GB1575517A

GB1575517A - Manual headlamp tilting device in a motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB1575517A
Application number: GB2923076A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Lucas Industries Ltd
Current assignee: ZF International UK Ltd
Priority date: 1976-07-14
Filing date: 1976-07-14
Publication date: 1980-09-24
Also published as: AU505929B2; IT1079294B; JPS5757296B2; AU2680077A; JPS5327935A; FR2358293B1; DE2731332A1; FR2358293A1; DE2731332C2

Description

(54) MANUAL HEADLAMP TILTING DEVICE IN A MOTOR VEHICLE We, LUCAS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, a British company of Great King Street Birmingham B19 2XF 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 a manual headlamp tilting device in a motor vehicle.

In manual headlamp tilting devices of the type having manually operable means connected to a headlamp by means of a linkage, it is often desirable to provide a visual indication of the position to which the manually operable means must be moved in order to move the headlamp into a particular orientation relative to a body of the vehicle, for example to compensate for the tilting of the vehicle body caused by the loading of a particular number of occupants. However, because the linkage possesses a certain amount of hysteresis or backlash, the orientation into which the headlamp is moved by movement ofthe manually operable means into a particular position will depend on the direction in which the manually operable means is being moved at the time.

Therefore, movement of the manually operable means to an indicated position with no restriction on the direction of movement of the manually operable means will not always achieve the desired orientation of the headlamp.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate this problem.

According to the present invention, there is provided, in a motor vehicle having a body and a headlamp mounted on said body for tilting movement relative thereto between at least three predetermined positions, a manual headlamp tilting device comprising manually operable means disposed at a position remote from said headlamp, a linkage operably connecting said manually operable means to said headlamp such that headlamp can be tilted in one direction by movement of the manually operable means in a first tilting direction and in the opposite direction by movement of the manually operable means in a second tilting direction, and guide means defining at least three predetermined locations for the manually operable means which correspond respectively to said predetermined positions of the headlamp, the guide means being arranged to prevent the manually operable means from being moved into each predetermined location directly in one of said first and second tilting directions, and also being arranged so that, where the manually operable means is first moved in said one of the tilting directions, in order to be moved in to the other of the tilting directions by an amount at least equal to the amount of hysterisis in the linkage.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a headlamp to which a manual adjustment device according to the present invention is connected; Figure 2 is a side view of a manually operable lever assembly forming part of a first embodiment of a manual headlamp adjustment device according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a plan view of the lever assembly shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a front view of part of the lever assembly of Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 is a graph of movement of the head lamp against movement of a lever in the lever assembly; Figure 6 is a plan view with parts broken away of a manually operably lever assembly which forms part of a second embodiment of a manual headlamp adjustment device according to the present invention;; Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VII - VII in Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a front view of part of a lever assembly of a third embodiment of a manual headlamp adjustment device according to the present invention.

In Figure 1 there is shown one of a pair of headlamps of a motor vehicle, to which the manual headlamp adjusting device of the present invention is connected. Each of the headlamps comprises a housing 10 which is secured to a body (not shown) of the motor vehicle, and a lamp unit 11 mounted in the housing 10 for tilting movement relative thereto about a horizontal axis between a plurality of predetermined positions. A spring 12 is connected between the housing 10 and the lamp unit 11 so as to bias the lamp unit 11 in a downward direction. The two headlamps-are interconnected by a cross rod 13, oidy an end of which is visible, and a linkage 14 operatively connects each lamp unit 11 to cross rod 13 so that rotation of the cross rod 13 causes the lamp units 11 to tilt in synchronism.A lever 1 5 depends from the cross rod 13 and is mounted for rotation with the latter. A Bowden cable, comprising a flexible inner cable 16 slidable within outer sheath 17, connects the lever 15 to a manually operable lever assembly shown in Figures 2 and 3. The inner cable 16 is connected at one of its ends toa lower wend oflever 15 by means of a ball and socket joint 18. An adjacent end of the outer sheath 17 is fixed relative to the housing 10, as indicated at 19.

