Headlight position adjustment assembly

A vehicular headlight position adjusting assembly (100) is provided that has angularly oriented drive and driven gears (4) and (8) that upon rotation in opposite directions cause an elongate adjusting member (14) to traverse in opposite axial directions through a housing (7) where adjusting member (14) is prevented from rotating by cooperation between the side walls of at least one open-ended axial extending groove (26) adapted to receive at least one protrusion (34) that extends radially inwardly from the periphery of an opening (30) in housing (7) through which adjusting member (14) extends.

INTRODUCTION 
This invention relates generally to an assembly for manually adjusting the 
position of a headlight, such as a vehicular headlight mounted on a 
movable frame, and more particularly to such assembly that includes a gear 
box assembly enclosed within a housing that is operative to cause an 
adjusting member operatively connected to the headlight frame to traverse 
without rotation in opposite axial directions and move the frame in 
response to rotation of an angularly oriented input drive member in 
opposite rotational directions. 
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
Not Applicable 
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
Not Applicable 
MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
Not Applicable 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Vehicular headlights have for many years been mounted on movable frames to 
enable periodic adjustment of their position, which is apt to change due 
to vibration and the like, so as to illuminate the road ahead in a 
suitable manner, preferably without focusing directly upon oncoming 
vehicles. 
Although the headlight frame position has commonly been adjustable by means 
of straight screws threadingly engaged with a fixed frame and located so 
that, upon rotation, they operate to move the headlight and its frame 
upwardly and downwardly or to the right and left as required, lately, due 
to more complex designs and more difficult accessability, gear box 
assemblies have been employed that provide for a rotatable input drive 
member and an output adjusting screw that are angularly oriented with 
respect to each other, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,665,469, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and in U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 4,893,219; 5,165,775; 5,398,173 and 5,508,896, the disclosures 
of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
In addition to the above, certain of the headlight position adjusting 
assemblies have been designed to prevent the output adjustment member from 
rotating while traversing in opposite axial directions in response to 
rotation of the input drive member in opposite directions, examples of 
which can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,494, assigned to the assignee of 
the present invention, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,186,531; 5,309,780 and 
5,351,170, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
The present invention is of the latter type in being directed toward a 
headlight position adjusting assembly that employs a gear box between an 
input drive member and an angularly oriented output adjustment member, but 
rather than having both rotate, is uniquely designed such that rotation of 
the input drive member in opposite rotational directions is operative to 
traverse the output adjustment member in opposite axial directions without 
rotation by means contained within a housing protectively enclosing the 
gears. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a headlight 
position adjusting assembly having a rotatable input drive member 
drivingly connected to an output adjustment member in a manner that 
enables the adjustment member to traverse in opposite axial directions 
without rotation to adjust the position of the headlight. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a headlight position 
adjusting assembly having a rotatable input drive member drivingly 
connected by means contained within a gear box housing in a manner 
operative to cause an output adjustment member to traverse in opposite 
axial directions without rotation to adjust the position of the headlight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In FIG. 1, assembly 100 comprises a drive member 2 that is preferably 
integral with drive gear 4 and operative to rotate gear 4 in unison 
therewith. Gear 4 has teeth (not referenced) that are meshingly engaged 
with the teeth of driven gear 8 that has an integral tubular section 10 
and through both of which extends a bore (not referenced) whose 
surrounding surface is threaded. 
Drive gear 4 and driven gear 8 are in substantial transverse relationship 
to each other and both are mounted for rotation in housing 7. Housing 7 
includes means at one end for securing assembly 100 to a fixed frame F in 
the form of a tubular hub 12 that is insertable through an opening 36 in 
frame F shown in FIG. 7. Hub 12 has a plurality of circumferentially 
spaced-apart lug-like protrusions 22 disposed outwardly of an annular slot 
15 in hub 12 that are employed to register with and pass through 
corresponding radially outwardly extending slots 38 and 38' 
circumferentially spaced about the periphery of opening 36. Protrusions 22 
and slots 38 need not all be of the same width as one or more of the 
protrusions may be of a different width such as referenced by numeral 22' 
that is operative to pass through slot 38' for orientation purposes. Once 
protrusions 22 and 22' have passed through slots 38 and 38' respectively, 
hub 12 is rotated so that the backs of protrusions 22 and 22' slide along 
corresponding ramps 40 and 40' to secure assembly 100 to fixed frame F. 
