This application claims the priority of German patent application Serial No. 10 2005 006 824.3 filed Feb. 15, 2005.
The invention concerns a vehicle lamp.
There is provided a vehicle lamp including a lamp housing which can be introduced from the exterior into a bodywork opening until an abutment provided thereon comes to bear against a part of the vehicle, and a sealing means for sealingly closing the bodywork opening. At least one latching means for engaging behind the edge of the bodywork opening to prevent the vehicle lamp from moving out of the bodywork opening. The lamp housing further comprises first and second housing portions. The first housing portion includes the abutment and the at least one latching means, while the sealing means is provided on the second housing portion. The two housing portions are so mounted to each other that they are displaceable relative to each other in the installation direction from a pre-assembly position into a final assembly position. A bistable spring arrangement is mounted on the housing portions in such a way that in the pre-assembly position it urges the housing portions away from each other in opposite relationship to the installation direction and in the final assembly position it pulls them towards each other in the installation direction in such a way that the sealing means is pressed from the exterior against the outside surface of the bodywork.
As will be apparent from the description of the embodiments, the first and second housing portions, which are displaceable relative to each other in the insertion direction, are provided for supporting and providing latching engagement in the region surrounding the opening in the bodywork as well as for sealing closure of the opening in the bodywork. The first housing portion has an abutment which prevents the vehicle lamp from being inserted into the bodywork opening to an excessive depth in the assembly operation. Also provided on the first housing portion are the latching devices which engage behind the edge of the bodywork opening, when the vehicle lamp is completely inserted. The spacing thereof from the surface of the abutment, which comes to bear against the outside of the bodywork, is completely non-critical as the abutment as such does not perform any sealing functions.
Rather, a sealing function is associated with the second housing portion, which is urged outwardly in opposite relationship to the insertion direction with respect to the first housing portion by the bistable spring arrangement. When the vehicle lamp is introduced into the bodywork opening to such an extent that the abutment of the first housing portion comes to bear against the outside of the bodywork, the application of a further force acting in the insertion direction, against the second housing portion, means that the latter can be displaced in relation to the first housing portion until the bistable spring arrangement moves beyond its dead point. The spring arrangement then exerts a force which biases the second housing portion in the insertion direction relative to the first housing portion. Therefore, the first housing portion is pressed with its latching devices against the inside of the bodywork while at the same time the second housing portion is pressed with its sealing arrangement against the outside of the bodywork. In a final assembled condition, there is no longer any need for the abutment of the first housing portion to bear against the outside of the bodywork as the sealing function is performed entirely by the sealing arrangement of the second housing portion.
The above-described spring action in the installation direction thus permits advantageous tolerance compensation and allows relatively large manufacturing tolerances for the functional elements which serve for fixing purposes.
The pressing force of the sealing arrangement can be varied within wide limits according to the respective requirements involved, by making the spring force of a suitable magnitude.
Referring to
As can be seen from
First housing portion 8 has an abutment indicated at 12 in
Alternatively abutment 12 of first housing portion 8 can be designed such that it comes to bear against another fixed part of the vehicle, within the bodywork.
In one embodiment, first housing portion 8 is substantially in the form of a hollow body which is open at its two ends.
As can be seen in particular from
Latching noses 14 and 15 are disposed at the front free end of tongues 16 and 16a which are formed by incisions in the outside wall of first housing portion 8. Upon insertion of first housing portion 8 into the bodywork opening 3, when the inclined ramp surfaces of the latching noses 14 and 15 pass over the edge of bodywork opening 3, tongues 16 and 16a are deflected resiliently inwardly to such an extent that the latching noses 14 and 15 can pass readily through bodywork opening 3.