The Bowden cable, lever 15, cross rod 13 and linkage 14 together form a linkage which connects the manually operable lever assembly to the headlamps.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the manually operable lever assembly is disposed in a driving compartment of the vehicle and comprises generally a casing 20 on which is pivotally mounted a lever 21 by means of a pivot pin 22. The casing 20 has a flange 23 at the rear thereof, which flange 23 has an aperture 24 therein through which the inner cable 16 of the Bowden cable passes. An end of the cable 16 remote from the headlamps is secured to the lever 21 at a point spaced from pivot pin 22;an adjacent end of the outer sheath 17 of Bowden cable abuts the flange 23.The manually operable lever assembly, the Bowden cable and the headlamps are arranged so that movement of the lever 21 in a first, anticlockwise direction about pivot pin 22, as viewed in Figure 2, causes the headlamps to tilt downwardly, and movement of lever 21 in a second clockwise direction causes the headlamps to tilt upwardly.

It is to be understood that references to tilting of the headlamps indicate tilting of the lamp units 11 thereof.

The manually operable lever assembly further comprises a flanged member 26 secured to the casing 20 by means of rivets 27. The member 26 includes a front plate 28 having a configuration slot 29 therein, through which the lever 21 extends. The fron plate 28 and configurated slot 29 are shown to advantage in Figure 4. The configurated slot 29 includes a plurality of gates 30, each of which comprises a slot portion 31 along which the lever 21 is movable in its first and second directions (indicated respectively by arrows I and II in Figure 4) and a slot portion 32 extending transversely of the portion 31 and spaced from an upper end 33 of the latter. The configurated slot 29 also includes an elongate portion 34 along which the lever 21 is movable in its first and second directions.The gates 30 are disposed alternately on either side of the portion 34, such that the first portions 31 extend parallel to the third portion 34 and are spaced longitudinally of the plate 28. The slot portion 32 of each gate connects the repective slot portion 30 of the portion 34. A notch 35 is provided at an extremity of the portion 34 with respect to the second direction of movement of the lever 21.

The notch 35 defines a location into which the lever 21 is movable in its second direction so as to move the headlamps into an extreme upwardly tilted position. The upper end 33 of each slot portion 31 defines a location into which the lever 21 is movable in its first direction so as to move the headlamps into a respective intermediate tilted position. An end 36 of the slot portion 34 remote from notch 35 defines a location into which the lever 21 is movable in its first direction so as to move the headlamps into an extreme downwardly tilted position. Movement of the headlamps into the above-described tilted positions is arranged to compensate for tilting of the vehicle body due to the loading of no, one, two, three, four and five occupants of the vehicle, respectively.

The configuration slot 29 is designed to ensure that the headlamps are moved into their correct tilted position or orientation each time the lever 21 is moved into the resepctive location, despite the effects of backlash in the linkage connecting the lever to the headlamps.

Such backlash would otherwise cause the position into which the headlamps are moved to be dependent on the direction in which the lever 21 is moved into the respective location.

It will be manifest that a certain amount of the backlash in the linkage will be eliminated because the biassing spring 1 2 and the manually operable lever assembly co-operate to maintain the linkage under tension. However, due to friction within the linkage, particularly the internal friction created within the Bowden cable resulting from deviation of the cable from a straight line to avoid obstacles, a certain amount of backlash will remain.

The configurated slot 29 is designed so as to ensure that the lever 21 can be moved into each of the locations only in the same direction each time,:and by an amount which at least equals the amount of backlash in the linkage. It will be manifest from the above that the lever 21 can be moved into the locations defined by the end 36 of the slot portion 34 and by the upper ends 33 of the slot portions 31 only in its first direction, and can be moved into the location defined by notch 35 only in its second direction.

This will now be further explained with reference to Figure 5, which is a graph of the amount by which the headlamps are tilted vs.

the amount by which the lever 21 is moved.

