JP2020004501A - Lighting unit and lock structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure such as a lighting unit in which a cover is hard to be removed from a housing and a lock force can be improved. SOLUTION: A housing 1 in which a light emitting diode 31 is housed and light from the light emitting diode 31 is emitted from an opening, a lens cover 40 assembled to the housing 1 and closing the opening, and a member provided in the housing 1. The stop protrusion 10 and the elastic lock portion 48 provided on the lens cover 40 are provided, and the elastic lock portion 48 includes an elastic arm portion 50 extending from the front side to the rear side in the assembly direction of the lens cover 40. , The lock claw portion 51 provided on the rear side in the assembly direction of the elastic arm portion 50, and the lock claw portion 51 is shifted toward the locking projection 10 side in the extending direction of the elastic arm portion 50. A locking surface 51a for locking the locking projection 10 is provided at the position. [Selection diagram] Fig. 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting unit and a lock structure used inside a vehicle or the like.

  Conventionally, various lighting units have been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). The lighting unit includes a housing in which a light source and the like are housed, and a cover for closing an opening of the housing. The cover is fixed by the lock structure at the position where the cover has been assembled to the housing.

  In the lighting unit, light from a light source in the housing is emitted to the outside through the cover.

JP 2001-243829 A JP 2012-134012 A

  As a lock structure between the cover and the housing, it is conceivable that a structure of Patent Document 2 or the like is applied. A structure to which the structure of Patent Document 2 is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 14, the lock structure includes a locking projection 110 provided on the housing 100 and an elastic lock 148 provided on the cover 140. The elastic lock portion 148 has an elastic arm portion 150 whose base end is supported by the cover 140, and a lock claw portion 151 provided at a free end of the elastic arm portion 150. When the cover 140 is moved in the mounting direction D1 to the housing 100, the elastic arm portion 150 is bent and deformed, and the lock claw portion 151 gets over the locking projection 110. When the cover 140 moves to the position where the assembly to the housing 100 is completed, the lock claw 151 is locked by the locking protrusion 110 of the housing 100 due to the bending return deformation of the elastic arm 150 (the state of FIG. 14).

  However, in the structure of FIG. 14, when an external force F in the direction of detaching the cover 140 is applied to the housing 100 by a tensile force of a wire harness (not shown) or the like, the lock claw 151 is attached to the elastic lock 148 by the locking protrusion. A moment M2 of the force in the direction deviating from 110 is generated. Therefore, the lock between the cover 140 and the housing 100 may be released by the moment M2 of the force.

  Then, this invention is made in order to solve the above-mentioned subject, and an object of this invention is to provide a lighting unit and a lock structure in which a cover is hard to come off from a housing and a locking force can be improved.

  A lighting unit according to the present invention includes a housing in which a light source is housed and light from the light source is emitted from an opening, a cover assembled to the housing and closing the opening, and a housing provided in the housing. A stop projection, and an elastic lock portion provided on the cover, wherein the elastic lock portion extends from a front side in a mounting direction of the cover toward a rear side, and the elastic arm portion. And a locking claw provided on a rear side in an assembling direction of the elastic arm. The locking claw is provided at a position shifted toward the locking protrusion with respect to an extending direction of the elastic arm portion. And a locking surface is provided.

  A lock structure according to the present invention includes a locking projection provided on a first member and an elastic lock portion provided on a second member, wherein the elastic lock portion is located rearward of a front side in a mounting direction of the cover. An elastic arm portion extending toward the elastic arm portion, and a lock claw portion provided on the rear side in the mounting direction of the elastic arm portion. On the other hand, a locking surface with the locking projection is provided at a position shifted to the locking projection side.

  According to the present invention, when an external force is applied to the housing in the direction of detaching the cover, a moment of a force is generated in the locking claw portion in a direction to deepen the engagement with the engagement projection, so that the elastic locking portion is It can be surely prevented from coming off.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view of a lighting unit. FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a lighting unit. FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a bottom view of a lighting unit. FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view of a lighting unit. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a bus bar, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the bus bar. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a front view of a lens cover, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the lens cover. It is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing an assembly process of a lighting unit. It is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing an assembly process of a lighting unit. It is sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of this invention and shows the assembly process of a lighting unit. 4A and 4B show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 4A, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of this invention and shows the moment of the force which acts on an elastic lock part. It is sectional drawing of the lock structure of a reference example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 12 show an embodiment of the present invention. The lighting unit A includes a housing (first member) 1, four bus bars 20 and a circuit board 30 housed in the housing 1, a lens cover (cover, second member) 40 for closing an opening of the housing 1, It has.

