Patent Publication Number: US-6709140-B2

Title: Vehicle headlamp unit and vehicle headlight with the headlamp unit

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp unit with a light source of a discharge lamp, and to a vehicle headlight with the headlamp unit. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     A conventional headlight for a motor vehicle typically used was a projector type headlight or a multi-reflector type headlight with a light source of a halogen light bulb (iodine light bulb), a lens and a precisely condensing reflector arranged around the halogen bulb. 
     The projector type headlight adopts a standardized PE (poly-ellipsoid) reflector or DE (three dimensional ellipsoid) reflector, and the multi-reflector type headlight adopts a MS (multi-surface) reflector. 
     The halogen light bulb used for the headlight is nearly a point source of light with a relatively high efficiency of about 20 lumens/watt and a consumption power of 35-60 watts. Such halogen bulb operates at a low power voltage of 12 or 24 volts and therefore no specific electrical insulation is required. An average lifetime of the halogen bulb is about 400 hours. Due to the difference of bulb shapes, there are a plurality of specifications in the halogen bulb such as H-1 type, HB-1 type, H-4 type, HB-4 type, HB-5 type and H-7 type. For each type, a shape and a dimension of a light-bulb base made of plastic or ceramic are standardized. 
     In the past, the switching between high beam mode and low beam mode in the halogen bulb vehicle headlight had been performed by selectively turning-on one of two halogen bulbs respectively disposed at centers of the high beam reflector and the low beam reflector. Recently, such switching is performed by selectively turning-on one of two filaments in a single halogen light bulb, which are disposed with a distance of several millimeters each other. Namely, high beam light distribution is obtained by tuning-on only the high beam filament and by reflecting light from the filament at a reflector, whereas low beam light distribution is obtained by tuning-on only the low beam filament and by reflecting light from the filament at the same reflector in different condensing manner. The halogen bulbs of H-4 type, HB-1 type and HB-5 type are such two filaments bulbs. 
     FIGS. 1 a  and  1   b  show a cross sectional view and a side view of a HB-1 type halogen bulb with two filaments for high beam and low beam, and FIG. 2 shows a side view of the halogen bulb fitted in a socket that is fixed to a base. 
     As shown in these figures, the HB-1 type halogen bulb  10  has a high beam filament  12  and a low beam filament  13  in a glass capsule  11 . The high beam filament  12  and the low beam filament  13  are located at different positions each other along a direction substantially perpendicular to the light axis Z of the halogen bulb. The halogen bulb  10  is fitted in the specific socket  14  that is fixed to the specific base  15 . A black lightproof coating  16  is applied to the top end section of the glass capsule  11  to provide no glare from the filaments. Three terminal electrodes (including common grand electrode)  17  for the two filaments are formed in the rear of the base  15  as shown in FIG.  2 . These electrodes  17  are electrically connected to a lighting circuit through lead lines, connectors and ground (not shown). 
     FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  show a cross sectional view and a side view of a HB-5 type halogen bulb with two filaments for high beam and low beam. 
     As shown in these figures, the HB-5 type halogen bulb  30  also has a high beam filament  32  and a low beam filament  33  in a glass capsule  31 . The high beam filament  32  and the low beam filament  33  are located at different positions each other along a direction substantially perpendicular to the light axis Z as well as in HB-1 type halogen bulb. A black lightproof coating  36  is applied to the top end section of the glass capsule  31  to provide no glare form the filaments. 
     The high beam filament  12  and the low beam filament  13  of the above-mentioned halogen bulb  10  are spaced by several millimeters from each other along a direction substantially perpendicular to the light axis Z as well as the high beam filament  32  and the low beam filament  33  of the halogen bulb  30 . The filaments  12  and  13  of the HB-1 type halogen bulb  10  run along a direction perpendicular to the light axis Z whereas the filaments  32  and  33  of the HB-5 type halogen bulb  30  run along a direction parallel to the light axis Z. The length of these filaments  12 ,  13 ,  32  and  33  is about 5 millimeters. 
     Recently, the adoption of a headlamp unit with a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp is studied and put partially to practical use as a next-generation vehicle headlight instead of the vehicle headlight using the halogen bulb(s). 
     The discharge lamp used in such vehicle headlamp unit operates with a high power voltage of about 20,000 volts, and radiates light with a extremely high efficiency of about 100 lumens±15%/watt for example. Thus, the discharge lamp provides light flux substantially twice as strong as that of the halogen bulb and low power consumption, typically about 35 watts. Further, the discharge lamp has a lifetime of about four times as long as that of the halogen bulb. Therefore, the discharge lamp saves energy and thus is extremely ideal for a vehicle headlight. 