Suppose it is desired to move the headlamps from a position in which their orientation for the loading of four occupants to a position in which it compensates for the loading of three occupants. The starting position of the lever 21 for this operation is indicated by broken lines in Figure 4 and is indicated by the letter A in both Figure 4 and Figure 5. Initially, movement of the lever 21 in its second direction (i.e. in the direction of arrow II in Figure 4) along the respective slot portion 31 will not cause the headlamps to tilt due to the backlash in the linkage being taken up.The headlamps will only begin to tilt when the lever 21 has reached a position B in which all of the backlash has been taken Up. Continued movement of the lever 21 in its second direction (i.e. along the remainder of said slot portion 31, the respective slot portion 32, and the slot portion 34) causes the headlamps to be tilted upwardly After reaching a position C adjacent the slot portion 32 of the gate 30 corresponding to the loading of three persons, the lever 21 is moved transversely along that slot portion 32, and is then moved in its first direction (i.e. in the direction of arrow I in Figure 4) along the corresponding slot portion 31. Due to the backlash in the linkage, the headlamps will not begin to move downwardly until the lever 21 has reached a position D in which all of the backlash has again been taken up.Movement of the lever 21 beyond position D will then cause the headlamps to tilt downwardly, the headlamps finally reaching the orientation required to compensate for the loading of three occupants when the lever 21 reaches a position E, in which it occupies the appropriate one of its locations.

It will be manifest from the above that the amount by which the lever 21 is moved in its first direction after entering the slot portion 32 is greater than the amount of back lash in the linkage. In the limiting case, how ever, the amount by which the lever 21 is moved in its first direction need only equal the amount of backlash in the linkage. This is explained as follows. As is shown in Figure 5 i in moving from the position B-to position C, the lever 21 moves through a position B' in which the headlamps occupy a position indicated by Y. This position Y is the same as is occupied by the headlamps when the lever 21 is mdved into position E.It is therefore possible to move the lever 21 directly from position B' to position E, rather than via the additional positions C and D and still ensure that the headlamps occupy their correct orientation. This, of course, applies to all of the locations and not just to the one described above.

In the above-described embodiment, the lever 21 can be moved into the locations defined by the upper end 36 of the third slot portion 34 and by the upper ends 33 of the slot portions 31 only by movement in its first direction. However, the configurated slot 29 can be modified such that the lever 21 can be moved into some or all of these locations only by movement in its second direction. Similar comments apply to the location defined by the notch 35, mutatis mutandis.

A second embodiment of the headlamp tilting device will now be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7, which show a manually operable lever assembly of the device. The lever assembly comprises plate 50 on which a composite lever 51 is mounted. The composite lever 51 includes a cranked lever element 52 pivotally mounted on the support plate 50 by means of a pivot pin 53, and a further lever element 54 pivotally connected at one of its ends to an end of lever element 52. The other end of lever element 54 is pivotally attached to a block 55 by means of a pin 56.

The block 55 includes a pair of opposed, inwardly directed hook portion 57 and 58 which respectively engage opposed, outwardly directed hook portions 59 and 60 formed on a pair of elongate guide members 61 and 62, respectively The guide members 61 and 62 are carried by the support plate 50, and the block 55 is slidable along the guide members 61,62 in a direction which is parallel to the plane of movement of the lever elements 52 and 54.

Slidably mounted within a slot in the block 55 is a lever element 63 having a knob 64 at one end thereof for manual operation. A torsion spring 65 is operatively connected between the block 55 and the lever element 63, one end of the spring 65 locating in a recess 66 in the block 55, the other end thereof being arranged around a constricted portion 67 of the lever element 63. A portion of the lever element 63 is downwardly bent so as to define an abutment 68, and the torsion spring 65 acts on the lever element 63 so as to bias the abutment to the right, as viewed in Figure 7.