  The housing 1 is formed of a member that does not transmit light. The housing 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The housing 1 has a component storage chamber 2 and a connector fitting chamber 3. A partition wall 4 is provided between the component storage chamber 2 and the connector fitting chamber 3. The component storage chamber 2 is surrounded by a bottom wall 5, a pair of side walls 6, and a partition wall 4, and has an upper surface and a rear surface opened. This opening is closed by the lens cover 40. Four bus bar guide grooves 7 are formed on the inner surface side of the bottom wall 5 forming the component storage chamber 2. A pair of substrate guide grooves 8 are formed on the inner surface side of the pair of side walls 6 forming the component housing chamber 2. The partition wall 4 has four terminal through holes 9 formed therein. The tab terminal portion 25 of the bus bar 20 protrudes into the connector fitting chamber 3 from each terminal through hole 9.

  On the outside of the bottom wall 5 of the housing 1, a locking projection 10 extending in the width direction is provided. The bottom wall 5 of the housing 1 is provided with a pair of reinforcing projections 11 that are continuous with both ends of the locking projection 10 and extend along the thickness d1 direction (FIG. 11A) of the locking projection 10. The locking protrusion 10 and the pair of reinforcing protrusions 11 are set at positions where they enter the position of the notch 49 described below of the lens cover 40 when the assembly of the lens cover 40 is completed.

  Each bus bar 20 is formed of a flat conductive metal plate having a predetermined shape. Each bus bar 20 includes a base plate portion 21, a fixed contact portion 22, a spring contact portion 23 and a protection protrusion 24 protruding from one side end of the base plate portion 21, and a tab terminal portion 25 protruding from the other side end of the base plate portion 21. And a locking claw portion 26.

  The fixed contact part 22 and the spring contact part 23 are arranged in the component storage chamber 2 and are arranged at an interval from each other. The fixed contact part 22 and the spring contact part 23 are electrically connected to the circuit board 30 by sandwiching the circuit board 30 with the elastic return force of the spring contact part 23.

  One end of the base plate portion 21 and an end surface between the fixed contact portion 22 and the spring contact portion 23 are formed on a front surface abutting surface 21a of the substrate. The end surface of the fixed contact portion 22 on the side of the spring contact portion 23 is formed on the lower surface abutting surface 21b of the substrate.

  The tab terminal portion 25 is disposed in the connector fitting chamber 3 and is electrically connected to a mating terminal (not shown) of the mating connector fitted.

  The other end of the base plate portion 21 and the end surface around the tab terminal portion 25 are formed on the housing abutting surface 21b.

  The locking claw 26 is locked to the housing 1 at the position where the insertion of the bus bar 20 is completed.

  The circuit board 30 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped. On the circuit board 30, other electronic components 32 are mounted together with a light emitting diode 31 as a light source. A circuit pattern is provided on the circuit board 30. A drive circuit of the light emitting diode 31 is configured by the mounted electronic components 32 and the circuit pattern. The light-emitting diode 31 is a multi-color LED that emits three colors. Four contact portions 33 are provided in the circuit pattern. Each contact 33 is electrically connected to the fixed contact 22 and the spring contact 23 of each bus bar 20.

  The lens cover 40 is formed by two-color molding from a material that transmits light and a material that does not transmit light. In the lens cover 40, a cross section of a material that transmits light and a cross section of a material that does not transmit light are indicated by the same hatching. The lens cover 40 has an upper surface portion 41, a rear surface portion 42, a pair of side surface portions 52, and a bottom surface portion 43, and has an open front side. The lens cover 40 is attached to the housing 1 by inserting the housing 1 into the interior from the opened front side. When assembled to the housing 1, the lens cover 40 closes the upper opening and the rear opening of the component housing 2 of the housing 1.

  A cover-side mounting portion 45 is protruded from the upper surface portion 41. The cover-side mounting portion 45 has a cylindrical portion 45a and two elastic locking portions 46 projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 45a. By inserting and rotating the cylindrical portion 45a into a hole (not shown) of the illumination mounting member, the elastic locking portion 46 is locked to the illumination mounting member. Thereby, the lighting unit A can be fixed to the lighting attachment member.