     However, a conventional vehicle headlamp unit using such discharge lamp has following disadvantages: 
     (1) It is impossible to form two light sources in a single bulb like as H4 type, HB-1 type and HB-5 type halogen bulbs; 
     (2) Mounting of two individual discharge lamps near the center of a reflector is difficult due to no enough space and causes the design of the reflector to make difficult and the manufacturing cost of the reflector to increase; and 
     (3) Glare cannot be prevented if a discharge lamp is substituted for a halogen bulb in the vehicle headlamp unit. 
     The applicant of this application has proposed, in U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 09/562,863, a vehicle headlamp unit with a discharge lamp, a shade arranged near the discharge lamp and a moving means for relatively moving the discharge lamp and the shade relative to each other by sliding one of them in a direction along the light axis of the headlamp unit or by rotating one of them so as to switch between high beam mode and low beam mode. 
     However, this proposed headlamp unit cannot be compatible with a headlamp unit with a halogen bulb having a high beam filament and a low beam filament located at different positions each other along a direction substantially perpendicular to the light axis Z, such as an HB-5 type halogen bulb or an HB-1 type halogen bulb. Namely, in case of the proposed headlamp unit relatively moving the discharge lamp and the shade by sliding one of them in a direction along the light axis, positions of the light source will differ from the filament positions of the HB-5 type or HB-1 type halogen bulb as a matter of course. In case of the proposed headlamp unit for relatively moving the discharge lamp and the shade by rotating one of them, the light axis direction will change causing its light distribution to differ from that of the headlamp unit with the HB-5 type or HB-1 type halogen bulb. 
     For the halogen bulb used for vehicle headlight, a black lightproof coating is in general applied to its top end section so as to shield light along the light axis Z and thus to prevent glare from the filaments, as shown in FIGS. 1 b ,  2  and  3   b . However, in case of the discharge lamp, it is impossible to apply such black lightproof coating to its top end section due to its shape and size. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle headlamp unit with a discharge lamp and a vehicle headlight with the headlamp unit, whereby it is compatible with a headlamp unit with a halogen bulb that has a high beam filament and a low beam filament located at different positions each other along a direction substantially perpendicular to the light axis, and can provide correct light distributions of high beam mode and low beam mode as well as the halogen bulb head lamp unit. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle headlamp unit with a discharge lamp and a vehicle headlight with the headlamp unit, whereby prevention of glare can be easily attained. 
     According to the present invention, a vehicle headlamp unit includes a discharge lamp, a socket to which the discharge lamp is fitted, a base carrying the socket and being compatible with a base of a halogen bulb provided with a high beam filament and a low beam filament, and a moving mechanism, in response to a high beam mode or a low beam mode, for moving the socket in parallel along a direction perpendicular to a light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit without inclining a light axis of the discharge lamp. 
     Also, according to the present invention, a vehicle headlight has a reflector, a lens arranged in front of the reflector and a vehicle headlamp unit with a light-emitting portion arranged in front of the reflector. The vehicle headlamp unit includes a discharge lamp, a socket to which the discharge lamp is fitted, a base carrying the socket and being compatible with a base of a halogen bulb provided with a high beam filament and a low beam filament, and a moving mechanism, in response to a high beam mode or a low beam mode, for moving the socket in parallel along a direction perpendicular to a light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit without inclining a light axis of the discharge lamp. 
     Since the base is compatible with a base of a halogen bulb provided with a high beam filament and a low beam filament and the socket and the discharge lamp fitted to the socket is movable in parallel along a direction perpendicular to a light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit without inclining a light axis of the discharge lamp in response to a high beam mode or a low beam mode, this headlamp unit can be adopted as it is to any vehicle headlight using a light source of a halogen bulb instead of the halogen bulb headlamp unit. Also, it is possible to provide correct light distributions of the high beam mode and the low beam mode as well as the halogen bulb headlamp unit. 
     Furthermore, since the discharge lamp moves in parallel along a direction perpendicular to the light axis of the headlamp unit without inclining the light axis of the discharge lamp, light distribution of from the discharge lamp will not change due to the movement. Thus, perfectly the same high beam and low beam light-distributions as the halogen bulb headlamp unit can be expected. 
