1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to headlight devices for motorcycles, using LEDs (light emitting diodes) as light sources. In particular, the present invention relates to a headlight device mounted to a front fairing of a motorcycle.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, LEDs have been increasingly adopted as light sources of headlight devices for motorcycles (for example, Patent Document 1). Since a headlight device using LEDs is smaller in size as compared to a conventional headlight device using bulbs, downsizing of a front fairing can be expected when the headlight device is covered with the front fairing.
[Patent Document 1] JP Patent No. 4376528
The headlight device using LEDs requires a power supply circuit unit which controls power from a power supply and supplies the power to the LEDs, and the power supply circuit unit also needs to be accommodated in the front fairing. Since the shape of the front fairing is determined in view of its function and appearance, it is difficult to secure an arrangement space for the power supply circuit unit if the front fairing is downsized.
In view of the aforementioned problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a headlight device for a motorcycle, in which LEDs and a power supply circuit unit can be accommodated in a front fairing in a compact manner while downsizing the front fairing.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, a headlight device for a motorcycle according to the present invention is accommodated in a front fairing of the motorcycle, and includes a lamp unit using an LED as a light source, and a power supply circuit unit configured to control power from a power supply and then supply the power to the light source. The power supply circuit unit is accommodated in a recess provided in an upper portion of the lamp unit.
With this configuration, since the LED light source is used, the lamp unit can be downsized. When the downsized lamp unit is located at the lowermost position in the front fairing, the lamp unit can be easily accommodated in the front fairing even when the front fairing is downsized. The front fairing generally has a tapered shape having an upper portion of a small length in the front-rear direction or the longitudinal direction, and a lower portion of a large length in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, it is preferable for the downsized front fairing that the lamp unit is located at the lower position in the front fairing where a sufficient space is secured. At this time, since the power supply circuit unit is accommodated in the recess provided above the lamp unit, the lamp unit can be located at the lower position in the front fairing without being obstructed by the power supply circuit unit. Thus, the lamp unit and the power supply circuit unit can be accommodated in the front fairing in a compact manner while downsizing the front fairing.
In the present invention, it is preferable that an elastic body is interposed between the power supply circuit unit and the recess. With this configuration, positional deviations between the power supply circuit unit and the lamp unit in the longitudinal direction and the left-right direction or the motorcycle widthwise direction are absorbed by the elastic body.
When the elastic body is provided, it is preferable that the recess is provided in the upper portion of the lamp unit, and the power supply circuit unit is accommodated in a box formed of the elastic body and opened upward, and the box is pressed against an inner surface of the recess. With this configuration, since the power supply circuit unit is incorporated in the lamp unit by only accommodating the box in the recess, the assembly is facilitated. Further, since the box is pressed against the inner surface of the recess, the relative position of the box to the lamp unit is made stable. Thereby, for example, the box and a lamp bracket can be connected not by fastening but by a simple insertion-type locking structure. Further, since the box is formed of an elastic body, vibration transmitted from the lamp bracket during traveling of the motorcycle is also absorbed.
In the present invention, it is preferable that the power supply circuit unit and the lamp unit are supported by a lamp bracket, and the lamp bracket is mounted to a top bridge which supports a front fork. In this case, it is preferable that the lamp bracket is mounted to the top bridge through a mounting bracket. With this configuration, since the lamp bracket supports both the lamp unit and the power supply circuit unit, the number of components and the number of assembling steps are reduced. Further, an assembly is configured by connecting the lamp bracket and the mounting bracket to the headlight device and the front fairing, and the assembly is mounted to the top bridge, whereby the headlight device and the front fairing are assembled to the vehicle body. Therefore, assemblability of the headlight device and the front fairing is improved.
When the mounting bracket is provided, it is preferable that the mounting bracket is provided with a first holding member which allows cables to pass therethrough and holds the cables. In this case, it is further preferable that the lamp bracket is provided with a second holding member which holds the cables in cooperation with the first holding member. With this configuration, since the mounting bracket and the lamp bracket are provided with the first and second holding members, respectively, the mounting bracket and the lamp bracket can also be used for holding the cables. Further, when the above-described assembly is configured, the cables are held by the first and second holding members, whereby assemblability is improved.