  The inside of the cylindrical portion 45a of the upper surface portion 41 is formed of a member that transmits at least light. The light of the light emitting diode 31 is emitted to the outside via the lens cover 40.

  A pair of locking projections 57 are provided outside the pair of side surfaces 52. The illumination unit A can also be fixed to the vehicle using the pair of locking projections 57.

  An elastic lock portion 48 is provided on the bottom surface portion 43. The elastic lock portion 48 is provided integrally with the lens cover 40 by forming a cutout portion 49 in the bottom portion 43. The elastic lock portion 48 has a front portion in the mounting direction of the lens cover 40 as a support portion for the lens cover 40, and has a cantilevered elastic arm portion 50 extending toward the rear side in the mounting direction, and an elastic arm portion. A lock claw portion 51 is provided on the rear side in the assembly direction of 50, that is, on the free end side. The lock claw 51 extends obliquely with respect to the direction in which the elastic arm 50 extends. Thus, the locking claw 51 is provided with a locking surface 51 a with the locking protrusion 10 at a position shifted toward the locking protrusion 10 with respect to the extending direction of the elastic arm 50. The upper surface of the lock claw 51 is formed on an inclined surface 51b.

  As shown in FIG. 29, the rear surface portion 42 is formed on an inclined surface 42b whose upper portion is inclined in a direction opening upward from below to the vertical direction, and the lower portion is formed on a vertical surface. At the position where the lens cover 40 has been assembled to the housing 1, the inclined surface 42 b of the rear surface portion 42 abuts on the insertion rear end surface of the circuit board 30. More specifically, a pair of ribs 42 a extend in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the rear surface portion 42, and the pair of ribs 42 a abut on the insertion rear end surface of the circuit board 30.

  Next, a procedure for assembling the lighting unit A will be described. The bus bars 20 are gripped by a chuck jig (not shown), and the four bus bars 20 are inserted into the component housing chambers 2 of the housing 1 with the tab terminal portions 25 of the bus bars 20 at the ends. The insertion of each bus bar 20 is performed using the bus bar guide groove 7 as a guide, and the position where the housing abutment surface 21b of each bus bar 20 abuts on the partition wall 4 is the insertion completed position. In the bus bar 20, the fixed contact portion 22 and the spring contact portion 23 are arranged in the component accommodating chamber 2, and the tab terminal portion 25 is arranged in the connector fitting chamber 3 through the terminal through hole 9 of the partition wall 4.

  Next, the circuit board 30 is inserted into the component storage chamber 2 of the housing 1. The insertion of the circuit board 30 is performed using the pair of board guide grooves 8 as a guide, and the position where the front end face of the circuit board 30 abuts against the front surface abutting surface 21 a of the bus bar 20 is the insertion completed position. In addition, the lower surface of the circuit board 30 on the front end side of the insertion comes into contact with the lower surface abutting surface 22 a of the bus bar 20 due to the deformation return force of the spring contact portion 23. At the board completion position of the circuit board 30, each bus bar 20 and each contact portion 33 of the circuit board 30 are electrically connected.

  Next, the lens cover 40 is attached to the housing 1 from the rear side of the opening of the housing 1. In the assembling process, first, as shown in FIG. 10, the lock claw 51 abuts on the locking projection 10. When the housing 1 is inserted into the lens cover 40 deeper than this position, the locking claw portion 51 gets over the locking protrusion 10 due to the bending deformation of the elastic arm portion 50. Since the surface of the lock claw portion 51 that interferes with the locking projection 10 is the inclined surface 51b, the locking claw portion 51 can pass over the locking projection 10 smoothly. When the lens cover 40 reaches the assembly completed position, the lock claw 51 reaches a position where it completely rides over the locking protrusion 10, and the lock claw 51 is locked to the locking protrusion 10 by the bending return direction of the elastic arm 50. You. This completes the assembly.

  As described above, the lighting unit A includes the locking projection 10 provided on the housing 1 and the elastic lock portion 48 provided on the lens cover 40, and the elastic lock portion 48 is mounted in the mounting direction of the lens cover 40. An elastic arm portion 50 extending from the front side to the rear side, and a lock claw portion 51 provided on the rear side in the mounting direction of the elastic arm portion 50. A locking surface 51 a with the locking protrusion 10 is provided at a position shifted toward the locking protrusion 10 with respect to the extending direction of the arm portion 50.