     It is preferred that the moving mechanism linearly moves an light-emitting portion of the discharge lamp between positions corresponding to a position of the high beam filament and a position of the low beam filament. 
     It is also preferred that the vehicle headlamp unit further includes a cylindrical housing being integral with the base, and that the moving mechanism is mounted in the housing. Since the moving mechanism is accommodated in the housing to attain a smaller size of the headlamp unit, interchange of this headlamp unit to the conventional headlamp unit with a halogen bulb can be performed easily. 
     It is further preferred that the moving mechanism includes a first sliding member being slidable along a direction parallel to the light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit, a drive mechanism for driving the first sliding member in the direction parallel to the light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit, a second sliding member being integral with the socket and slidable along a direction perpendicular to the light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit, and a conversion mechanism for converting movement of the first sliding member along the direction parallel to the light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit to movement of the second sliding member along the direction perpendicular to the light axis of the vehicle headlamp unit. 
     It is preferred that the conversion mechanism includes at least one slit being formed in the second sliding member and running along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis of the headlamp unit in a plane including the directions parallel and perpendicular to the light axis of the headlamp unit, and at least one pins being attached to the first sliding member and slidable through the at least one slit. 
     It is also preferred that the conversion mechanism further includes at least one first sliding surface formed on the first sliding member and running along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis of the headlamp unit in a plane including the directions parallel and perpendicular to the light axis of the headlamp unit, and at least one second sliding surface formed on the second sliding member and running along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis of the headlamp unit in a plane including the directions parallel and perpendicular to the light axis of the headlamp unit, the at least one second sliding surface sliding over the at least one first sliding surface. 
     It is also preferred that the at least one first sliding surface and the at least one second sliding surface are located in front of the at least one slit and the at least one pin. 
     It is preferred that the drive mechanism is a solenoid located in a rear direction of the first sliding member. 
     It is preferred that the vehicle headlamp unit further includes a first shade fixed to the base for shielding a part of light radiated from the discharge lamp. In this case, it is more preferred that the vehicle headlamp unit further includes a second shade detachably attached to a top end section of the first shade for shielding a part of light forwardly radiated from the discharge lamp. Thus, no glare from the discharge lamp of the vehicle headlamp unit can be easily ensured. 
     It is further preferred that the base is a base being compatible with a base of an HB-5 type halogen bulb. 
     Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1 a  and  1   b  already described show a cross sectional view and a side view illustrating a HB-1 type halogen bulb with two filaments for high beam and low beam; 
     FIG. 2 already described shows a side view illustrating the halogen bulb fitted in a socket that is fixed to a base; 
     FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  already described show a cross sectional view and a side view illustrating a HB-5 type halogen bulb with two filaments for high beam and low beam; 
     FIG. 4 shows a side view schematically illustrating the whole of a vehicle headlight as a preferred embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows a side view illustrating an appearance of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 4 when the headlamp unit is in low beam mode; 
     FIG. 6 shows a partially sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 4 when the headlamp unit is in low beam mode; 
     FIG. 7 shows a side view illustrating an appearance of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 4 when the headlamp unit is in high beam mode; 
     FIG. 8 shows a partially sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 4 when the headlamp unit is in high beam mode; 
     FIGS. 9 a  and  9   b  show a side view of a second sliding member and a cross sectional view of a first sliding member illustrating a low beam/high beam switching mechanism of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 10 shows a partial cross sectional view illustrating an internal structure of a vehicle headlamp unit in another embodiment according to the present invention, when the headlamp unit is in low beam mode; 
     FIG. 11 shows a partially sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG. 10 when the headlamp unit is in high beam mode; and 
     FIGS. 12 a  and  12   b  show a side view of a second sliding member and a cross sectional view of a first sliding member illustrating a low beam/high beam switching mechanism of the vehicle headlamp unit in the embodiment of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the whole of a vehicle headlight as a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the vehicle headlamp unit in this embodiment when in low beam mode, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the vehicle headlamp unit in this embodiment when in high beam mode, and FIGS. 9 a  and  9   b  illustrate a low beam/high beam switching mechanism of the vehicle headlamp unit in this embodiment. This embodiment is an example of the vehicle headlight using a headlamp unit that is provided with a discharge lamp and compatible with the HB-5 type halogen bulb. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle headlight is mainly constituted by a reflector  40 , an optical lens  41  arranged in front of the reflector  40  and a headlamp unit  42  with a light base fitted to the reflector  40 . 