A resilient O-ring is preferably disposed about hub 12 on the receiving 
side of frame F such that it is compressed when hub 12 of housing 7 is 
secured to frame F to provide a moisture and air seal therebetween. 
An elongated tubular adjusting member 14 extends through housing 7 
including hub 12 and the bore within driven gear 8 and extension 10, as 
shown in FIGS. 1-3. 
Adjusting member 14 has one end configured like a spherical ball referenced 
by numeral 18 that is adapted to engage a socket in the movable frame upon 
which the headlight is mounted to provide a pivotable ball-and-socket-type 
connection therebetween well known in the art. 
Adjusting member 14 includes external threads 16 shown in FIG. 1 that are 
threadingly engaged with the internal threads in driven gear 8 and section 
10 thereof. 
Adjusting member 14 is thus disposed in angular relationship and preferably 
transverse relationship to drive member 2 such that rotation of drive 
member 2 in opposite directions causes drive gear 4 to rotate driven gear 
8, which ordinarily would cause adjusting member 14 to rotate and traverse 
in opposite axial directions through housing 6. 
Also shown in FIG. 3 is a six-lobed external protrusion 24 at the end of 
drive member 2 that is adapted to interfere with a six-lobed socket tool 
as one means by which to enhance rotation of drive member 2. 
For simplicity, external threads 16 of adjusting member 14 are not shown 
except for in FIG. 1. FIG. 4, shows that adjusting member 14 preferably 
includes a transverse annular groove 28 thereabout for containing a 
resilient sealing member such as an O-ring referenced by numeral 17 in 
FIG. 1 that provides a seal as adjusting member 14 traverses in opposite 
axial directions without rotation through hub 12 of housing 7. 
In many instances, it is desirable that the adjusting member transverse in 
opposite axial directions without rotation. Means for preventing rotation 
of adjusting member 14 are shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 of which the 
preferred means is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 where in FIG. 4 adjusting member 
14 is provided with at least one axially extending open-ended groove of 
predetermined length referenced by numeral 26 and preferably a pair of 
diametrically opposed axially extending open-ended grooves 26 and 26' 
separated by a web referenced by numeral 42 in FIG. 4. 
As shown in FIG. 5, housing 7 includes a protrusion 34 that extends 
radially inwardly from the periphery of opening 30. Protrusion 34 is 
adapted to be received into groove 26 and cooperate therewith by engaging 
the sidewalls thereof to prevent adjusting member 14 from rotating as 
groove 26 moves in opposite axial directions relative protrusion 34 for 
the predetermined axial length thereof which will be generally the same as 
the distance that frame F is desired to be moved by adjusting member 14. 
Housing 7 more preferably includes a protrusion 34' diametrically opposed 
to protrusion 34 that extends from the opposite side of opening 30 and is 
operative to be received into groove 26' and cooperate therewith to 
prevent rotation of adjusting member 14. Although it is preferred the 
embodiments of the invention that feature more than one axially extending 
open-ended groove that the grooves be diagonally opposed, they are not 
required to be and may, for example, comprise two or more grooves that are 
positioned in circumferential spaced-apart relationship to each other with 
opening 30 including corresponding protrusions for registration therewith. 
In yet another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, web 42 
has been omitted to provide an open-ended slot 44 shown in FIG. 8 that 
extends axially along adjusting member 14 for the predetermined length 
into which a bar 46 of housing 7 extending across opening 30 shown in FIG. 
9 is operative to be received and cooperate therewith by engaging the side 
walls of slot 44 to prevent adjusting member 14 from rotating as it 
traverses in opposite axial directions in response to rotation of drive 
member 2 in opposite rotational directions.