The guide member 62 has a configurated recess 69 therein within which the abutment 68 is movable. The recess 69 comprises a series of gates each defined by a respective recess portion 70, and a further elongate recess portion 71- with which the recess portions 70 communicate at spaced intervals along its length. The recess portions 70 are all disposed on the same side of the recess portion 71, and are inclined relative thereto in the same direction. Recess portion 71 extends parallel to the direction of movement of the block 55.

The lever assembly- described above is operatively connected to a pair of tiltable vehicle headlamps by means of a linkage including a Bowden cable 72. The Bowden cable 72 comprises a flexible inner cable 73 having a nipple 74 at its end, and an outer sheath 75.

An end of the sheath 75 abuts against a flange 76 on one end of the support plate 50, and the nipple 74 engages a flange 77 upstanding from the cranked lever element 52 at a point spaced from its pivot pin 53, the cable 73 passing through a slot 78 in the flange 77 (see Figure 7). It will be manifest that rotation of the cranked lever element 52 about its pivot pin 53 will cause the flexible cable 73 to move relative to the sheath 75, such movement of the cable 73 being transmitted to the headlamps to effect tilting movement of the latter.

It will also be manifest that such rotation of the cranked lelver element 52 can be effected by moving the block 55 along the guide members 61 and 62 by means of the lever element 63.

In this particular embodiment, movement of the block 55 to the left as viewed in Figure 6 (a first tilting direction) causes the headlamps to tilt downwardly, and movement of the block 55 to the right (a second tilting direction) causes the headlamps to tilt upwardly.

Each portion 70 of the configurated recess 69 defines, at an end thereof remote from the recess portion 71, a respective location into which the abutment 68 is movable in said first tilting direction so as to move the headlamps into a respective tilted position or orientation relative to a body of the vehicle. Movement of the headlamps into each tilted position is arranged to compensate for tilting of the vehicle body due to the loading of no, one, two, three and four occupants, respectively.

The configurated recess 69 is designed to ensure that the headlamps are moved into the correct tilted position each time the abutment 68 is moved into a respective one of said locations, despite the effects of backlash in the linkage connecting the lever assembly to the headlamps. To this end, the recess portions 70 are so designed that the abutment 68 is movable into each location only in said first tilting direction and by an amount which at least equals the amount of backlash in the linkage.

The manner in which this is achieved will be apparent by referring back to Figure 5 and the description relating thereto, my tats mu tandis.

The positions A, B, C, D and E of the abutment 68, indicated in Figure 5, are shown by broken lines in Figure 6. It will be manifest that movement of the abutment 68 transversely of the first and second tilting directions is permitted by lever element 63 being slidably mounted on the block 55.

In Figure 8 there is shown an alternative form of front plate, denoted by reference numeral 39, for use with the lever assembly of Figures 2 and 3. A configurated slot 40 is provided in the front plate 39, through which the lever (not shown) of the manually operable lever assembly extends. The configurated slot 40 includes a plurality of gates 41 each including a slot portion 42, along which the lever is movable in its first and second directions. The configurated slot 40 also includes an elongate slot portion 43 from which the slot portions 42 extend for different distances in mutually parallel relationship, being spaced transversely of their direction of extent. An upper end 44 of each slot portion 42 defines a location into which the lever is movable in its first direction so as to move the headlamps into a respective tilted position.A notch 45 is provided at one end of the elongate slot portion 43, and defines a location into which the lever is movable so as to move the headlamps into an extreme upwardly tilted position.

It will be manifest that the lever cannot be moved into any of the locations defined by the upper ends 44 of the slot portion 42 except by movement in its first direction. Similarly, the lever cannot be moved from any of those locations to the location defined by notch 45 except by movement in its second direction.

Moreover, the lever cannot be moved from one location to another unless at some stage it is moved along the elongate slot portion 43.

