GB2102111A

GB2102111A - Vehicle light assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2102111A
Application number: GB08220513A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rolf Feger; Hans-Joachim Wirth
Original assignee: SWF Spezialfabrik fuer Autozubehoer Gustav Rau GmbH
Current assignee: SWF Auto Electric GmbH
Priority date: 1981-07-17
Filing date: 1982-07-15
Publication date: 1983-01-26
Also published as: DE3128296A1; JPS5832301A; IT1152003B; DE3128296C2; IT8222422A0; FR2509840A1

Abstract

A vehicle light assembly includes several incandescent lamps which are inserted in lamp holders of a plastics supporting member (35) and rest with their cap (31) against bent lugs (25) near to the lamp holders, which lugs are punched from a steel sheet billet in the same way as a common first lead (16) for several incandescent lamps and at least one further lead (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) for each incandescent lamp. The leads are taken as metal conductors from a common plug into the vicinity of the incandescent lamps. Since there are tolerances between the plastics supporting member and the metal conductors which can unfavourably affect the position of the bent lugs relative to the lamp holders in the supporting member, bent lugs (25) are provided on at least two metal conductors (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) which are mechanically and electrically separated from one another. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle light assembly This invention relates to a vehicle light assembly of the kind including several incandescent lamps which are inserted in lamp holders of a plastics supporting member and rest with their cap against bent lugs near the lamp holders, which lugs are punched out from a steel sheet billet in the same way as a common first lead and at least one further lead for each incandescent lamp, and wherein the leads are taken as metal conductors from a common plug into the vicinity of the incandescent lamps.

Such a light assembly is known from the German specification OS 2,441,330. As far as this light assembly is concerned the recesses on the sheet metal parts of the lamp holders in the plastics supporting member and the lugs projecting into the lamp holders are developed on the common first lead which serves as a ground connection for all incandescent lamps. This involves the difficulty that because of the different materials from which the plastics supporting member and the metal conductors are made, they also have different production tolerances. The difference between the tolerance of the metal conductor and that of the plastics supporting member is the greater, the greater the spacing between the incandescent lamps is.When the spacing between the incandescent lamps is very great it can happen that the spacings between the recesses in the metal conductors for receiving the incandescent lamps and the spacings between the lamp holders in the plastics supporting member differ so much that the incandescent lamps can no longer be inserted. If one would increase the diameter of the recesses or the inside diameters of the lamps holders this disadvantage could be avoided to a far-reaching extent, but the incandescent lamps would no longer occupy an exactly defined position. Moreover the incandescent lamps would fit so loosely that they could swing when the vehicle moves. This does not only result in an unsteady light, but also affects the service life of the incandescent lamp. It has therefore been attempted to solve this problem in a different way.

According to German specification OS 2,746,449 the inner wall of the lamp holders is provided with radially extending projections in the areas between the lugs. When the metal conductors are connected with the plastics supporting member, these projections are reduced to the diameter of the lamp cap. Thus in this version an additional phase of operation is necessary in which the projections have to be abraded. If one attempts to abrade the projections in the phase in which the metal conductors are fastened the necessary tool becomes complicated.

In the solution according to German specification OS 2,602,237 there is at least one desired expansion gap in the metal conductor produced by free punches or similar reductions of the diameter.

These expansion gaps are arranged between the recesses in the common lead for all incandescent lamps, when the recesses haye wide spacings.

This also makes a tool more complicated, in this case, the tool for punching out the metal conductors.

It is an object of the present invention to develop a vehicle light assembly ofthe kind referred to in such a way that the production tolerances of the metal conductors and of the plastics supporting member are as small as possible and to realise this by simple means, so that the incandescent lamps can be inserted in the lamp holders of the plastics supporting member through the recesses in the sheet metal at any time.

According to the invention in its broadest aspect, a vehicle light assembly of the kind referred to is characterised in that the bent lugs are provided on at least two metal conductors which are mechanically and electrically separated from one another. Thus the prevailing basic idea of forming all bent lugs on the same metal conductor of conventional vehicle light assemblies have been dropped in the vehicle light assembly according to the invention. Now these lugs are provided on at least two metal conductors. For instance the lamps for the incandescent lamps, which are closely arranged relative to each other, can be provided on the first lead, whereas the lugs for an incandescent lamps which has a greater spacing from the first mentioned incandescent lamps, can be formed on the second lead.

Moreover it is possible that the common first lead is not provided with any lugs, but that these lugs are rather positioned on the second lead of each incandescent lamp. In dependence on the spacings of the incandescent lamps relative to one another it can thus be specifically, determined on which metal conductors the lugs for the incandescent lamps are to be provided. The recesses in the sheet metal and the assigned lugs can thus be arranged substantially independent of one another at the lamp holders of the plastics supporting member. Thus tolerances possibly appearing in the plug area can there be easily compensated.

