JPS6324841B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the adjustment of optical axis always at a proper angle by detecting the change of the optical axis of a front head lamp due to the variation of the car load electrically and automatically, and indicating the direction of adjustment in improper case, and turning an operation knob to the direction of indication. CONSTITUTION:When the rear part 35b of a car body 35 is lowered and the optical axis 31 of a front head lamp 28 is directed upward, the electric potential of the nodal point X2 of the varaible resistor 37 on the rear side of the chassis 33 is lowered lower than the potential of the nodal point Xi of the variable resistor 36 on the front side of the chassis 33, and a transistor Qi is turned-ON. Then Q3 is also turned-ON, and a light emitting diode 16a lights up. When the optical axis of the front head lamp is adjusted through an optical-axis adjusting mechanism by turning an operation knob 1 according to the direction of arrow on the window 12a of the light emitting diode 16a having been lighted up, the value of a variable resistor 9 is reduced, linked with the turning described above, and the potential of the nodal point Xi of a variable resistor Ri is lowered, and then Qi is turned-OFF and the diode 16a is put out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device that can always adjust the irradiation direction of a headlamp to an appropriate position, which changes depending on the state of the front and rear loads of a vehicle, particularly an automobile body.

Car headlights are generally attached to the car body, which is supported by the wheels via a suspension system.
Since this suspension system is flexible, the inclination of the vehicle body changes depending on the loaded state, and as a result, the optical axis angle of the headlights also changes. For example, if the load condition changes from a state in which the optical axis angle of the headlights is correctly adjusted, and more load is applied to the front of the vehicle than to the rear, the rear of the vehicle will be lifted relative to The optical axis of the headlights will point too far downwards, and conversely, if more weight is applied to the rear of the vehicle than the front, the front of the vehicle will be lifted up, causing the optical axis of the headlights to point too upwards. This will result in
If the vehicle is driven with the optical axis of the headlamp set in an inappropriate state, the road cannot be illuminated in an optimal state, and there is also the problem of dazzling the driver of an oncoming vehicle. By the way, in order to eliminate this problem, various automatic adjustment mechanisms have been proposed in the past that can automatically adjust the optical axis of the headlight to an appropriate state according to changes in the vehicle body relative to the chassis. In both cases, they respond sensitively to even minute changes in the vehicle's load, and for example, adjustments are made frequently to changes caused by irregularities on the road while the vehicle is driving. There is a risk that the device will oscillate, which may even exacerbate the aforementioned problem. Additionally, the optical axis of the headlight does not need to be adjusted frequently while driving, and if it is properly adjusted according to the load in a stationary state, the optical axis will not change due to vibration, acceleration, or deceleration while driving. Since it is instantaneous, it returns to the proper state immediately. Rather, the problem is being able to know exactly whether an adjustment is necessary and, if so, whether it was adjusted correctly.

Therefore, the present invention notifies whether or not the headlights need to be adjusted depending on the state of the load applied to the vehicle, and also notifies whether or not the adjustment has been made appropriately and also informs the direction of the adjustment. This is a new optical axis adjustment device that maintains the optical axis of the headlight properly and illuminates the road in an optimal condition, while also avoiding dazzling the drivers of oncoming vehicles. The present invention is intended to provide a case that includes at least two light emitting elements that operate complementary to each other based on changes in the load on the vehicle body, and an arrow-shaped window in front of the light emitting elements that indicates the direction of adjustment. A display mechanism equipped with a display mechanism, an adjustment mechanism equipped with an operation knob, and a main body are attached to the front and rear of a chassis connected to the vehicle body via a suspension device, and movable elements are respectively attached to corresponding parts of the vehicle body. a load amount detection element whose resistance value changes according to the amount of load applied, an adjustment element whose resistance value changes according to the amount of adjustment by the adjustment mechanism of the optical axis, and two drives corresponding to the two light emitting elements, respectively. and a display control circuit equipped with a comparison circuit that selectively drives the two drive circuits and corrects changes in the resistance value balance of the adjustment element, and when the front and rear loads of the vehicle body change. The load amount detection element detects a change in load as a change in resistance value, and when the resistance value balance between the load amount detection elements changes, the two drive circuits are selectively driven by the comparison circuit, and the display is displayed. The mechanism displays whether the angle of the optical axis of the headlight is appropriate or not, and also indicates the direction of adjustment if it is incorrect, and the headlight can be adjusted by rotating the operating knob. When the optical axis angle of the lamp is adjusted, the resistance value of the adjustment element changes, and the change in resistance balance is corrected by the comparison circuit, so that the indication of the adjustment direction on the display mechanism disappears. The details thereof will be explained below according to the illustrated embodiments.