     The reflector  40  and the lens  41  may be configured by the conventional reflector and lens in the conventional vehicle headlight using the HB-5 type halogen bulb. The headlamp unit  42  is arranged so that a light source of a discharge lamp is located near the center axis at the center of the reflector  40 , and thus light reflected by the reflector  40  is distributed frontward via the lens  41 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 to  9   b , this headlamp unit  42  includes a discharge lamp  50 , a socket  51  to which the discharge lamp  50  is fitted, a light base  52  which is compatible with a light base of the HB-5 type halogen bulb, a first shade  53  with a basically cylindrical shape fixed to the base  52  so as to shield a base section of the discharge lamp  50 , a detachable second shade  54  with a cap shape attached to a support arm fixed to the top of the first shade  53 , a second sliding member  55  that is united or integral with the socket  51  and slidable in a direction perpendicular to the light axis or longitudinal axis Z of the headlamp unit, a first sliding member  56  that is slidable in a direction parallel to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit, a magnetic solenoid  57  with a moving core  57   a  attached to the first sliding member  56 , and a cylindrical housing  58  that is united or integral with the base  52  for accommodating the socket  51 , the first and second sliding members  56  and  55  and the solenoid  57 . 
     The discharge lamp  50  is a cylindrically shaped vehicle HID lamp such as a metal halide lamp and has an inner bulb  50   a  and an outer bulb  50   b  surrounding the inner bulb  50   a.    
     The socket  51  is made of an insulation material such as plastic or ceramic material and in this embodiment united with the second sliding member  55 . 
     The base  52  is made of an insulation material such as plastic or ceramic material and in this embodiment united with the housing  58 . This base  52  is compatible with the base of the HB-5 type halogen bulb. An O-ring  59  is fitted around the base  52  to increase residence to dust and water. Lead lines  60  and  61  with one ends electrically connected to electrodes of the discharge lamp  50  are drawn out from the rear end of the housing  58  located at the rear of the base  52 . The other ends of the lead lines  60  and  61  are connected to connectors  62  and  63 , respectively. Also, from the rear end of the housing  58 , a lead line  64  for controlling the solenoid  51  is drawn out and its other end is connected to a connector  65 . 
     The first and second shades  53  and  54  are formed by a metal plate member in the aforementioned cylindrical shape and cap shape. The first shade  53  is tightly fixed to the base  52  and the second shade  54  is attached to the support arm fixed to the top of the first shade  53 . However, this second shade  54  is detachable. These first and second shades  53  and  54  function to open only the middle section of the discharge lamp  50  and to shield the top and base sections of the discharge lamp  50 . Thus, light from a light-emitting portion  50   c  of the discharge lamp  50  will not directly radiated toward the lens  41  (FIG. 4) located in front of the lamp  50  but light radiated in a direction perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit is reflected by the reflector  40  and appropriately distributed frontward. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent glare from the discharge lamp. Depending upon shapes of reflector and lens of a headlight, no second shade  54  may be required for preventing glare. Thus, the second shade  54  is formed in detachable structure. Shapes and sizes of these first and second shades  53  and  54  should be properly designed in consideration of the structure of reflector and lens, the type of base and the location of discharge lamp in the headlight to be fitted. 
     The second sliding member  55  is united or integral with the socket  51  and is slidable only along a direction  70  (FIG. 9 a ) perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit. This is because movement of this second sliding member  55  is restricted by abutting its end walls  55   a  and  55   b  to inner walls  58   a  and  58   b  of the housing  58 , respectively. 
     The first sliding member  56  is slidable along a cylindrical inner wall of the housing  58  or a direction  71  (FIG. 9 b ) parallel to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit. To this first sliding member  56 , the moving core  57   a  of the magnetic solenoid  57  fixed to the housing  58  is attached. When the solenoid  57  is energized and thus the moving core  57   a  moves in a direction parallel to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit, the first sliding member  56  also moves along this parallel direction. 
     In the second sliding member  55 , two slits  66  and  67  each running along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis Z in a plane including the light axis direction of the headlamp unit and a sliding direction of the second sliding member are formed. On the other hand, to the first sliding member  56 , both end sections of two pins  68  and  69  passing through the respective slits  66  and  67  and being slidable there through are fixed. Thus, when the solenoid  57  is driven and therefore the first sliding member  56  moves along the direction parallel to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit, the pins  68  and  69  move and slide along the respective slits  66  and  67  resulting that the second sliding member  55  moves along the direction perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit. 
