Structure of water drain in vehicle lamp

Details Structure of water drain in vehicle lamp Structure of water drain in vehicle lamp

1999-02-19

2001-03-20

Sember, Thomas M. (Department: 2875)

Illumination

Supported by vehicle structure

Housing

C362S473000, C362S373000, C362S294000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06203182

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for water drainage in a vehicle lamp.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 9-18391, entitled “Lamp for Motorcycle”, exemplifies a water drain hole 20 as shown in FIG. 3 of that publication. The water drain hole 20 serves to discharge water and disperse air heated by a bulb in the vehicle lamp. Referring to FIG. 3, an arrow between the outer opening 26 and the inner opening 28 denotes water that may enter into the vehicle lamp when the vehicle is being cleaned or the like. However, this later cannot enter beyond the barrier 18.
In the accompanying drawings, the terms “front” and “rear” denote the directions as seen by a rider on a motorcycle.
FIG. 14
is a side view of a typical motorcycle
100
. The motorcycle
100
comprises a body frame
101
, a front fork
102
, a front wheel
103
, a head lamp
104
, front indicators
105
,
105
(the lamp
105
on the opposite side is not shown), a meter
106
, a steering handle
107
, a swing arm
111
, a rear wheel
112
, a tail/stop lamp
113
, and a pair of rear indicators
114
,
114
(the lamp
114
on the opposite side is not shown). The components
102
,
103
,
104
,
105
,
106
and
107
are positioned at the front part of the body frame
101
, while the components
111
,
112
,
113
and
114
are positioned at the rear part of the body frame
101
. In
FIG. 14
, reference numerals
116
,
117
and
118
denote an engine, a fuel tank and a rider's seat, respectively.
In case of rain, the rear wheel
112
may splash water as shown by arrows {circle around (1)} and {circle around (2)}. Furthermore, some of the water splashed by the front wheel
103
may strike the rear indicators
114
as shown by an arrow {circle around (3)}.
FIG. 15
is a cross sectional view of the main part of a conventional front indicator, specifically showing the bottom part of the front indicator
105
. The water drain hole structure
120
of the front indicator
105
is similar to that of the foregoing laid-open publication. Therefore, water entering via the outer opening
121
can be effectively blocked by the blockade
122
. This structure is effective in protecting the front indicators against water, shown by an arrow {circle around (4)}, splashed from the front side of the moving motorcycle.
FIG. 16
is a cross sectional view of a main part of the rear indicator
114
, specifically showing the bottom part thereof. The rear indicator
114
is the same as the front indicator
105
, and is oriented exactly opposite to the front indicator
105
, i.e. it is turned by 180° on a vertical axis. The same components are used as the front and rear indicators in order to reduce the number of components.
Water splashed by the front wheel (see
FIG. 14
) enters into the rear indicator
114
via the outer opening
131
of the water drain structure
130
, is reversed by the upright wall
132
, and reaches the barrier
133
. In the event of rain, water tends to go beyond the barrier
133
and enter into the rear indicator
114
.
Since a motorcycle usually takes a short period of time to clean, only a little water splashes into the motorcycle, allowing for effective drainage. Therefore, there is no serious problem in such a case. However, on a rainy day, the motorcycle is exposed to rain for a long period of time. Therefore, water tends to enter into the motorcycle more substantially. Hence, there has been a strong demand for improved water drainage structures in motorcycles.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is therefore intended to provide vehicle lamps that include improved water resistance and that can be used in common among different motorcycles.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a water drain structure is applied to a vehicle lamp having a lens attached to a lamp body housing, a bulb therein, and a water drain provided at least at a lower part of either the lamp body or the lens. This structure is characterized in that the water drain is a tapered path formed in the lamp body or the lens. Furthermore, the water drain is wide at a bottom thereof and narrowed towards a top thereof.
The slope formed on the surface of the lamp body or the lens downwardly reflects water splashed by the front wheel. Furthermore, the upwardly tapered water drain can effectively block entering water.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the water drain comprises a first path extending downward from the vehicle lamp, a second path laterally extending from the bottom of the first path toward a front surface of the lens, and a tapered path communicating with an outlet of the second path.
Water splashed by the front wheel is reflected downward by the slope so that only a little water is laterally splashed. This can reduce the amount of water entering into the second path which is flat.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, either the lamp body or the lens has a recess cut therein.
The outer opening can be easily cut into the lamp body or the lens. Lamp bodies and lenses can be easily ejection-molded using existing molds to which some modifications are made. The lamp bodies and lenses can therefore be manufactured at a reduced cost.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4658339 (1987-04-01), Tammerijn
patent: 4733335 (1988-03-01), Serizawa et al.
patent: 4739458 (1988-04-01), Yamayoshi
patent: 5072339 (1991-12-01), Shimojo
patent: 5406467 (1995-04-01), Hashemi
patent: 5457616 (1995-10-01), Grigorescu et al.
patent: 5702178 (1997-12-01), Smith et al.
patent: 9-183391 (1997-07-01), None

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