Illumination – Supported by vehicle structure – Light modifier
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-28
2003-04-01
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supported by vehicle structure
Light modifier
C362S285000, C362S286000, C362S277000, C362S263000, C439S546000, C439S548000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06540385
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicular headlamp having a light distribution changing device that changes the distribution of light emitted from the headlamp by changing the direction of or selectively blocking light emitted from a light source.
A conventional vehicular headlamp includes a discharge bulb
12
forming the light source, a reflector
14
that reflects light emitted from the discharge bulb
12
to the front, a lamp body
16
that houses the reflector
14
and the discharge bulb
12
, and a lens
18
that seals the front of the lamp body
16
, as shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG.
4
. Power is supplied to the discharge bulb
12
through a ballast circuit unit (discharge lamp lighting circuit)
20
so as to provide a continuously stabilized discharge current.
In addition, a discharge bulb type vehicular headlamp
10
includes a light distribution changing device for changing the distribution of output light so as to produce a high beam, a low beam, and the like. As the light distribution changing device, for example, a movable shade
24
may be employed, as shown in FIG.
4
. In the present embodiment, a support stay
26
of the movable shade
24
is rotatably supported by a pin
30
fixed to a bracket
28
provided at the front surface of the reflector
14
, and an output rod
34
of an actuator
32
installed behind the reflector
14
is pivotally attached to the support stay
26
. A solenoid or a motor (not shown) is disposed inside the actuator
32
. When the solenoid or the motor is operated, the output rod
34
advances or retreats accordingly. When the movable shade
24
is located at the position shown in
FIG. 4
, a low beam light distribution is obtained, and when the actuator
32
is operated to tilt the movable shade
24
forward, a high beam light distribution is obtained.
In the vehicular headlamp
10
including such a light distribution changing device, power is supplied to the discharge bulb
12
and the actuator
32
from a vehicle power source (not shown) through a power cord
40
, two hookup cords
36
A,
36
B, a light source cord
38
A, and an actuator cord
38
B.
One end of the power cord
40
is connected to the vehicle power source, while the other end thereof is provided with a power connector
42
. One end of each of the two hookup cords
36
A,
36
B is connected to a power receiving connector
44
, which in turn is connected to the power connector
42
. Power feeding connectors
46
A,
46
B are connected to the respective other ends of the two hookup cords
36
A,
36
B. One end of the light source cord
38
A is provided with a light source side connector
48
A connected to the power feeding connector
46
A, and a socket
50
in which the discharge bulb
12
is mounted is connected to the other end thereof. The ballast circuit unit
20
is mounted on the lower inner surface of the lamp body
16
approximately in the middle thereof. One end of the actuator cord
38
B is provided with an actuator side connector
48
B connected to the power feeding connector
48
B, and the actuator
32
is connected to the other end thereof. The connection of these connectors can be easily disconnected, such as when repairs or the like are required.
An opening is provided in the lamp body
16
and a bushing
56
is engaged with the opening. The hookup cords
36
A,
36
B pass through a through hole in the bushing
54
. The bushing
56
provides waterproofing and dustproofing functions, in addition to preventing the hookup cords
36
A,
36
B from being worn as a result of a direct contact with the opening. The power receiving connector
44
of the hookup cords
36
A,
36
B is connected to the power connector
42
outside the lamp body
16
, and each of the power feeding connectors
48
A,
48
B of the hookup cords
36
A,
36
B is connected to the light source side connector
48
A and the actuator side connector
48
B inside the lamp body
16
. These connectors
42
,
44
,
46
A,
46
B,
48
A, and
48
B are firmly secured to the lamp body
16
or other desired component by fixtures (not shown) to prevent them from being disconnected due to vehicle vibration or the like.
However, in the conventional discharge bulb type vehicular headlamp
10
, a relatively large number of parts, including the hookup cables
36
A,
36
B, the bushing
56
, and the fixture for each connector is required between the power side connector
42
, the light source side connector
48
A, and the actuator side connector
48
B, as described above. This presents problems in that the associated manufacturing requires much time and labor and the total cost is rather high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve these problems, the present invention provides a vehicular headlamp in which a power connector is connected to a light source side connector and to an actuator side connector using the minimum number of parts, the lamp body can be made waterproof and dustproof, and each connector can be firmly secured to the lamp body.
More specifically, a vehicular headlamp according to the invention includes a light source, a reflector, a light distribution changing device that selectively changes the distribution of light by either changing the direction of or blocking the light emitted from the light source, an actuator that operates the light distribution changing device, a light source cord which is provided with a light source side connector at one end thereof and which is connected to the light source at the other end thereof, an actuator cord which is provided with an actuator side connector at one end thereof and which is connected to the actuator at the other end thereof are provided in a lamp body, and a hookup connector which is provided with a connection portion connected to a power connector provided in a power cord connected to a vehicle power source at one end thereof and a connection portion connected to the light source side connector and the actuator side connector at the other end thereof, wherein the hookup connector is connected to an opening provided in the lamp body with the other end thereof located inside the lamp body. With this arrangement, it is possible to make the lamp body waterproof and dustproof while reducing the number of parts, and to firmly secure each connector to the lamp body.
The light source may be a discharge bulb, and the light source cord may be provided with a ballast circuit unit in the central portion thereof. The use of a high efficiency discharge bulb can reduce power consumption.
The hookup connector can be connected to the opening by inserting the other end of the hookup connector in the opening and turning it. For this purpose, a flange is provided at a central portion of the hookup connector, and the flange covers a periphery of the opening when the hookup connector is connected to the opening. Accordingly, the hookup connector can be removably connected to the opening easily, and the lamp body can be made waterproof even more reliably.
The actuator may be installed at the lower side on the rear surface of a reflector, and the ballast circuit unit installed on the bottom portion of the lamp body. In this case the actuator and the ballast circuit unit are located close to each other, and accordingly a cord through which power is fed from the hookup connector to both parts can be made as short as possible.
The invention further provides a vehicular headlamp including a lamp body, a light source and a reflector mounted in the lamp body for emitting a light beam from the headlamp, means for changing the light distribution of the light beam and which is mounted in the lamp body, means for actuating the light distribution changing means, a single hookup connector mounted in an opening in the lamp body, first connection means for making electrical connections between the hookup connector and the light source and the light distribution changing means, and second connection means for making electrical connections between the hookup connector and the actuating means.
The light distribution means may be mounted on the low
Hanamori Kazuhiro
Ikeda Yoshimi
DelGizzi Ronald E.
Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
O'Shea Sandra
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
LandOfFree
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