In an embodiment of the invention, the incandescent lamps rest against the lugs with the pins on their cap. A spring which produces the contact pressure at the centre contact of the incandescent lamp exerts a force on the lugs via the pins. But the sheet metal is stable enough to endure this force without being deformed.

If the vehicle light assembly includes also lamps with two centre contacts it is of advantage to provide the lugs for the lamps at the first lead.

The lugs for an incandescent lamp with only one centre contact are conveniently provided on the assigned second lead.

The production tolerances between the lamp holders in the plastics supporting member and the various metal conductors are especially small if the plug is located at such a place at the plastics supporting member that the greatest spacing between the end of a metal conductor on the plug and a lamp holder is as small as possible.

The centre contacts of the incandescent lamps may be connected to the assigned metal conductor through separate contact springs. This assigned metal conductor can be both the first and a second lead of an incandescent lamp. It depends on which lead the lugs are provided against which an incandescent lamp rests with its cap.

In further developments each metal conductor connected with the centre contacts of the incandescent lamps is directly conducted to the respective centre contact. In such a version the junction resistance from the metal conductors to the centre contacts is lower than that in a version in which a separate contact spring is used.

However, special measures are necessary in order to obtain the necessary contact pressure between the metal conductors and the centre contact. In order to make the centre contact easily accessible the metal conductors provided with the lugs bent into the lamp holders have a U-shaped section around the lamp holder through the open side of which section the metal conductor enters the lamp holder towards the centre contact. Because there is possibly only little metal sheet material at the arc of the U-shaped section it is advantageous to stabilise the shape of this section in that at the open side the U-shaped section in addition has bent areas which rest against the plastics supporting member. Thereby the bent areas can also be locked in the plastics supporting member.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a top view on the sheet metal billet of a vehicle light assembly according to the invention in a state, in which the various metal conductors are still interconnected by thin webs, Fig. 2 is a view of the sheet metal billet in the direction of arrow A of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a section through a fragmentary area of the plastics supporting member in the vicinity of a lamp holder with a separate contact spring between a metal conductor and the centre contact of an incandescent lamp, Fig. 4 is a section similar to that of Fig. 3 with a different type of contact spring, Fig. 5 is a further section similar to the ones of Figs. 3 and 4 with a third type of contact spring, Fig. 6 is a top view on a section from the sheet metal billet of a vehicle light assembly according to the invention, in which the centre contacts of the incandescent lamps directly act upon a metal conductor, and Fig. 7 is a view in the direction of arrow B of Fig. 6.

The sheet metal billet of Fig. 1 includes a total of six sheet metal conductors 11 to 16, which at their inputs are positioned in parallel beside each other, are formed as a flat plug 1 7 there and thus enable a central plug connection. In order to facilitate the mounting on a plastics supporting member the various metal conductors are still interconnected by webs 1 8. Each of the metal conductors 11 to 1 5 is assigned to a different incandescent lamp. However all incandescent lamps have the metal conductor 1 6 in common which forms the ground connection. The other metal conductors may be connected to the positive pole of the vehicle battery through any switching elements within a motor vehicle.

The end of the metal conductors 11 to 1 5, which is opposite to the flat plug 17, is formed as a large-area square 19, from which a recess 20 is punched out through which the cap of the incandescent lamp can enter. When the sheet metal billet 10 is completely planar two diametrically opposed sheet metal lugs 25 project into the recess 20, which lugs are later bent perpendicularly upwards from the plane of the sheet metal billet 10. The lugs 25 are curved in such a way that they rest upon a cylinder jacket whose centre axis stands perpendicularly on the sheet metal billet 10 and extends through the centre of the recess 20. The diameter of thisimagined cylinder corresponds approximately to that of the cap of an incandescent lamp.At the foot of each lug 25 a circular hole 26 is recessed which, when the lugs have been bent, is still positioned with its greater part in the plane of the sheet metal billet 10, but with its smaller part at the lugs bent upwards. After the assembly the pins at the cap of the incandescent lamp fit in the recesses thus created at the foot of the lugs 25.

In the version of a vehicle light assembly according to the invention described here the metal conductor 1 6 is not intended to receive an incandescent lamp. It is connected to each centre contact of the five incandescent lamps fitted in the metal conductors 11 to 1 5. In the vicinity of the recesses 20 in the metal conductors 11 to 1 5 for this purpose five lugs 27 are bent from the metal conductor 16 in a similar way perpendicular from the plane of the sheet metal billet as the lugs 25.

However, the lugs 27 extend in the opposite direction to the lugs 25. From the lugs 27 a contact spring separately anchored in the plastics supporting member leads to the centre contact of the lamp concerned: This is illustrated in detail in Figs. 3 to 5.