Any combination of at least two constructions, disclosed in the appended claims and/or the specification and/or the accompanying drawings should be construed as included within the scope of the present invention. In particular, any combination of two or more of the appended claims should be equally construed as included within the scope of the present invention.
In any event, the present invention will become more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are given only for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way whatsoever, which scope is to be determined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts throughout the several views, and:
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description herein, “left side” and “right side” refer to the left side and right side, respectively, as viewed by a rider riding a vehicle.
A swingarm bracket 11 is provided at a rear end portion of the main frame 1. A swingarm 12 is supported by the swingarm bracket 11 so as to be swingable in the up-down direction, through a pivot pin 13 inserted into a front end portion of the swingarm 12. A rear wheel 14 is supported by a rear end portion of the swingarm 12. An engine E is supported at a position below an intermediate portion of the main frame 1. The engine E drives the rear wheel 14 through a power transmission mechanism 16 such as a chain.
A rider's seat 22 and a fellow passenger's seat 24 are supported by the rear frame 2, and a tail lamp 26 is supported at a rear end of the rear frame 2. Below the tail lamp 26, a rear fender 36 is mounted so as to be located above the rear wheel 14.
A fuel tank 25 is mounted in an upper portion of the main frame 1, that is, in an upper portion of the vehicle body between the handlebar 10 and the rider's seat 22. A headlight device 40 is supported by the top bridge 4 and the bottom bridge 5. A front fairing 30 made from a resin is supported by the headlight device 40 so that the front fairing 30 covers the headlight device 40 from top, bottom, and both sides. A side fairing 31 made from a resin is mounted rearward of the front fairing 30. The side fairing 31 covers, from the lateral sides, a portion ranging from a lower end portion of the fuel tank 25 to front and lower-end portions of the engine E.
As shown in
The lamp units 42 include a pair of left and right low-beam lamps 46 disposed inward in the motorcycle widthwise direction, and a pair of left and right high-beam lamps 48 disposed outward in the motorcycle widthwise direction. Light sources 46a and 48a of the lamps 46 and 48 are composed of LEDs. The power supply circuit unit 44 controls DC power from a power supply (non-illustrated battery) and supplies the power to the LEDs as the light sources 46a and 48a.
At an upper portion and a lower portion of the lamp base 50, fairing attachment pieces 54 each having an insertion hole 54a are integrally formed. Four fairing attachment pieces 54 are provided at the upper portion of the lamp base 50, and two fairing attachment pieces 54 are provided at the lower portion of the lamp base 50.
At a center portion, in the motorcycle widthwise direction, of the upper portion of the lamp base 50 shown in
As shown in
At left and right ends of an upper portion of the rear surface of the lamp base 50, motorcycle widthwise direction adjustment screws 62, 62 for adjusting the optical axes, in the motorcycle widthwise direction, of the left and right lamp units 42, 42 are provided, respectively. At the center, in the motorcycle widthwise direction, of a lower portion of the rear surface of the lamp base 50, up-down direction adjustment screws 64, 64 for adjusting the optical axes, in the up-down direction, of the left and right lamp units 42, 42 are provided.
At the lower portion of the rear surface of the lamp base 50, specifically, at positions outward of the up-down direction adjustment screws 64, 64 in the lower portion, lower bracket attachment pieces 66, 66 are formed, respectively. In each lower bracket attachment piece 66, a lower bracket attachment hole 66a extending in the up-down direction is formed.
As shown in
The unit body 68 of the power supply circuit unit 44 shown in
As shown in
The box 69 shown in
The headlight device 40 shown in
The upper lamp bracket 80 is formed by bending a sheet metal as shown in
The box engagement part 84 shown in
The bridge attachment parts 88, 88 have, at rear ends thereof, inclined walls 96, 96 which are inclined obliquely rearward and upward. In the inclined walls 96, 96, bolt insertion holes 96a, 96a are formed. Each bridge attachment part 88 is provided with a second holding member 100 which holds cables 99 (
As shown in
A welding nut 108 (
The right-side support member 104 is provided with a first cable support part 112 facing obliquely downward and outward, and a first through-hole 112a is formed in the first cable support part 112. The first cable support part 112 is formed by bending an upper end of the support member 104 frontward. The connection member 106 is provided with a second cable support part 114 extending obliquely upward and rearward. The second cable support part 114 is formed of a metal plate member, and is fixed to the connection member 106 by means of welding. A second through-hole 114a is formed in the second cable support part 114.
