JPH0138018B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance convenience in the use of a headlamp for a vehicle such as, for example, a bicycle, utilizing a solar battery as its power source, by enabling the switching between the daytime charging of power from the solar battery to a secondary battery and the nighttime feeding of power to the headlamp to be made by means of a raised and recessed part in a headlamp housing. CONSTITUTION:Upon daytime, when a headlamp housing 3 is inclined forward about a bearing part 10 so that a lens 2 turns downward to turn upward a solar battery 4 which is attached to the surface of the housing 3 on the side remote from the lens 2, the short-circuit established between contacts 15, 16 which are arranged on a projection piece 7 for bearing support for the housing 3 and a short-circuiting contact piece 17 arranged on a bearing part 10 is broken to turn off a switch mechanism S. Accordingly, power efficiently generated in the solar battery 4 applied with solar energy is all charged in a secondary battery 6. Meanwhile, when the headlamp housing 3 is raised upon nighttime use so that the lens 2 turns forward, the switch mechanism S is turned on to feed charged power from the secondary battery to a lamp bulb 5 which illuminates forward when it is lit up.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a headlight for a vehicle such as a bicycle that uses a solar cell as a power source, and the solar cell can be directed toward sunlight (upward) when illumination is not required, such as during the daytime. automatically stops power supply to the bulb and charges the secondary battery, while when you need illumination, such as at night, simply point the lens of the headlight forward and the system automatically switches from the secondary battery to the bulb. The present invention relates to a device that is configured to supply power to the user.

In other words, in order for the solar cells to generate electricity efficiently, the panel surface must face the sun (upward), and the panel surface is large, so the rear case part must be oriented to attach it to a vehicle headlight. Optimal, and moreover, the power generated by this solar cell must be first charged into a secondary battery, and then the secondary battery must be used to power the light bulb at night.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and includes a solar cell on the rear surface of the rear case of the headlamp housing, and a portion of the headlamp housing that pivotally supports the headlamp housing to a mounting fixture on the vehicle. It is equipped with a switch mechanism that turns on and off the power supply to the light bulb by standing up or tilting the case forward.More specifically, it has a solar cell on the rear surface of the rear case, a lens in the front opening of the rear case, a light bulb inside, A secondary battery connected to the solar cell,
The headlight housing has a headlamp housing, and a shaft support that pivotally supports the headlight housing so as to be rotatable up and down, and a mounting fixture for attaching the lens to the vehicle. A switch mechanism is provided that turns on when the lens faces forward to supply power from the secondary battery to the light bulb, and turns off when the lens faces downward to prevent power supply from the secondary battery to the light bulb. It is characterized by what it did.

And since the present invention is configured in this way,
During the daytime, by simply rotating the lens so that it faces downward, that is, tilting the headlight housing forward, the solar cells face upward, facing the direction of the sun, efficiently generating power, and the switch mechanism is activated. Since the headlight is turned off, all of the generated power is charged to the secondary battery, and at night, the switch mechanism is turned on simply by turning the lens so that it faces forward, that is, standing up the headlight housing. The power source charged to the secondary battery is supplied to the light bulb to turn it on.In this way, rotating the headlight housing doubles as turning on and off the light bulb, so the light bulb can be turned on during the day. By leaving it as it is, you will never forget to charge the secondary battery.

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

1 is a rear case with a front opening; 2 is a lens that closes this front opening; these constitute a headlamp housing 3, and a solar cell 4 is equipped on the rear surface of the rear case 1; Furthermore, a light bulb 5, a reflector (not shown), and a secondary battery 6 connected to the solar cell 4 are housed within the headlamp housing 3.
A pair of shaft supporting protrusions 7, 7 are provided below the rear case 1 in a protruding manner.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a fitting for attaching this headlamp housing 3 to a vehicle. By installing the headlight housing 3
It consists of a shaft support 10 that supports the headlight so as to be rotatable up and down, and a mounting piece 11 that is attached to the shaft. In order to articulately rotate the housing 3 with respect to the pivot support 8, a plurality of slot holes 12... and a bearing ball 14 that is biased by a spring 13 and enters any of these slot holes 12... An articulation mechanism is provided.

Reference numerals 15 and 16 indicate first and second contacts exposed on the surface of the projecting piece 7 facing the shaft support 10; 16 is exposed on the opposite surface of the protrusion 7 of the shaft support 10 so as to short-circuit and turn on the headlight housing 3 when the lens 2 faces downward. When tilted, the first and second contacts 15 and 16 and the shorting contact piece 17 do not face each other,
The first and second contacts 15 and 16 are turned off.

Incidentally, FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and in the same figure, 4a is an equivalent circuit of the solar cell 4 consisting of the electromotive force function section 17 and the diode section 18.

During the daytime, simply tilting the headlight housing 3 forward so that the lens 2 faces downward causes the solar cell 4 to face upward and connect the first and second contacts 15 and 16 to the shorting contact 17. The switch mechanism is turned off by disconnecting the short circuit from the solar cell 4, and all of the power efficiently generated by the solar cell 4 is charged to the secondary battery 6. On the other hand, at night, the headlight housing 3 is turned off so that the lens 2 faces. Just by standing up, the first and second contacts 15, 16 and the shorting contact piece 17 are short-circuited, the switch mechanism is turned on, and the charging power of the secondary battery 6 is supplied to the light bulb 5.
The light bulb 5 lights up to illuminate the front direction.

As explained above, the vehicle headlamp of the present invention allows power supply to the light bulb to be turned on and off simply by rotating the headlight housing up and down, and when not being used as a daytime headlamp, the headlight housing can be turned on and off by simply rotating the headlight housing up and down. By leaning forward, the solar cell faces upward and the power supply to the light bulb is turned off, allowing the secondary battery to be charged efficiently and without forgetting to charge it. can get things.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings all relate to embodiments of the vehicle headlamp of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a top view in the upright position, and FIG.
The figure is a side view of the same state, and Figure 3 is A- of Figure 2.
A′ sectional view, FIG. 4 is a main part view of the B-B′ cross section of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a main part view of the C-C′ cross section of FIG. 3, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory side view of the upright state, and FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram. 1... Rear case, 4... Solar cell, 2... Lens, 5... Light bulb, 6... Secondary battery, 3... Headlight housing, 10... Axis support, 8... Mounting tool, 15,1
6...First and second contacts, 17...Short-circuit contact piece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A headlight housing having a solar cell on the rear surface of the rear case, a lens in the front opening of the rear case, a light bulb inside, and a secondary battery connected to the solar cell, and this headlight. It has a pivot supporting the light housing so as to be pivotable up and down, and a mounting tool for attaching it to a vehicle. 1. A vehicle headlamp comprising a switch mechanism that supplies power to a light bulb from a secondary battery and turns off when the lens faces downward to block power supply from the secondary battery to the light bulb.