and has a spherical recess 116a facing rearward.

Further, a screw hole 118 is formed passing through the center of the drive shaft 40 .

Reference numeral 119 designates an adjustment rod, which has a sphere 120 formed at its front end, a rear end 121 formed into a non-cylindrical connecting part with an oval cross-sectional shape, and most of the remaining part 122 formed into a spiral shaft. The screw shaft portion 122 is screwed into the screw hole 118 of the drive shaft 4o, the connecting portion 121 is slidably connected to the connecting portion 106 of the aiming operation shaft 103 via the connecting body 112, and , a sphere 120 is rotatably fitted into the spherical recess 116a of the receiver 116.

When the aiming operation shaft 103 is rotated, the adjustment rod 119 is screwed into or unscrewed from the drive shaft 4o and moves in the axial direction, so the receiver 116 is moved approximately in the front-back direction, thereby moving forward. The lighting unit 2 is tilted downward toward the road, and the irradiation direction is changed.

Note that leveling is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

(F-3, Application example) [Figs. 10 and 11] Figs. 10 and 11 show an application example of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention. Note that the headlight device 12 shown in this application example
3 is a headlight device of a so-called movable reflector type, that is, a reflector rotatably supported by a lamp body is used as a tilting member, and the irradiation direction is changed by tilting this reflector with respect to the lamp body. This type of headlamp device differs from the headlamp device 1 shown in the first embodiment only in this point and related points.

Reference numeral 124 denotes a headlamp unit, which includes a lamp body 125 made of synthetic resin and having an open front, and the lamp body 1.
A lens 12 is attached to 25 so as to cover the front opening thereof.
6 and a reflecting mirror 128 disposed within the lamp space 127 defined by the lamp body 125 and the lens 126.
The lamp body 125 is fixed to the lamp housing 7. The lamp body 125 is fixed to the lamp housing 7.

Reference numeral 130 designates an operating shaft arranging portion formed to protrude rearward from the lower end of the rear wall 131 of the lamp body 125, and is the same as the operating shaft arranging portion 9 of the lamp housing shown in the first embodiment. It has a structure.

And a reflector! 28 is supported by the lamp body 125 at three points A, B, and C shown in FIG. The section is constituted by the rotation fulcrum mechanism 12 described above. The other two support points B and C are adjustment parts where the distance between the reflector 128 and the lamp body 125 is adjusted. The adjustment section is constituted by, for example, an adjustment mechanism similar to the aiming adjustment mechanism 16 shown in the first embodiment.

Further, the adjustment section at the zero point is constituted by the above-mentioned tilting device 24, and in this application example, the leveling drive mechanism 25 is attached to the inside of the rear wall 131 of the lamp body 125, and the front end of the adjustment rod 46 is This part is screwed into a nut 133 fixed to a bracket 132 that projects from the reflecting mirror 128.

Further, the aiming operation shaft 103 is supported by the operation shaft arrangement portion 130 of the lamp body 125, and the aiming operation shaft 103 and the adjustment rod 46 are connected via a connecting body 112.

Therefore, when the operating member of the aiming adjustment section at point B is operated, the reflecting mirror 128 is tilted approximately in the left and right direction with the straight line connecting point A and point 0 as the center axis of rotation.
When the operating shaft 103 in the tilting device 24 is rotated or the motor 54 is rotated, the tilting device 24 is tilted downward on the road with the straight line connecting points A and B serving as the center axis of rotation. In this way, the irradiation direction is changed.

(G. Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, in the leveling device for a vehicle headlamp of the present invention, the tilting member that is tilted when changing the irradiation direction is tiltably supported by the support member. A tilting device for a vehicle headlamp, which includes a case fixed to a support member, a drive a@ supported by the case so as to be movable in the front and back directions, and a front end supported by the drive shaft and tilted. In order to detect the position of a worm gear which has an adjustment rod connected to the member and is rotated by a motor in the case, a worm wheel which is meshed with the worm gear and rotates to move the drive shaft eight times, and the adjustment rod. The worm wheel is arranged in parallel with the drive shaft, and the detection means is arranged coaxially with the worm wheel.

Therefore, according to the vehicle headlamp tilting device of the present invention, since the worm wheel and the detection means are arranged coaxially with each other and in parallel with the drive shaft, the dimension of the case in the direction along the axis of the drive shaft is It can be shortened to approximately the same length as the total length of the wheel and the detection means in the axial direction,
This allows a tilting device of this type to be constructed fairly thinly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 8 show a first embodiment of a tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lower end of the headlamp unit and the tilting device. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2.
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in Figure 2, Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing the case separated into a front half and a rear half, and Figure 7 is a tilting device shown in Figure 1. ■Cross-sectional view along the line, No. 8
The figure is an enlarged perspective view showing the main parts of the tilting device in an exploded manner, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts showing a second embodiment of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention, and FIGS. The figures show an application example of the tilting device for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts of an example of a conventional vehicle headlamp tilting device. 1... Vehicle headlight, 2... Tilting member, 7...
-Supporting member, 24...Tilt device, 26...Case, 40...Drive shaft, 46...Adjustment rod, 47...Front end (of the adjustment rod), 54...Motor, 61 ... Worm gear, 69 ... Worm wheel, 73 ... Detection means, 101 ... Nut, 49.
...Middle part (of the adjustment rod), 115...Vehicle headlight, 119...Adjustment rod, 120...Front end (of the adjustment rod), 122...
Middle part (of the adjustment rod), 123...Vehicle headlight, 128...Tilt member, 133...Nut/"L. II-tan/cIJl, V 26---Case No. 6 Figure 4O-1i!Kindoku 46・-濶jllll、)-54-一一毛-7 61-・-1'7sum 八゛や69-'Harmuki 4-Rua 3---Chichibekita 4] # t IEI (Vll-VHfl) Fig. 7

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A tilting device for a vehicle headlamp that tiltably supports a tilting member that is tilted when changing the irradiation direction on a support member, the device comprising: a case fixed to the support member; and a case fixed to the support member in the longitudinal direction. a drive shaft supported so as to be movable; and an adjustment rod supported by the drive shaft and connected to a tilting member at its front end; a worm gear rotated by a motor in the case; By doing so, a worm wheel for moving the drive shaft and a detection means for detecting the position of the adjustment rod are housed, the worm wheel is arranged in parallel with the drive shaft, and the detection means is arranged coaxially with the worm wheel. A vehicle headlight tilting device characterized by (2) Claims characterized in that the adjustment rod has an intermediate portion rotatably supported by the drive shaft and immovable in the axial direction, and a front end portion screwed into a nut supported by the tilting member. Tilt device for vehicle headlights as described in paragraph 1 (3) The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment rod has an intermediate portion screwed onto the drive shaft and a front end portion connected to the tilting member in a ball joint shape. tilting device