FIGS. 1a and 1b are a front view and a sectional view taken along the line bb--b of the operating knob used in the adjustment device of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a substantially cylindrical operating knob, and a large diameter portion 1a and a small diameter portion 1b are integrally formed of an insulating material. The narrow diameter portion 1b of the operation knob 1 is made of an insulating material and is rotatably supported between holes 4, 4 provided in two opposing walls of the middle portion 3 of the case 2, which has a substantially U-shape. Further, several thread grooves 5 are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the narrow diameter portion 1b of the operating knob 1 at the approximate center thereof, and the threads 7 of the operating rod 6 are screwed into the thread grooves 5. There is. That is, if the details are shown in FIG. 2, the operating rod 6 has two piston rods 6.
a, 6b are connected by an intermediate portion 6c,
An insertion hole 8 formed approximately at the center of this intermediate portion 6c
A screw thread 7 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the operating knob 1
It is screwed into the thread groove 5 of the narrow diameter portion 1b. Therefore, the rotation of the operating knob 1 causes the operating rod 6 to move back and forth as indicated by the arrow in the figure. and,
For example, a variable resistor 9 is attached between the operation knob 6 and the case 2. That is, the main body 9a of this variable resistor 9 is fixed to a part of the case 2,
The movable element 9b is attached to a part of the operating rod 6, and the lead wire 9c is connected to a control circuit to be described later. As a result, the resistance value of the variable resistor 9 changes as the operating rod 6 moves back and forth, and the change is transmitted to the control circuit via the lead wire 9c.

In the figure, 10 is a display device built into the operation knob 1. Reference numeral 11 denotes a case of the display device 10, which is composed of a large diameter part 11a and a small diameter part 11b, which are fitted so as to be in contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the large diameter part 1a and the small diameter part 1b of the operation knob 1, respectively. ing. The tip of the large diameter portion 11a of this case 11 is connected to the front wall 11.
There are two arrow-shaped windows 12a and 12b formed on the left and right sides of this front wall 11c, which intersect on an extension line, and furthermore, at the center of the lower end of this front wall 11c, there are circular windows 12a and 12b. window 13
is formed. This arrow-shaped window 12a, 1
2b is covered with filters 14a and 14b whose surfaces are colored red, for example. Further, a printed circuit board 15 is attached to the boundary between the large diameter portion 11a and the narrow diameter portion 11b of the case 11 so as to cover this boundary. Light emitting diodes 16a and 16b are mounted on the front surface of the printed circuit board 15 so as to face approximately the center of the arrow-shaped windows 12a and 12b, and on the lower front surface of the printed circuit board 15, their tips are connected to the circular windows. A light emitting diode 17 is attached so as to protrude outward from 13.
The light emitting diode 17 is a green light emitting diode. Note that the light emitting diode 1
If red light emitting diodes are used for 6a and 16b, filters 14a and 14b become unnecessary. A lead wire group 18 is connected to the back surface of the printed circuit board 15, and this lead wire group 18 is connected to the case 11 of the display device.
It passes through the inside of the narrow diameter portion 11b and is connected to a control circuit which will be described later. As is clear from the above,
The display device 10 includes a case 11 and a light emitting diode 1.
6a, 16b, 17 and a printed circuit board 15.