Each slot portion 42 is of such a length that the lever, in order to be moved into the respective location, must be moved in its first dire - - tion by an amdunt at least equal to the amount of backlash in the linkage connecting the lever to the headlamps.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. In a motor vehicle having a body and a headlamp mounted on said body for tilting relative thereto between at least three predetermined positions, a manual headlamp tilting divice comprising manually operable means disposed at a position remote from said headlamp, a linkage operably connecting the manually operable means to said headlamp such that said headlamp can be tilted in one direction by movement of the manually operable means in a first tilting direction and in the opposite direction by movement of the manually operable means in a second tilting direction, and guide means defining at least three predetermined locations for the manually operable means which correspond respectively to said predetermined positions of the headlamp, the guide means being arranged to prevent the manually operable means from being moved into each predetermined location directly in one of said first and second tilting directions, and also being arranged so that, where the manually operable means is first moved in said one of the tilting directions, in order to be moved into the respective predetermined location the manually operable means must be

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. disposed on the same side of the recess portion 71, and are inclined relative thereto in the same direction. Recess portion 71 extends parallel to the direction of movement of the block 55. The lever assembly- described above is operatively connected to a pair of tiltable vehicle headlamps by means of a linkage including a Bowden cable 72. The Bowden cable 72 comprises a flexible inner cable 73 having a nipple 74 at its end, and an outer sheath 75. An end of the sheath 75 abuts against a flange 76 on one end of the support plate 50, and the nipple 74 engages a flange 77 upstanding from the cranked lever element 52 at a point spaced from its pivot pin 53, the cable 73 passing through a slot 78 in the flange 77 (see Figure 7). It will be manifest that rotation of the cranked lever element 52 about its pivot pin 53 will cause the flexible cable 73 to move relative to the sheath 75, such movement of the cable 73 being transmitted to the headlamps to effect tilting movement of the latter. It will also be manifest that such rotation of the cranked lelver element 52 can be effected by moving the block 55 along the guide members 61 and 62 by means of the lever element 63. In this particular embodiment, movement of the block 55 to the left as viewed in Figure 6 (a first tilting direction) causes the headlamps to tilt downwardly, and movement of the block 55 to the right (a second tilting direction) causes the headlamps to tilt upwardly. Each portion 70 of the configurated recess 69 defines, at an end thereof remote from the recess portion 71, a respective location into which the abutment 68 is movable in said first tilting direction so as to move the headlamps into a respective tilted position or orientation relative to a body of the vehicle. Movement of the headlamps into each tilted position is arranged to compensate for tilting of the vehicle body due to the loading of no, one, two, three and four occupants, respectively. The configurated recess 69 is designed to ensure that the headlamps are moved into the correct tilted position each time the abutment 68 is moved into a respective one of said locations, despite the effects of backlash in the linkage connecting the lever assembly to the headlamps. To this end, the recess portions 70 are so designed that the abutment 68 is movable into each location only in said first tilting direction and by an amount which at least equals the amount of backlash in the linkage. The manner in which this is achieved will be apparent by referring back to Figure 5 and the description relating thereto, my tats mu tandis. The positions A, B, C, D and E of the abutment 68, indicated in Figure 5, are shown by broken lines in Figure 6. It will be manifest that movement of the abutment 68 transversely of the first and second tilting directions is permitted by lever element 63 being slidably mounted on the block 55. In Figure 8 there is shown an alternative form of front plate, denoted by reference numeral 39, for use with the lever assembly of Figures 2 and 3. A configurated slot 40 is provided in the front plate 39, through which the lever (not shown) of the manually operable lever assembly extends. The configurated slot 40 includes a plurality of gates 41 each including a slot portion 42, along which the lever is movable in its first and second directions. The configurated slot 40 also includes an elongate slot portion 43 from which the slot portions 42 extend for different distances in mutually parallel relationship, being spaced transversely of their direction of extent. An upper end 44 of each slot portion 42 defines a location into which the lever is movable in its first direction so as to move the headlamps into a respective tilted position.A notch 45 is provided at one end of the elongate slot portion 43, and defines a location into which the lever is movable so as to move the headlamps into an extreme upwardly tilted position. It will be manifest that the lever cannot be moved into any of the locations defined by the upper ends 44 of the slot portion 42 except by movement in its first direction. Similarly, the lever cannot be moved from any of those locations to the location defined by notch 45 except by movement in its second direction. Moreover, the lever cannot be moved from one location to another unless at some stage it is moved along the elongate slot portion 43. Each slot portion 42 is of such a length that the lever, in order to be moved into the respective location, must be moved in its first dire - - tion by an amdunt at least equal to the amount of backlash in the linkage connecting the lever to the headlamps. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. In a motor vehicle having a body and a headlamp mounted on said body for tilting relative thereto between at least three predetermined positions, a manual headlamp tilting divice comprising manually operable means disposed at a position remote from said headlamp, a linkage operably connecting the manually operable means to said headlamp such that said headlamp can be tilted in one direction by movement of the manually operable means in a first tilting direction and in the opposite direction by movement of the manually operable means in a second tilting direction, and guide means defining at least three predetermined locations for the manually operable means which correspond respectively to said predetermined positions of the headlamp, the guide means being arranged to prevent the manually operable means from being moved into each predetermined location directly in one of said first and second tilting directions, and also being arranged so that, where the manually operable means is first moved in said one of the tilting directions, in order to be moved into the respective predetermined location the manually operable means must be