The upper lamp bracket 80 and the mounting bracket 102 cooperate together to form an opening in the up-down direction. The first and second holding members 98 and 100 and the first and second cable support parts 112 and 114 are arranged so as to guide the cables to the opening.
As shown in
Assembly of the power supply circuit unit 44 to the lamp base 50 and mounting of the headlight device 40 to the motorcycle body will be described. The power supply circuit unit 44 shown in
Further, as shown in
Then, the mounting bracket 102 is mounted to the top bridge 4. Specifically, the bolt 105 is inserted from the front into the bolt insertion hole 110 of the mounting bracket 102, and fastened to a screw hole (not shown) formed in the top bridge 4.
Further, the lower lamp bracket 82 shown in
Subsequently, the front fairing 30 is mounted to the headlight device 40. The bolts 53 shown in
Then, the headlight device 40 to which the front fairing 30 is fixed is mounted to the motorcycle body. First, mounting of the upper portion of the headlight device 40 to the top bridge 4 will be described. Specifically, bolts 128 shown in
Subsequently, mounting of the lower portion of the headlight device 40 to the bottom bridge 5 will be described. Specifically, anti-vibration elastic grommets 130 each having flanges at both ends thereof are fitted into the lower bracket attachment holes 66a of the lower bracket attachment pieces 66 of the lamp base 50 shown in
A cable holding structure will be described. As shown in
Part of the cables 99, for example, a brake hose 99a is supported by the first cable support part 112 of the mounting bracket 102. Specifically, the brake hose 99a is inserted in an elastic grommet 136, and the elastic member 136 is held by a clamp member 138 attached to the first through hole 112a of the first cable support part 112. Thus, the brake hose 99a is supported by the mounting bracket 102.
Further, part of the cables 99, for example, a meter harness 99b is supported by the second cable support part 114 of the mounting bracket 102. Specifically, the meter harness 99b is held by a binding member 140 attached to the second through-hole 114a (
Thus, an assembly of the headlight device 40, the front fairing 30, the upper and lower lamp brackets 80 and 82, the mounting bracket 102 and the cables 99 is formed. This assembly is mounted to the top bridge 4 and the bottom bridge 5 shown in
In the above-described preferred embodiment, since LEDs are used as the light sources 46a and 48a of the lamp units 42 shown in
At this time, since the power supply circuit unit 44 is accommodated in the recess 56 provided above the lamp units 42 shown in
Since the box 69 formed of an elastic body is interposed between the power supply circuit unit 44 and the recess 56, positional deviations between the power supply circuit unit 44 and the lamp units 42 in the longitudinal direction and the motorcycle widthwise direction are absorbed by the elastic body.
Further, since the power supply circuit unit 44 is incorporated in the lamp units 42 by only accommodating the box 69 in the recess 56, the assembly is facilitated. Further, since the box 69 is pressed against the inner surface of the recess 56, the relative position of the box 69 to the lamp units 42 is made stable. Thereby, the box 69 and the upper lamp bracket 80 can be connected not by fastening but by a simple insertion-type locking structure. Further, since the box 69 is formed of an elastic body, vibration transmitted from the upper lamp bracket 80 during traveling of the motorcycle is also absorbed.
Moreover, since the upper lamp bracket 80 supports both the lamp units 42 and the power supply circuit unit 44, the number of components and the number of assembling steps are reduced. Further, the assembly is configured by connecting the upper lamp bracket 80 and the mounting bracket 102 to the headlight device 40 and the front fairing 30, and the assembly is mounted to the top bridge 4, whereby the headlight device 40 and the front fairing 30 are assembled to the motorcycle body. Therefore, assemblability of the headlight device 40 and the front fairing 30 is improved.
Since the mounting bracket 102 and the upper lamp bracket 80 shown in
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various additions, modifications, or deletions may be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Accordingly, such additions, changes, or deletions are to be construed as included in the scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012-273252 | Dec 2012 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C §111(a) of international application No. PCT/JP2013/078838, filed Oct. 24, 2013, which claims priority to Japanese patent application No. 2012-273252, filed Dec. 14, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference as a part of this application.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2013/078838 | Oct 2013 | US |
Child | 14731265 | US |