In the embodiment of a sheet metal billet of a vehicle light assembly according to the invention shown in the drawing, each metal conductor has no more than one recess 20 with the respective sheet metal lugs 25. After the webs 18 have been cut off the recesses 20 can therefore be attached on the assigned plastics supporting member substantially independent of one another. Thus it is possible to compensate the production tolerances appearing between the sheet metal and the plastics supporting member to a considerable extent. In order to keep these tolerances as small as possible it would be best if the flat plugs were positioned in a place which has the same spacing from the two outer recesses. This would allow the greatest length of the metal conductors 11 to 1 5 to be made as small as possible. Because this arrangement is not possible in the present example on grounds of space the flat plug 1 7 is arranged between two of the inner recesses 20, thus in a place, which indeed is located outside the most favourable place, but which is as close to it as possible; Figs. 3 to 5 show various ways in which the metal conductor 1 6 can be connected with the centre contact 30 at the bottom of the cap 31 of an incandescent lamp through a separate contact spring. The contact springs 32, 33 and 34 of Figs.

3 to 5 are substantially composed of three sections with different functions. The first section rests against the respective metal conductor, by means of the second section the contact springs are anchored in the plastics supporting member 35 and by means of the third section they make contact with the centre contact 30 of the incandescent lamp. The anchoring in the plastics supporting member 35 and the connection to the centre contact 30 is assumed to be the same in all three versions according to Figs. 3 to 5.The versions differ solely by the manner of contactmaking between the first section of the contact spring and the metal conductor 1 6. In the version according to Fig. 3 the contact spring 32 is resiliently supported on the top surface of the completely plane metal conductor 1 6. In the versions according to Figs. 4 and 5 the lugs 27 are bent from the metal conductor 16, which lugs project into a recess 36 of the plastics supporting member 35. The first section of the contact spring 33 and 34 is also positioned in the recess 36 of the plastics supporting member 35. In Fig. 4 the contact spring 33 rests against the front side of the lug 27 and with a punched-out nose 37 against the front side of the lug 27. The spring 34 of Fig. 5 acts only upon the front side of the lug 27 at the metal conductor 16.

Figs. 6 and 7 are part of a vehicle light assembly in which the metal conductor 16 leads directly to the centre contact of an incandescent lamp. Moreover in this version the lugs 25 at the second lead to the incandescent lamps, for instance the metal conductor 11, are not bent away from the plastics supporting member, but into it. In order to make possible an easy mounting of the metal conductor 1 6 the recess 20 of the metal conductor 11 is open on the one side on which the metal conductor 1 6 is positioned, so that a U-shaped section is formed on the metal conductor 11. Through the open side of this U the metal conductor 1 6 can be connected to the centre contact of the incandescent lamp by means of its rectangularly projecting stud 38. The contact pressure between the stud 38 and the centre contact can be produced by an additional spring.

Because the material in the arc of the U-shaped section can be relatively thin, as it is in the present example, there is a danger that this section will be deformed. As Fig. 7 shows especially clearly the open side of this U-shaped section is provided with additionally bent areas 39 which rest against the plastics supporting member and are locked with it by means of the detent 40.

Claims

1. A vehicle light assembly of the kind including several incandescent lamps which are inserted in lamp holders of a plastics supporting member (35) and rest with their cap (31)! against bent lugs (25) near the lamp holders, which lugs are punched out from a steel sheet billet in the same way as a common first lead (16) for several incandescent lamps and at least-one further lead (11,12,13, 14, 1 5) for each incandescent lamp, wherein the leads (11,12,13,14,15, 16) are taken as metal conductors from a common plug into the vicinity of the incandescent lamps, characterised in that the bent lugs (25) are provided on at least two metal conductors (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) which are mechanically and electrically separated from one another.

2. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the incandescent lamps rest against the lugs (25) with the pins on their caps (31).

3. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the lugs for incandescent lamps including two centre contacts are provided at the first lead.

4. A vehicle light assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the lugs (25) for an incandescent lamp including only one centre contact (30) are provided at the assigned second lead 12,13,14,15).

5. A vehicle light assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the plug at the plastics supporting member (35) is so positioned that the greatest spacing between the end (17) of a metal conductor (15) on the plug and a lamp holder is as small as possible.

6. A vehicle light assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the centre contacts (30) of the incandescent lamps are connected to the respective metal conductor (16) through separate contact springs (32, 33, 34).

7. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 6, characterised in that the contact spring (32) is supported on the plate top surface of the assigned metal conductor (1 6).

8. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 6, characterised in that the contact spring (33, 34) rests against a bent portion (27) of the assigned metal conductor (27) which portion extends into a recess (36) of the plastics supporting member (35).

9. A vehicle light assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the metal conductor (16) connected with the centre contacts (30) of the incandescent lamps is directly conducted to the respective centre contact (30).

10. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 9, characterised in that the metal conductors (11), which are provided with the lugs (25) bent from the lamp holders, form a U-shaped section around the lamp holder through the open side of which the metal conductor (16) enters the lamp holder towards the centre contact (30).

11. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 10, characterised in that at the open side the Ushaped section in addition has bent areas (39) which rest against the plastics supporting member (35).

1 2. A vehicle light assembly according to claim 11, characterised in that the bent areas (39) are locked in the plastics supporting member (35).

1 3. A vehicle light assembly substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.