Next, an example of an optical axis adjustment mechanism of a headlamp will be explained with reference to FIG. This optical axis adjustment mechanism includes an operating section 19, operating terminals 20a and 20b, and pipes 21a and 21b that connect the two. Operation unit 1
Reference numeral 9 denotes the aforementioned operating knob 1, an operating rod 6 having a case 2 of the operating knob 1 and piston rods 6a and 6b, two cylinder chambers 22a and 22b defined by partitioning the case 2, and a piston rod portion. It consists of piston cups 23a, 23b connected to the tips of pistons 6a, 6b and mounted so as to move in the cylinder chamber. Moreover, the operation terminals 20a, 20b are connected to pipes 21a, 21b.
cylinder chambers 24a, 24b connected to the piston 25;
Piston cups 26a, 26b connected to the inner ends of the cylinders 24a, 25b and slidable within the cylinder chambers 24a, 24b, and between the piston cups 26a, 26b and the inner wall of the tip of the cylinder chambers 24a, 24b. Interposed return spring 27
a, 27b. And this piston 25
Operation rods 28a, 28b are provided at the outer ends of a, 25b.
are rotatably attached, and furthermore, the tips of these operating rods 28a, 28b are connected to headlamps 29a, 29.
It will be attached to the lower part of the holding members 30a and 30b of b. In addition, the headlight holding members 30a, 30
b has a pivot point relative to the vehicle body above the connection point with the rods 28a and 28b. With such an optical axis adjustment mechanism, the piston rods 6a and 6b move back and forth by the rotation of the operating knob 1, and the pipe 2
If liquid is filled in the piston rods 1a and 21b, the back and forth movement of the piston rods 6a and 6b will be controlled by the pipe 21.
Operation terminals 20a, 2 via the liquid in a, 21b
0b. As a result, the operation terminal 20a,
Since the pistons 25a and 25b of 20b move back and forth, the headlights 29a and 29b are attached to the holding member 30.
The optical axis 31 can be adjusted by displacing around the fulcrums (not shown) of a and 30b.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of means for detecting changes in the load on a vehicle body used in the device of the present invention. 32a is a front wheel, 32b is a rear wheel,
These are both connected to a chassis 33. 34
a, 34b are suspension devices, and this suspension device 34
A vehicle body 35 is placed on the chassis 33 via a and 34b. Since the car body and chassis of a car are connected through a suspension system in this way, changes in the load applied to the front and rear of the car body cause the car body to tilt, causing the headlights 29 attached to the car body to tilt. Optical axis 3
1 will also change. In order to detect this change in load, for example, a variable resistor 3 is installed before and after the chassis 33.
6 and 37 are installed. That is, the main bodies 36a and 37a of the variable resistors 36 and 37 are installed near the front and rear wheels 32a and 32b of the chassis 33, respectively.
The movers 36b and 37b of this resistor are respectively attached to corresponding parts of the bottom of the vehicle body 35. Lead wires 36c, 3 of these resistors 36, 37
7c are each connected to a control circuit to be described later. By doing so, the resistance values of the resistors 36 and 37 will change due to a change in the load applied to the vehicle body 35, so that a change in load can be detected as a change in resistance value.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a control circuit used in the adjustment device of the present invention. This control circuit includes a comparison circuit 38, a drive circuit 39 for the light emitting diodes D ₁ and 16a, a drive circuit 40 for the light emitting diodes D ₂ and 16b, and a drive circuit 4 for the light emitting diodes D ₃ and 17.
Consists of 1. The comparator circuit 38 includes two PNP transistors Q ₁ and Q ₂ and a variable resistor R ₁ for power supply voltage supply.
R ₂ , variable resistors R ₃ and R ₄ for adjusting input voltage, and backflow prevention diodes D ₄ and D ₅ connected in opposite directions between two output terminals, respectively.
Here _, the resistor 36 attached to the front part of _the vehicle chassis shown in _FIG . The resistor 37 attached to the rear of the chassis shown in FIG. ₃ is used as the variable resistor R ₂ for adjusting the input voltage, and the case of the operating knob 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used as the variable resistor R 3 for adjusting the input voltage. Use resistor 9 attached to 2. Drive circuit 39 for light emitting diodes _D1 and _D2 ,
Reference numeral 40 is composed of NPN transistors Q ₃ and Q ₄ and bias resistors R ₅ , R ₆ and R ₉ , R ₁₀ respectively driven by the two outputs of the comparator circuit, and the drive circuit 3
9 is connected to the light emitting diode 16a shown in FIG. 1, and the drive circuit 40 is connected to the light emitting diode 16b shown in FIG. Further, the drive circuit 41 includes a transistor Q ₅ driven by the voltage at the connection point of the two diodes D ₄ and D ₅ of the comparison circuit 38;
This circuit consists of a transistor Q ₆ driven by this transistor Q ₅ and bias resistors R ₁₁ to R ₁₄ , and this circuit includes the light emitting diode 1 shown in FIG.
