Headlight unit for motor cars

A headlight unit for a motor car has a reflector which is held pivotably at its edge areas on holding elements, one of which forms a fixed bearing and the other two of which are setting screws which form pivot bearings which permit the horizontal and vertical basic setting of the headlight to be adjusted. At the outer upper corner of the reflector there is provided a ball and socket joint which forms the fixed bearing of the headlight, and at the inner upper and lower corners of the reflector there is formed, in each case, a guiding edge which extends in an arcuate path relative to the fixed bearing. Guide catches formed at the top and bottom of a fastening member slide on the guiding edges. The fastening member is supported at the top by a pin which fits in a sleeve on the car bodywork to form--with the fixed bearing--the horizontal pivot axis of the headlight. At the bottom, the fastening member is supported by a slope-setting screw on the bodywork. Approximately in the center of the fastening member a lateral setting screw is received whose other end engages on the reflector and which is held pivotably movably on the fastening member by way of a membrane hinge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a headlight unit for motor cars, which can be 
easily adjusted to alter its horizontal and vertical setting. 
A headlight fastening of this type is already known from the German 
Offenlegungsschrift (Laid-open Specification) No. 28 32 395. In this 
headlight fastening, a reflector of plastic material is held pivotably at 
its edge areas on holding elements of resilient plastic material. One of 
the elements forms a fixed bearing and two further ones comprise setting 
screws which form pivot bearings by means of which the horizontal and 
vertical basic setting of the headlight may be adjusted relative to the 
bodywork of the motor car. 
Although there is no indication in the material patent specification of the 
spatial arrangement of the holding elements in the front view of the 
headlight, as a rule the so-called fixed point is located above the 
elevation setting screw and the lateral setting screw is disposed on the 
opposite side to this arrangement. This can result, particularly when the 
motor car has a low front end, in the accessibility of one of the two 
setting screws being severely restricted. 
A headlight fastening is also known from the German Auslegeschrift 
(Published Specification) No. 19 30 736, in which each setting screw is 
disposed in a fastening member which is supported on the bodywork. 
In this known headlight fastening, the setting screws are on the top and 
underside respectively of a now customary rectangular headlight, as a 
result of which the overall or assembled height of the headlight is 
increased. 
The now obligatory aerodynamic styling of a motor car leads to relatively 
low front ends, so that there is a decreasing amount of space available 
for receiving the headlights and their fastenings. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention seeks to provide a headlight fastening in motor cars which 
takes these conditions into account and which allows a headlight to be 
secured in a space-saving manner, in particular with respect to height, 
while permitting good accessibility of the setting screws which are 
required for the horizontal and vertical basic adjustment. 
According to the invention, there is provided a headlight unit for a motor 
car having a reflector with, at the outer upper region of the reflector, a 
mounting attached to the reflector through a ball and socket joint and at 
the inner upper and lower regions of the reflector, guiding edges which 
extend in an arcuate path relative to the ball and socket joint and on 
which guide catches formed at the top and bottom of a fastening member 
slidingly engage. The fastening member has at the top a pin adapted to be 
held in an aperture in the car bodywork to formwith the ball and socket 
joint--a pivot axis for the headlight, and has at the bottom a 
slope-setting screw adapted to be held on the bodywork by way of a bracket 
with, approximately in the center of the fastening member, a lateral 
setting screw the end of which engages on the reflector and which is held 
in the fastening member by way of a membrane hinge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In the figures, a headlight unit 1 is shown which essentially comprises a 
reflector 2 of plastic material, a diffusing lens 3 of glass and a lamp 
holder 4 with an electric bulb (not shown). 
At the upper end of the plastic reflector 2 towards the outside of the 
vehicle, there is provided a socket 5 which receives a ball on the end of 
a mounting pin 6 to form the fixed point of the headlight 1. At the upper 
and lower ends of the reflector closest to the center line of the vehicle 
there is formed, in each case, a guiding edge 7 and 8 which extends in an 
arcuate path relative to the fixed point. Guide catches 10 and 11 formed 
at the top and bottom of a fastening member 9 slidingly engage in each 
case over the guide edges 7 and 8 formed on the reflector 2. 
The fastening member 9 is provided with a pin 12, by way of which it is 
supported in a sleeve 13 positioned in a bore in the vehicle bodywork. The 
axis through the holding attachment at the socket 5 for the ball pin 6 and 
through the pin 12 in the sleeve 13 forms the horizontal pivot axis of the 
headlight 1. 
The fastening member 9 is supported at its lower end by a slope-setting 
screw 14 mounted on a bracket 15 on the vehicle bodywork. 
Approximately in the center of the fastening member 9 a lateral setting 
screw 16 is provided whose other end 17 engages on the reflector 2 to 
effect movement about a vertical pivot axis. The holding attachment 18 of 
the lateral setting screw 16 is formed so as to be pivotably movable in 
the fastening member 9 by way of a membrane hinge 19. 
As is evident from the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, 
the headlight fastening does not result in any increase in the overall 
height of the headlight. In addition, by virtue of the arrangement of all 
the necessary setting screws on the side of the headlight closest to the 
center line of the vehicle, the fastening ensures proper access for the 
purpose of adjusting the horizontal and vertical basic setting of a 
headlight.