  Therefore, when an external force F (see FIGS. 4 and 12) acting in a direction of detaching the cover 40 from the housing 1 by a tensile force of a wire harness (not shown) or the like acts on the housing 1, as shown in FIG. Since the moment M1 of the force in the direction of deepening the engagement with the engagement protrusion 10 is generated, the elastic lock portion 48 can be reliably prevented from coming off from the engagement protrusion 10.

  The housing 1 is provided with a reinforcing projection 11 which is continuous with the locking projection 10 and extends along the thickness (width) direction of the locking projection 10. Therefore, a predetermined strength can be obtained without increasing the thickness d1 of the locking projection 10. That is, when designing the locking projections 10 to have the same strength without providing the reinforcing projections 11, it is necessary to set the thickness d2 of the locking projections 10 thick as shown in FIG. If the locking projection 10 is set to be thick, a problem due to shrinkage of the resin material is likely to occur when the housing 1 is formed by resin molding. However, the provision of the reinforcing projection 11 prevents such shrinkage of the resin material. A predetermined strength can be obtained.

  The elastic lock portion 48 has a cantilever support structure integrally provided with the lens cover 40 by forming a cutout portion 49 in the lens cover 40. When the assembly of the lens cover 40 is completed, the elastic lock portion 48 is located at the position of the cutout portion 49. A locking projection 10 and a reinforcing projection 11 of the housing 1 are provided at a position where the housing 1 enters.

  Therefore, the height of the lighting unit A can be reduced. In addition, since the notch 49 for forming the elastic locking portion 48 is used in the lens cover 40, there is no need to separately provide a dedicated notch for disposing the locking projection 10 and the reinforcing projection 11.

  The rear surface portion 42 of the cover 40 is inclined in a direction to open downward from above with respect to the vertical direction. Abuts the end face after insertion.

  Therefore, the rear surface 42 of the lens cover 40 presses the circuit board 30 against the base plate 21 of the bus bar 20, whereby the circuit board 30 is positioned in the horizontal direction. Further, the rear surface portion 42 of the lens cover 40 presses the circuit board 30 against the bottom surface of the board guide groove 8, whereby the circuit board 30 is positioned vertically. Further, when the circuit board 30 is inserted only up to the insertion position, the rear surface portion 42 of the lens cover 40 pushes the circuit board 30 to the insertion completed position, so that the circuit board 30 can be prevented from being inserted halfway.

A lighting unit 1 housing (first member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Locking protrusion 11 Reinforcement protrusion 20 Bus bar 30 Circuit board 31 Light emitting diode (light source)
40 Lens cover (cover, second member)
42 Rear surface part 48 Elastic lock part 49 Notch part 50 Elastic arm part 51 Lock claw part 51a Locking surface

Claims (5)

A housing in which a light source is accommodated, and light from the light source is emitted from an opening,
A cover that is assembled to the housing and closes the opening;
A locking projection provided on the housing,
An elastic lock portion provided on the cover,
The elastic lock portion includes an elastic arm portion extending rearward from a front side in a mounting direction of the cover and a lock claw portion provided on a rear side in the mounting direction of the elastic arm portion. ,
The lighting unit, wherein the lock claw portion is provided with a locking surface with the locking protrusion at a position shifted toward the locking protrusion with respect to a direction in which the elastic arm portion extends. The lighting unit according to claim 1,
The lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a reinforcing protrusion that is continuous with the locking protrusion and extends along a thickness direction of the locking protrusion. The lighting unit according to claim 2,
The elastic lock portion is a cantilever support structure integrally provided in the cover by forming a cutout portion in the cover,
The lighting unit, wherein the engaging projection and the reinforcing projection of the housing are provided at a position where the cover enters the position of the notch at a position where the cover is completely assembled. The lighting unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The rear surface of the cover is inclined in a direction to open downward from above with respect to the vertical direction. Lighting unit characterized by the above-mentioned. A locking projection provided on the first member;
An elastic lock portion provided on the second member,
The elastic lock portion includes an elastic arm portion extending rearward from a front side in a mounting direction of the cover and a lock claw portion provided on a rear side in the mounting direction of the elastic arm portion. ,
The lock structure, wherein the lock claw portion is provided with a locking surface with the locking protrusion at a position shifted toward the locking protrusion with respect to a direction in which the elastic arm portion extends.

Images