7 is connected. Incidentally, the detection accuracy can be improved by adjusting the variable resistor _R4 to a value equal to the initial value of the corresponding variable resistor _R3 .

A device having such a configuration is used as follows.

For example, when the rear side 35b of the vehicle body 35 is lowered and the optical axis 31 of the headlight 28 is directed upward, the vehicle chassis 33
Variable resistor 37 attached to the rear side, node of R ₂
The potential of X ₂ is lower than the potential of node X ₁ of variable resistor 36 and R ₁ attached to the front side of the chassis 33. and,
The emitter that turns on transistor _Q1
When the potential difference between nodes X ₁ and X ₂ becomes larger than the base-to-base voltage V _BE , transistor Q ₁ turns on, and as a result, the base potential of transistor Q ₃ increases, so transistor Q ₃ also turns on, and as a result, light is emitted. Diode D ₁ , 16a lights up. At this time, the base potential of transistor Q ₅ rises, so transistor Q ₅ turns on, so transistor Q ₆
is turned off, and the light emitting diodes D ₃ and 17 do not light up. Also, since the transistor Q ₂ is also off, the transistor Q ₄ is also off, and the light emitting diode D ₂ ,
16b also does not light up. lit light emitting diode
When the operating knob ₁ is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the window 12a of D1, 16a and the optical axis of the headlight is adjusted by the optical axis adjustment mechanism, the variable resistance is adjusted in conjunction with this.
The value of R ₃ , 9 becomes smaller, and as a result, the variable resistor R ₁ ,
The potential of the 36 nodes _X1 will drop. In this way, as the difference in potential between node X ₁ and contact X ₂ becomes smaller, transistor Q ₁ eventually turns off, and along with this, transistor Q ₃ also turns off.
As a result, the diode D ₁ , 16a disappears. At this time, the potential states of nodes X ₁ and X ₂ have not yet been reversed, so transistor Q ₂ and transistor
Q ₄ remains off, so light emitting diode D ₂ , 16b does not light up. however,
In this state, the base potential of transistor Q ₅ is low, so transistor Q ₅ is turned off, and therefore transistor Q ₆ is turned on.
As a result, the light emitting diode D ₃ , 17 lights up.
In this way, it is indicated that the optical axis of the headlight is in a proper state. If a load is applied in the opposite direction to the above case, the variable resistor 36,
The potential at node X ₁ of R ₁ is lower than the potential at node X ₂ of the other variable resistor R ₂ , 37. Then, this potential difference between nodes X ₁ and X ₂ causes the transistor to
When the potential V _BE becomes larger than the one that turns on Q ₂ ,
This transistor Q ₂ is turned on, and accordingly, the transistor Q ₄ is turned on, and as a result, the light emitting diode D ₂ , 16b lights up. At this time, transistor Q ₅ is turned on, and along with this, transistor Q ₆ is turned off, so that light emitting diode D ₃ ,
17 disappears. The light emitting diode D ₂ , 16b
When the operating knob 1 is turned in the direction indicated by the lighting, the values of the resistors R ₃ and 9 increase, and as a result, the potential at the node X ₁ of the variable resistors R ₁ and 36 increases. As the operating knob 1 is rotated, the potential difference between nodes X ₁ and X ₂ is finally eliminated, and the transistor
Since Q ₄ is turned off, the light emitting diode D ₂ , 16
b disappears. At this time, transistor _Q3 is also in the off state, so the light emitting diode for indicating the adjustment direction
Both D ₁ and D ₂ have disappeared. Then, the transistor _Q5 is turned off and the transistor _Q6 is turned on, so that the light emitting diode _D3,1 for displaying the proper state
7 lights up. In this way, when the optical axis of the headlight is directed too upward, the red arrow-shaped window 12a
When the light-emitting diode 16a inside the window 12b lights up, and conversely when the window is facing too far down, the light-emitting diode 16b inside the red arrow-shaped window 12b lights up, and when the angle of the optical axis is in a proper state, the green light-emitting diode lights up. 1
7 will be lit.

