GB1560702A

GB1560702A - Motor vehicle headlamps

Info

Publication number: GB1560702A
Application number: GB3126976A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Cibie Projecteurs SA
Current assignee: Cibie Projecteurs SA
Priority date: 1975-07-28
Filing date: 1976-07-27
Publication date: 1980-02-06
Also published as: DE2633968B2; AR212916A1; ES449114A1; FR2319512A1; YU36886B; DE2633968C3; TR19987A; BR7604284A; YU159276A; DE2633968A1; IT1061138B; FR2319512B1

Description

(54) MOTOR VEHICLE HEADLAMPS (71) We, CIBIE PROJECTEURS, a Societe Anonyme organised under the Laws of France, of 17, rue Henri Gautier, 93 Bobigny, France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularlv described in and by fus dence upon variations in the vehicle load which cause variations in the"sit"of the vehicle-i. e. the relative positions of its suspended part and its unsuspended part.

According to one aspect of the presnet invention a system for t'"- ment j

ERRATUM SpECIFICATION NO 1560'102 FR insert (44) Complete Specification T'ubishea b 1980 Bas 7435l/7 Bas 74351 ( Feb. 1980 o -ruE PATENT OFFICE I I Nf arch 1980 members into any one '. jjnug ot the said predetermined relative positions, into at least one of the in preference to a position other than one of two associated elements-i. e., the headlamp unit or the shell.

In some known systems the screw is engaged in a screw-thread which is rigidly secured to one of the two elements and the other element is spring-biassed into abutment with the screw end remote from the screwthread. In another known system the screw end remote from the screwthread has a widened head which is a snap fit in a matching recess in the other element so that movements of the adjusting screw can be transmitted bilaterally to the other element.

Ajusting systems which act in association with the screws and which enable the headlamp unit to take up a number of different predetermined settings without the adjusting screws having to be adjusted have also been known for a long time. Such systems, which are usually but not always manually operated and outside the vehicle, are very often used to modify headlamp height setting in depenthe said predetermined positions.

According to another aspect of the present invention the system comprises an outer sleeve to be secured to one of the unit and shell, an intermediate sleeve engaged in the outer sleeve and movable therein by means of an operating element, an adjusting screw screwed into the intermediate sleeve to cooperate with the other of the unit and shell, and restoring means continuously biasing the intermediate and outer sleeves into any one of a number of predetermined axial positions, in preference to a position other than one of the said predtermined axial positons.

Preferably, the two sleeves cooperate through the agency of a screwthread whose pitch is appreciably larger than the pitch of the screwthread of the adjusting screw.

Advantageously in this case, the restoring means comprise at least one resilient arm and preferably two arms which are carried by the intermediate sleeve and which are diametri (54) MOTOR VEHICLE HEADLAMPS (71) We, CIBIE PROJECTEURS, a Societe Anonyme organised under the Laws of France, of 17, rue Henri Gautier, 93 Bobigny, France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to the adjustment of motor vehicle headlamps.

As is well known many motor vehicle headlamps basically comprise a headlamp unit adjustably mounted in a stationary shell which is usually integral with the vehicle bodywork. Conventionally, the headlamp unit comprises a reflector, at least one light source adapted to cooperate with the reflector to produce at least one light beam, and a front lens which closes the unit. As a rule, the headlamp unit is fitted in the shell with the interposition of adjusting screws, three of which are usually provided. The adjusting screws are screwed into at least one of the two associated elements-i. e., the headlamp unit or the shell.

Ajusting systems which act in association with the screws and which enable the headlamp unit to take up a number of different predetermined settings without the adjusting screws having to be adjusted have also been known for a long time. Such systems, which are usually but not always manually operated and outside the vehicle, are very often used to modify headlamp height setting in dependence upon variations in the vehicle load which cause variations in the"sit"of the vehicle-i. e. the relative positions of its suspended part and its unsuspended part.