moved in the other of the tilting directions by an amount at least equal to the amount of hysterisis in the linkage.

2. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the manually operable means includes a manually graspable member, and the guide means is composed of a member having therein a configurated slot or recess within which the manually graspable member is movable.

3. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the configurated slot or recess includes a plurality of first portions along which the manually graspable member is movable into said predetermined locations respectively, and a second portion with which the first portions communicate and along which the manually graspable member is movable from one first portion to another.

4. A headlamp tilting device claimed in claim 3, wherein the first portions of the configurated slot or recess are spaced apart in said first and second tilting directions, and the manually graspable member is movable along the second portion of the configurated slot or recess in said first and second tilting directions.

5. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first portions are all disposed on the same side of the second portion.

6. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first portions are disposed alternately on either side of the second portion.

7. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the first and second portion are substantially mutually parallel, and the configurated slot or recess further includes a plurality of third portions each of which communicates with a respective one of the first portions at a point spaced from the respective predetermined location in said one of the tilting directions and which connects said first portion to the second portion.

8. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the first portions are inclined relative to the second portion.

9. A headlamp tilting device as-claimed in claim 3, wherein the first portions of the configurated slot or recess are spaced apart transversely of the first and second tilting directions, the second portion of the configurated slot or recess extends transversely of the first portions, and the first portions extend for different distances from the second portion.

10. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein biassing means urges the headlamp in one of its said direction of movement.

11. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the biassing means urges the headlamp in its said one direction of move ment.

12. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the linkage is a mechanical linkage and includes a flexible cable slidable within an outer sheath.

13. A headlamp tilting divice as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the manually operable means includes a lever pivotable about a fixed axis, and the linkage is connected to the lever at a point spaced from said axis.

14. A headlamp tilting device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the guide means is corn posed of a member having a configurated slot or recess therein, and said lever is a compound lever and comprises a first lever element piv otable about said fixed axis and to which the linkage is attached, a second lever element pivotally connected to the first lever element about an axis substantially parallel to and spaced from the fixed axis, a part of the second lever element being constrained to move in said first and second tilting directions, and a manually operable element operably connected to said part of the second lever element and slidable relative thereto transversely with respect to the first and second tilting directions, the manually operable element having an abutment thereon which is movable in the configurated slot or recess.

15. In a motor vehicle having a body and a headlamp mounted on said body for tilting movement relative thereto between at least three predetermined positions, a manual headlamp tilting device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 or Figures 6 and 7 or Figures 1 to 4 as modified by Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.