According to the present invention, changes in the optical axis of the headlamp due to changes in the load on the vehicle body are electrically and automatically detected, and whether or not the angle of the optical axis is appropriate is displayed. The direction of adjustment is also displayed, and when the operation knob is rotated in the direction of this display, the direction of adjustment will disappear if the adjustment has been made properly, so always adjust the optical axis to the appropriate angle. You can keep it. Therefore, it is sufficient to adjust the optical axis according to the instructions of this device when the load changes in a stationary state. The headlights will not oscillate as a result of the adjustment operation performed in case 1). As a result, the roadway can always be illuminated in an optimal state, and drivers of oncoming vehicles will not be dazzled.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and for example, a light bulb that uses a color filter instead of a light emitting diode may be used. Further, the display is not limited to the operation knob, and may be displayed on the instrument panel. In this case, the display may be ``UP'', ``OK'', ``DOWN'', etc. instead of an arrow. Furthermore, the control circuit is not limited to the above embodiment; for example, the diodes D ₄ and D ₅ connected to the output point in the comparator circuit 38 may be replaced with light emitting diodes and used as the display diodes D ₁ and D ₂ . Transistors Q ₃ , Q ₄ and resistors R ₅ , R ₆ , R ₉ ,
_R10 can be omitted and the circuit configuration can be simplified. Furthermore, the optical axis adjustment mechanism and variable resistor are not limited to those of the above embodiments, and various means can be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1a and 1b are explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operating knob used in the adjustment device of the present invention; Figure 1a is a front view thereof, Figure 1b is a sectional view taken along line bb, and Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operating knob used in the adjustment device of the present invention. A schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the optical axis adjustment mechanism used in the adjustment device, FIG. 3 is a schematic side view for explaining an example of attachment of the load detection means used in the adjustment device of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a control circuit used in the adjustment device. Explanation of symbols, 1... Operation knob, 9... Adjustment element, 10... Display mechanism, 11... Display mechanism case, 12a, 12b... Arrow-shaped window, 16a,
16b, 17... Light emitting element, 19... Adjustment mechanism,
29a, 29b...headlight, 31...optical axis, 34
a, 34b... Suspension system, 35... Vehicle body, 36,
37...Load amount detection element, 36b, 37b...Movable element, 38...Comparison circuit, 39, 40...Drive circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. At least two light-emitting elements that operate complementary to each other based on changes in the load on the vehicle body, and a case having an arrow-shaped window in front of the light-emission direction of the light-emitting elements to indicate an adjustment direction. A display mechanism provided with an adjustment mechanism, an adjustment mechanism provided with an operation knob, and a main body are attached to the front and rear of a chassis connected to the vehicle body via a suspension device, and movable elements are respectively attached to corresponding parts of the vehicle body. A load amount detection element whose resistance value changes according to the amount of load, an adjustment element whose resistance value changes according to the amount of adjustment by the adjustment mechanism of the optical axis, and two drive circuits respectively corresponding to the two light emitting elements. and a display control circuit equipped with a comparison circuit that selectively drives the two drive circuits and corrects changes in the resistance value balance of the adjustment element, and when the front and rear loads of the vehicle body change, the display control circuit The load detection element detects a change in load as a change in resistance value, and when the resistance balance between the load detection elements changes, the comparison circuit selectively drives the two drive circuits, and the display mechanism Displays whether the angle of the optical axis of the headlamp is appropriate or not, and also indicates the direction of adjustment if the angle is incorrect, and by turning the operation knob, the headlamp can be adjusted. When the optical axis angle of the display mechanism is adjusted, the resistance value of the adjustment element changes, and the change in resistance balance is corrected by the comparison circuit, so that the indication of the adjustment direction of the display mechanism disappears. Optical axis adjustment device for vehicle headlights. 2. The optical axis adjustment device for a vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the display mechanism is incorporated into an operation knob for adjusting the angle of the optical axis of the headlamp. .