According to one aspect of the presnet invention a system for the manual adjustment of a headlamp unit relatively to a vehicle body comprises a first member having an opening therein and connected to one of the unit and the body, an intermediate annular member located within the opening of the first member, a third member connected to the other of the unit and the body and located within the intermediate member and adjustable relatively thereto along an adjustment path, the first and intermediate member being adjustable relative to one another along the adjustment path between a number of predetermined relative positions, and resilient means being included which bias the first and intermediate members into any one of the said predetermined relative positions, in preference to a position other than one of the said predetermined positions.

Advantageously in this case, the restoring means comprise at least one resilient arm and preferably two arms which are carried by the intermediate sleeve and which are diametri cally opposed to one another and which tend to move apart from one another and which are arranged to co-operate with a diametric widening of the recess in the outer sleeve.

Consequently, the intermediate sleeve which is screwed into the outer sleeve always tends to take up a predetermined angular position relatively to the outer sleeve, so that a relatively stable position can be provided for each half-turn of screwthread via which the intermediate and outer sleeves are associated with one another.

As will be readily apparent, since the adjusting screw is rigidly secured to the intermediate sleeve, each such relatively stable position corresponds to a headlamp setting position. The user operates a knob rigidly secured to the intermediate sleeve to move the same in the outer sleeve so that a selected one of the stable positions can be taken up. At its free end the screw can cooperate with the element (headlamp unit or shell) which does not carry the outer sleeve.

Preferably, the screw end has a widened head which co-operates in a snap fit relationship with the corresponding element.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a view in diagrammatic axial section of the manual adjusting system according to the invention; Figure 2 is a view in section on the section line 11-11 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view in section on the section line III-III of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the intermediate sleeve of the system according to the invention; Figure 5 is a view in axial section on the section line V-V of Figure 4 ; and Figure 6 is a view in cross-section on the section line VI-VI of Figure 4.

It is required to provide an adjustable relationship, giving a number of consecutive stable positions, between a shell C of a vehicle and a headlamp unit BO. The system comprises an outer sleeve 100, an intermediate sleeve 200 engaged therein, and a central adjusting screw 300 which is screwed into the intermediate sleeve 200, these three ele- ments being disposed concentrically around the same axis AA.

The outer sleeve 100, which is preferably made of a plastics such as NYLON (Registered trade mark), is mounted in a square aperture 0 in a shell C and is therefore formed with a groove 101, which co-operates with the edge of aperture 0, and with a shoul- der 102, which abuts the shell C from behind.

At the end near the headlamp unit the outer sleeve 100 is formed with a recess 103 of revolution around the axis AA but which as shown in Figure 3 has in an axial plane DD a diametrical widening in two zones 103a, 103b.

The intermediate sleeve 200, which is, with advantage, also made of a plastics such as NYLON (Registered trade mark), has, starting from its end remote from the unit BO, an operating knob 201, an intermediate zone 202 of reduced external diameter, a threaded central part 203 and two resilient arms 204a, 204b terminating in a catch-like members 204'a, 204'b.

The inside surface of outer sleeve 100 co-operates with the outside surface of the central part 203 of the intermediate sleeve 200 by way of a screwthread F.

The two arms 204a, 204b which are symmetrical about the axis AA are received in the recess 103 and always tend to separate resiliently from one another to take up a maximum diameter.

Consequently, intermediate sleeve 200 tends to rotate in outer sleeve 100 to reach any stable position in which the two arms 204, a, 204b co-operate with the zones 103a, 103b in the axial plane DD. There is therefore a relative stable position of the two parts 100,200 for each half-turn of the screwthread F-i. e. for each half-turn with which the intermediate sleeve 200 is screwed in the outer sleeve 100.

The adjusting screw 300 disposed on the axis AA is screwed into the intermediatesleeve parts 202,203 through the agency of a screwthreadf which preferably has a smaller pitch than the screwthread F.

In known manner the screw 300 is formed at one end, inside the knob 201, with a screwdriver slot 301 and has at its other end a widened head 302 which co-operates in a snap fit relationship with a plastics member 303 rigidly secured to the unit BO.

