Illumination – Supported by vehicle structure – Specific lamp mounting or retaining
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-02
2002-09-17
Cariaso, Alan (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supported by vehicle structure
Specific lamp mounting or retaining
C362S369000, C362S546000, C362S496000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06450676
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp device, more particularly to a vehicle lamp device illuminating forward which includes a housing displaceable rearward when the vehicle lamp device collides with an obstacle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A vehicle lamp device includes a headlamp, fog lamp, and turn signal lamp at the front end of a vehicle as well as a tail lamp, stop lamp, turn signal lamp at the rear end of the vehicle. In such vehicle lamp devices, the headlamp and the fog lamp at the front end of the vehicle are specifically provided for enhancing the visibility to road ahead and obstacles (objects) on road when the vehicle is running at night, in a tunnel, or in a limited visibility under bad weather.
In late years, in order to relieve the impact against an obstacle in the collision with an obstacle, some vehicle lamp devices have been proposed in which the front end of a lens of the vehicle lamp device and the surface of a bumper provided at the front end of a vehicle are aligned approximately in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and when the vehicle lamp device collides with an obstacle on a road, the vehicle lamp device is adapted to be able to move rearward with the obstacle to relieve the impact against the obstacle. For example, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-30321 discloses a vehicle lamp device comprising a lens disposed at the front end of a vehicle, and a housing supporting the periphery of rear end of the lens, wherein the housing accommodates a reflector, a bulb and others therein. A pair of upper and lower inclinable stays is coupled with a vehicle body, and a slit is formed in each end portion of the inclinable stays. A pair of upper and lower brackets is also secured to the rear end portion of the housing, and an engaging pin is attached to each the bracket wherein each the slit (engaged portion) of inclinable stays is releasably engaged with corresponding the engaging pin. In a normal condition, the inclinable stays are kept in their approximately vertical posture to maintain the engagement of the engaging pins and the slits. For example, in the collision with an obstacle, each inclinable stay inclines or rotates to its approximately horizontal position to allow the housing and the lens to move rearward on the downward decline, and each the engaging pin will be eventually released from corresponding the slit.
The vehicle lamp device of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-30321 moves rearward on the downward decline relatively to the inclinable stays in the collision with the obstacle. However, immediately after the engaging pins are released from the slits, a part of the lens or the housing tends to interfere with a vehicle body member (e.g. a front side frame) or the lower inclinable stay. Thus, for allowing the vehicle lamp device to be moved rearward, it is required to provide an adequate space on the rear side of the vehicle lamp device. This is disadvantageous to design the layout of vehicle body members and various vehicle equipments.
Moreover, necessity of the inclinable stays, brackets, and engaging pins causes increased number of parts and complexity of the structure. In assembling the vehicle lamp device, a lot of labor is also required to make the inclinable stays rotate from the horizontal posture to the vertical setting posture with maintaining the engagement of the inclinable stays and the slits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle lamp device capable of relieving the impact acting from the vehicle lamp device to an obstacle in the colliding, and to provide a simple and relatively spaceless structure for the vehicle lamp device.
According to a primary aspect of the present invention, a vehicle lamp device including a housing supported to the front portion of a vehicle, the vehicle lamp device comprising a displacement allowing structure for allowing the housing to be displaced, the displacement allowing structure provided in an interfering portion of the housing interfering with a vehicle body member which locates in the displacement area where the housing is displaced and interrupts the housing to be displaced when the vehicle lamp device collides with an obstacle.
The displacement allowing structure may apply a thin grooved portion provided to surround the interfering portion of the housing or a thin-walled portion provided over approximately entire region of the interfering portion of the housing.
When the impact force in the collision with an obstacle is not lower than a certain level, the housing is displaced rearward on the downward decline due to, for example, departing or breakage of the mounted portion of the housing to the vehicle body member. At the same time, when the interfering portion of the housing interferes with the vehicle body member located in the displacement area of the housing, the displacement allowing structure allows the housing to be displaced. This achieves longer moving distance of the vehicle lamp device so that the impact acting from the vehicle lamp device to the obstacle may be significantly relieved. As compared to the conventional vehicle lamp device disclosed in the aforementioned publication, the vehicle lamp device of the present invention may be reduce in the number of parts and may achieve a simple structure. Further, since the structure makes the housing move rearward with allowing the interfering portion of the housing to be interfered with the vehicle body member, sufficient flexibility in space may be advantageously achieved.
In one embodiment according to the primary aspect of the present invention, the displacement allowing structure may be a thin grooved portion provided to surround the interfering portion of the housing and formed to be thinner than other portion of the housing. In the colliding with an obstacle, when the interfering portion of the housing interferes with the vehicle body member located in the displacement area, the thin grooved portion as the displacement allowing structure is broken to allow the housing to be displaced rearward. Thus, the impact acting from the vehicle lamp device to the obstacle may be relieved.
In another embodiment according to the primary aspect of the present invention, the displacement allowing structure may be a thin-walled portion provided over approximately entire region of the interfering portion of the housing and formed to be thinner than other portion of the housing. In the colliding with an obstacle, when the interfering portion of the housing interferes with the vehicle body member located in the displacement area, the thin-walled portion as the displacement allowing structure is broken to allow the housing to be displaced rearward. Thus, the impact acting from the vehicle lamp device to the obstacle may be relieved.
In yet another embodiment according to the primary aspect of the present invention, the displacement allowing structure may be a low strength portion provided over approximately entire region of the interfering portion of the housing and formed of a material different from that of other portion of the housing to have a lower strength than that of the other portion of the housing. In the colliding with an obstacle, when the interfering portion of the housing interferes with the vehicle body member located in the displacement area, the low strength portion as the displacement allowing structure is broken to allow the housing to be displaced rearward. Thus, the impact acting from the vehicle lamp device to the obstacle may be relieved.
The aforementioned vehicle body member may be a front side frame. It is often the case that the front-end portion of the front side frame is disposed near the rearward of the vehicle lamp device. In this case, the vehicle lamp device of the present invention may also be applied.
The aforementioned housing includes a mounted portion mounted to a vehicle body, and the mounted portion may be adapted to be released from the vehicle body when the interfering portion of the hou
Furumoto Arihiro
Kondou Kazuma
Maeda Tarou
Cariaso Alan
Mazda Motor Corporation
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Studebaker Donald R.
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