     Due to this movement of the second sliding member  55  along the direction perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit, the light-emitting portion  50   c  of the discharge lamp  50  moves along the direction perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit without inclining the light axis of the discharge lamp  50 . If it is designed that a position of the light-emitting portion  50   c  when the pins  68  and  69  locate at the left ends of the respective slits  66  and  67  as shown in FIG. 6 is aligned with a position of the low beam filament ( 33  in FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b ) of the HB-5 type halogen bulb, and that a position of the light-emitting portion  50   c  when the pins  68  and  69  locate at the right ends of the respective slits  66  and  67  as shown in FIG. 8 is aligned with a position of the high beam filament ( 32  in FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b ) of the HB-5 type halogen bulb, precise switching between low beam mode and high beam mode can be achieved only by driving the solenoid  57  in back and force directions. 
     As aforementioned, the headlamp unit in this embodiment has the light base  52  compatible to that of the HB-5 type halogen bulb. Also, in this headlamp unit, the light-emitting portion  50   c  of the discharge lamp  50  moves in parallel along a direction perpendicular to the light axis of the headlamp unit and reaches to a position corresponding to that of the high beam filament or the low beam filament of the HB-5 type halogen bulb when the solenoid  57  is driven in response to high beam mode or low beam mode. Thus, the headlamp unit in this embodiment can be adopted as it is to any vehicle headlight using a light source of a HB-5 type halogen bulb instead of the halogen bulb headlamp unit. Also, the headlamp unit in this embodiment can provide correct light distributions of the high beam mode and the low beam mode as well as the halogen bulb headlamp unit. 
     Furthermore, since the discharge lamp  50  moves in parallel along a direction perpendicular to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit without inclining the light axis of the discharge lamp, light distribution of from the discharge lamp  50  will not change due to the movement. Thus, perfectly the same high beam and low beam light-distributions as the two-filaments halogen bulb headlamp unit can be expected. Also, since the solenoid  57  is accommodated in the housing  58  to attain a smaller size of the headlamp unit, interchange of this headlamp unit to the conventional headlamp unit with a halogen bulb can be performed easily. 
     In addition, the first and second shades  53  and  54  ensure no glare from the discharge lamp of the vehicle headlamp unit. 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a vehicle headlamp unit in another embodiment according to the present invention when in low beam mode, FIG. 11 illustrates the vehicle headlamp unit in this embodiment when in high beam mode, and FIGS. 12 a  and  12   b  illustrate a low beam/high beam switching mechanism of the vehicle headlamp unit in this embodiment. This embodiment is also an example of the vehicle headlight using a headlamp unit that is provided with a discharge lamp and compatible with the HB-5 type halogen bulb. 
     Structure of the headlamp unit in this embodiment has substantially the same as that of the headlamp unit in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-9 b  except for a partial structure of a second sliding member and a first sliding member. Therefore, in FIGS. 10,  11 ,  12   a  and  12   b , the same reference numerals are used for elements that are substantially the same as these shown in FIGS. 5,  7 ,  9   a  and  9   b.    
     In this embodiment, as apparently illustrated in FIGS. 12 a  and  12   b , the second sliding member  55 ′ has two sliding surfaces  72  in front of the slits  66  and  67 . Each sliding surface  72  runs along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit in a plane including the light axis direction of the headlamp unit and a sliding direction of the second sliding member. On the other hand, the first sliding member  56 ′ also has two sliding surfaces  73  in front of the slits  66  and  67 . Each sliding surface  73  runs along a direction tilted with respect to the light axis Z of the headlamp unit in a plane including the light axis direction of the headlamp unit and a sliding direction of the second sliding member, and thus slides along and in contact with the sliding surface  72  of the second sliding member  55 ′. As a result, the second sliding member  55 ′ can move in response to the movement of the first sliding member  56 ′ more stably and smoothly than that in the embodiment of FIGS. 4-9 b.    
     Another operations and advantages in this embodiment are substantially the same as these in the embodiment of FIGS. 4-9 b.    
     In the aforementioned embodiments, the headlamp units compatible with the HB-5 type halogen bulb are illustrated. It is apparent however that a headlamp unit according to the present invention is compatible with another two-filaments type halogen bulb such as HB-1 type halogen bulb. 
     The number of slits, pins and first and second sliding surfaces is not limited to two as in the aforementioned embodiments but may be one or three or more. Also, instead of pins, projections partially inserted into the respective slits may be used. 
     Many widely different embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the specification, except as defined in the appended claims.