With such a structure, the operation of the system according to the invention can readily be understood. In normal conditions the intermediate sleeve 200 is stationary relative to the outer sleeve 100, while the arms 204a, 204b and their respective members 204'a, 204'b are at maximum separation from one another in the plane DD corresponding to the largest diametric dimension of the recess 103. The user engages a screwdriver in slot 301 and, thanks to co-operation between screw 300 and intermediate sleeve 200 along the screwthread f, he can make a fine adjustment of the relative position of the shell C of the unit BO.

If an adjustment, inter alia a vertical adjustment, of the headlamp becomes necessary because of a change in the"sit"of the vehicle, the knob 201 is operated to alter the position of the intermediate sleeve 200 in the outer 100 in consecutive half-turns. the ten from one another always tending to return the parts 100,200 into a relative angular position in which the arms 204a, 204b are in the axial plane DD. The knob 201 abuts the outer sleeve 100 at the bottom of its travel and the members 204'a, 204'b abut the top wall of recess 103 at the top of the travel of the intermediate sleeve 200.

In the system described above, the pitch of screwthread F can be selected to provide a large number of stable positions; also, the system according to the invention has been found to be very insensitive to vibrations, a fundamental requirement for motor vehicle headlamp adjustment.

The system just described is of course only a preferred example and many other embodiments are possible. More particularly, the outer and intermediate sleeve 100,200 can co-operate with one another in some other manner than through the agency of screwthreads, and the restoring means could be of any kind adapted to impart to two members which move one relative to another a tendency always to take up a predetermined angular or axial relative position. In an alternative arrangement, the outer sleeve might be connected to the headlamp unit, while the adjusting screw is connected to the shell.

While the restoring means shown includes two arms 204a and 204b, in some circumstances different numbers of arms, for example only one, might be used.

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:1. A system for the manual adjustment of a headlamp unit relatively to a vehicle body comprising a first member having an opening therein and connected to one of the unit and the body, an intermediate annular member located within the opening of the first member, a third member connected to the other of the unit and the body and located within the intermediate member and adjustable relatively thereto along an adjustment path, the first and intermediate members being adjustable relative to one another along the adjustment path between a number of predetermined relative positions, and resilient means being included which bias the first and intermediate members into any one of the said predetermined relative positions, in preference to a position other than one of the said predetermined positions.
2. A system for the manual adjustment of the position of a headlamp unit relatively to its motor vehicle shell comprising an outer sleeve to be secured to one of the unit and shell, an intermediate sleeve engaged in the outer sleeve and movable therein by means of an operating element, an adjusting screw screwed into the intermediate sleeve to cooperate with the other of the unit and shell, and restoring means continuouslv biasing the tions, in preference to a position other than one of the said predetermined axial positions.
3. A system according to Claim 2 in which the intermediate sleeve is screwed into the outer sleeve by way of a screwthread whose pitch is large relative to the screwthread of the adjusting screw, the restoring means biasing the intermediate and outer sleeves into a predetermined angular orientation.
4. A system according to Claim 3 in which the restoring means comprise at least one arm carried by the intermediate sleeve and always tending to engage in a largerdiameter zone in a recess in the outer sleeve.
5. A system according to Claim 4 in which the intermediate sleeve comprises two arms which are diametrically opposite to one another and which tend to move apart from one another and which are arranged to cooperate with a diametric widening of the recess in the outer sleeve.
6. A system according to any of Claims 2 to 5 wherein abutment means prevent the intermediate sleeve from coming out of the outer sleeve.
7. A system according to any of Claims 2 to 6 in which the outer sleeve is fitted to the shell of the motor vehicle by way of a groove co-operating with the edge of an aperture of the shell.
8. A system according to Claim 7 in which the adjusting screw has a widened head to engage with the headlamp unit in a snap fit.
9. A system for the manual adjustment of a headlamp unit substantially as specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.