Electrical connectors – With provision to isolate circuitry by severance of bridging...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-19
2002-12-03
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With provision to isolate circuitry by severance of bridging...
C439S036000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06488534
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive lamps to be mounted in automotive vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to an automotive lamp unit and a method for manufacturing the same, in which bus bars are integrated with a resin base member (hereinafter referred to as a base member) and lamps, such as passenger compartment lamps, map lamps, vanity-mirror lamps, door lamps, and trunk compartment lamps, are mounted on the bus bars.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automotive lamp unit, in which a room lamp and a map lamp are mounted on one base member and are individually switched on and off by a switch unit, is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-161944 applied by an applicant the same as the assignee of the present application.
The configuration of the automotive lamp unit disclosed in the above-described application is described below with reference to
FIGS. 10
to
14
.
In
FIGS. 10
to
12
, a bus bar
2
is formed integrally with a base member
1
by molding, symmetrical with respect to a longitudinally intermediate part of the base member
1
(see FIG.
13
). Push switches (hereinafter referred to as switches)
3
and
4
are disposed so that protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
of the switches
3
and
4
, respectively, are disposed at the rear sides of lenses
7
and
8
(described below), respectively, the switches
3
and
4
being connected to terminals
2
a
and
2
b
, respectively. Lamps
5
and
6
are resiliently supported by raised tabs
2
c
and
2
d
, respectively, of the bus bar
2
.
Terminals
2
e
are connector terminals connecting to an in-vehicle battery, to a door switch for switching on-and-off by opening-and-closing of a door, and to the ground. A lamp lighting circuit including the bus bar
2
, the switches
3
and
4
, and the lamps
5
and
6
is shown in
FIG. 14
, the operation of the circuit being described below.
A pair of the lenses
7
and
8
are formed in a size sufficient to cover the front side of the base member
1
. Bearings
7
a
and
8
a
are formed at the longitudinal sides of each lens
7
or
8
at a longitudinally intermediate part of the base member
1
for rotatably supporting shafts
1
a
and
1
b
protruding from the longitudinal sides of the base member
1
at longitudinally intermediate parts thereof.
Anchoring parts
7
b
and
8
b
including hooks
7
b
1
and
8
b
1
, respectively, are movably provided at the sides of the lenses
7
and
8
, respectively, toward the ends thereof, so that the hooks
7
b
1
and
8
b
1
do not remove from fixing shafts
1
c
and
1
d
, respectively.
The lenses
7
and
8
are provided with projections
7
c
and
8
c
, respectively, at the rear sides thereof, opposing the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
of the switches
3
and
4
, respectively. The lenses
7
and
8
are supported at the projections
7
c
and
8
c
, respectively, in a manner such that the anchoring parts
7
b
and
8
b
are pressed upwardly by a resilient force applied to the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
, respectively, with the lenses
7
and
8
pivoting on the bearings
7
a
and
8
a
, respectively.
A gap G is formed between the lenses
7
and
8
so that the lenses
7
and
8
can pivot. The lamp unit is provided with screw-passing holes
1
e
therein for fixing the lamp unit to the ceiling at the front side thereof.
The lamp lighting circuit shown in
FIG. 14
is described below.
The terminals
2
a
and
2
b
shown in
FIG. 12
are connected to the switches
3
and
4
. When the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
of the respective switches
3
and
4
are not pressed, contact points
3
b
1
and
4
b
1
and contact points
3
b
2
and
4
b
2
are connected, respectively, to each other via a contact plate which is movable by being pressed by the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
, and when the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
of the switches
3
and
4
, respectively, are pressed, the contact points
3
b
1
and
4
b
1
are connected to contact points
3
b
3
and
4
b
3
, respectively, to each other via the contact plate.
A terminal
2
e
1
included in the terminals
2
e
is grounded via a door switch
9
which is put on when a door is open. A terminal
2
e
2
is connected to the positive pole of an in-vehicle battery
10
. A terminal
2
e
3
is grounded.
The operation of the circuit is described below. When the protrusions
3
a
and
4
a
of the respective switches
3
and
4
are not pressed, as shown in
FIG. 14
, and the door is open, thereby closing the door switch
9
, the current from the positive pole of the battery
10
flows so as to split into two flows through lamps
5
and
6
, the flows passing to the ground via switches
3
and
4
, respectively, and the door switch
9
, thereby turning on the lamps
5
and
6
and illuminating the compartment.
When the door is closed, thereby opening the door switch
9
, and an end of the lens
7
of the driver's seat side is pressed, thereby pressing the protrusion
3
a
of the switch
3
, the contact point
3
b
1
comes into contact with the contact point
3
b
3
, whereby the current from the positive pole of the battery
10
flows to the ground through the lamp
5
and the switch
3
, thereby switching on the lamp
5
so as to be used as a map lamp of the driver's seat side.
Regardless of whether the switch
3
is put on or put off, the contact point
4
b
1
comes into contact with the contact point
4
b
3
when an end of the lens
8
of the passenger's seat side is pressed, thereby pressing the protrusion
4
a
of the switch
4
, whereby the current from the positive pole of the battery
10
flows to the ground through the lamp
6
and the switch
4
, thereby switching on the lamp
6
so as to be used as a map lamp of the passenger's seat side.
In the automotive lamp unit in which the lamps are switched on and off as described above, six bus bars
2
are required, as shown in FIG.
13
. When the bus bars
2
are disposed in the lamp unit, the six bus bars
2
must be manually placed in an injection mold. Therefore, a problem occurs in that the preparation for molding is laborious.
Another problem is that the bus bars
2
set in the injection mold move in the mold while injecting a resin, thereby producing defective products.
In order to overcome these problems, a technology disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-323784, may be used, in which a plurality of the above-described bus bars are connected with each other via bridge portions so as to form one integral bus bar unit. The bus bar unit is set in an injection mold, and is integrated with the base member by an injection molding.
In the subsequent process, the bridge portions are cut by using a press or the like, thereby electrically dividing the bus bar unit into a plurality of bus bars. However in this method, two processes, namely, an injection-molding process and a cutting process of the bridge portions, are required, and a blanking die is necessary, whereby the manufacturing cost is increased. Moreover, metallic particles of the cut bridge-portions must be disposed of as wastes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive lamp unit and a method for manufacturing the same, in which one integral bus bar unit including a plurality of bus bars connected at bridge portions is placed in an injection mold and the plurality of bus bars are separated from each other at the bridge portions without cutting away the bridge portions, then a resin is injected into the injection mold, thereby forming a product. The product can be manufactured in one process, whereby the manufacturing cost can be reduced, waste in material is not produced, and it is not necessary to dispose of metallic particles, because the bus bars are divided at the bridge portions without cutting away the same.
To these ends, according to an aspect of the present invention, an automotive lamp unit to be mounted in a vehicle comprises a plurality of bus bars embedded in a
Sinzawa Kouichi
Soga Hisashi
Figueroa Felix D.
Kabushiki Kaisha T AN T
Paumen Gary
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