The distances of the steep abutment surfaces of latching noses 14 and 15 from the rear side, which faces theretowards, of abutment 12 formed by the peripherally extending flange or collar, are completely non-critical and only have to be somewhat larger than the thickness of the sheet metal of the bodywork in the region of bodywork opening 3 so that latching noses 14 and 15 can readily resiliently engage behind inside surface 17 of the bodywork when first housing portion 8 is pushed into bodywork opening 3 to such an extent that the abutment 12 comes to bear against outside surface 13 of the bodywork. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the rear side of abutment 12 on the one hand and the steep abutment surfaces of latching noses 14 and 15 on the other hand come to bear against the surface of the sheet metal of the bodywork, which respectively faces theretowards, in various phases which occur in temporal succession in the assembly procedure, but never at the same time.
In the embodiment shown in
Furthermore, first housing portion 8 is integrally connected to elements 21 which have an optical function and which, in the embodiment shown, have Fresnel lenses which parallelize the light coming from corresponding light emitting diodes 20 in such a way that it issues from vehicle lamp 5, without substantial losses.
It is also possible to provide reflectors which partially embrace the light sources and may be integrally connected to first housing portion 8. Instead of light emitting diodes 20 it is also possible to use incandescent lamps as the light sources.
As can be seen from
As can be seen from
In order for two housing portions 8 and 10 to be joined to form a unit in the pre-assembly condition, second housing portion 10 has two respective extension arms 25 and 26 which are arranged in mutually diametrally opposite relationship with respect to longitudinal axis 23 of the housing. In the insertion direction, extension arms 25 and 26 extend beyond the end of the hollow body forming second housing portion 10, thereby extending its external contour. Extension arms 25 and 26 bear against the inside wall of first housing portion 8 and ensure a guidance action for the above-mentioned mutual displacement of housing portions 8 and 10. In the region of extension arms 25 and 26, first housing portion 8 does not include latching noses which engage behind the sheet metal of the vehicle bodywork.
In the embodiment shown in
Adjoining openings 30 and 31 in the insertion direction (i.e. towards the left in
Two shape springs 34 and 35 which are Ω-shaped in the embodiment shown in
The position of pivotal mounting points 37 and 40 on first housing portion 8 with respect to pivotal mounting points 38 and 39 on second housing portion 10 is such that shape springs 34 and 35, in the pre-assembly position shown in
If a force acting in the insertion direction is applied to second housing portion 10 after insertion of vehicle lamp 5 into bodywork opening 3, shape springs 34 and 35 transmit that force to first housing portion 8. Abutment 12 of first housing portion 8 bears against outside surface 13 of the bodywork and, therefore, first housing portion 8 cannot slide more deeply into bodywork opening 3. In the course of the movement, further stressing of the shape springs 34 and 35 takes place until a dead point position is reached. After springs 34 and 35 move beyond that position, they pivot further about pivotal mounting points 37, 38 and 39, 40 until they have reached the position shown in
The above-described embodiment provides a bistable spring arrangement that pivots from a pre-assembly position into a final assembly position and reverses the direction of the force exerted thereby between housing portions 8 and 10.
As shown in
In order to ensure that the pressing effect of sealing ring 44 is always uniform, the spacing of flange 42 from outside surface 13 of the vehicle bodywork can be kept constant by way of additional spacer elements 48 provided at the outer ends of flange 42, spacer elements 48 bear against outside surface 13 of the vehicle bodywork in the final assembly condition.
Removal of vehicle lamp 5 can be effected by withdrawing second housing portion 10, against the force of springs 34 and 35, with a special tool which engages into suitable apertures in second housing portion 10. Thereafter latching noses 14 and 15 on first housing portion 8 are accessible for disengagement. Vehicle lamp 5 can then be drawn out of bodywork opening 3.
Instead of Ω-shaped springs 34 and 35 it is also possible to use wire loop springs, shape springs having a U-shaped configuration, torsion springs, compression springs, etc. By virtue of arranging an elongate shape spring with two outer pivotal mounting points on one housing portion and a central pivotal mounting point on the other housing portion, the desired function can also be performed with a reduced number of springs.
It will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments have been set forth solely by way of illustration and example and that various alterations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102005006824.3 | Feb 2005 | DE | national |