Device and method for joining a lens to a housing of a lighting device

Abstract

A device for joining a lens with a housing of a lighting device of a motor vehicle, having a receiver for receiving and securing the housing and a pre-centering device for positioning the lens on the housing, wherein the pre-centering device includes a frame element and a plurality of positioning elements that are attached to the frame element for receiving the lens, wherein during a pre-centering process, the frame element of the pre-centering device is movable together with the joined lens relative to the receiver in such a way that the lens is aligned on the housing, which is received in the receiver.

Claims

1. A method for joining a lens on a housing of a lighting device of a motor vehicle, the method comprising: receiving the housing; securing the housing in a receiver; and positioning and aligning the lens on the housing during a pre-centering process that occurs after securing the housing in the receiver, the pre-centering process using a pre-centering device having a frame element and a plurality of positioning elements attached to the frame element; wherein the pre-centering process includes clamping the lens between the positioning elements of the frame element and then moving the frame element, with the lens already clamped thereto, relative to the receiver to align the lens on the housing, and wherein, during the moving of the frame element, the frame element is aligned with the housing by using a reference point system, the frame element being moved until stop elements formed on the frame element are brought to rest against the housing.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein during the securing of the housing in the receiver, the housing is aligned using a reference point system having at least two reference points, and/or wherein the lens is aligned by using the reference point system.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein during the clamping of the lens between the positioning elements, the lens is aligned and fixed between the positioning elements.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame element is movably supported on a base plate, wherein actuators are mounted on the base plate, and wherein the actuators move the frame element until the stop elements of the frame element are brought to rest against the housing to thereby align the frame element with the housing.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, after the pre-centering process in which the lens is aligned on the housing, the lens is received by a holder and is removed from the pre-centering device, and wherein following the pre-centering process, a joining process is started, wherein the lens is integrally joined with the housing.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning elements include block slides and spring-loaded slides, wherein the block slides are attached to an opposite side of the frame element as the spring-loaded slides so as to clamp the lens therebetween.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame element has an opening that annularly surrounds the receiver and wherein the stop elements of the frame element protrude inward in a direction towards the receiver.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame element is movable in two directions in a same plane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a device according to the invention, in a plan view from above,

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 1, and

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a process of aligning a lens with a housing of a lighting device by means of the device shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show a device 100 for joining a lens L with a housing G of a lighting device of a motor vehicle. The joining of the lens L with the housing G takes place by means of a joining process, in particular a welding process, in that the edge region R.sub.L of the lens is cohesively connected with the edge region R.sub.G of the housing G. Before joining, the lens L and the housing G must be aligned with one another to compensate any tolerance deviations.

(6) The device 100 has for this purpose a receiver 10 for receiving the housing G. In the receiver 10, the housing G can be aligned using a reference point system, in that the housing G is placed on this reference point system. In the embodiment shown here, the reference point system comprises three reference points P1, P2 and P3. These reference points P1, P2, P3 are provided or positioned in an x-y-plane. By means of the reference points P1, P2, P3, a defined positioning of the housing G can take place in the receiver 10 and thus in the device 100.

(7) Furthermore, the device 100 includes a pre-centering device 11 for positioning the lens L on the housing G.

(8) The pre-centering device 11 has a frame element 12 and a plurality of positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 that are secured to the frame element 12.

(9) The frame element 12 is plate-shaped and has a window-like opening 19, so that the frame element 12 can be arranged around the receiver 10. The frame element 12 annularly encloses the receiver 10, wherein the frame element 12 is preferably polygonal.

(10) Both the frame element 12 and the receiver 10 are arranged on a base plate 20. The receiver 10 is fixedly positioned on the base plate 20. The frame element 12, however, is movably supported on the base plate 20. For the movable support, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of bearing elements 22, for example in the form of ball bushings, can be arranged distributed on an underside 21 of the frame element 12 pointing in the direction of the base plate 20. Due to the movable support of the frame element 12, this can be moved relative to the fixedly positioned receiver 10, in particular during the pre-centering process. The frame element 12 can be moved relative to the receiver 10 in such a way that the lens L can be aligned relative to the housing G received in the receiver 10. By aligning the lens L with the housing G, the lens L is aligned using the reference point system and thus with the reference points P1, P2 and P3, with which the housing G is also aligned.

(11) The movement of the frame element 12 is pneumatically or electrically controllable. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of pneumatic cylinders 23, 24, 25 is provided, which can control the movement of the frame element 12. The movement of the frame element 12 is effected in the x- and y-direction, so that the frame element 12 can be moved in parallel with the base plate 20. To effect the shifting movement of the frame element 12, the pneumatic cylinders 23, 24, 25 engage at an outer circumferential surface 32 of the frame element 12.

(12) For pre-centering, a plurality of stop elements 26, 27, 28 is integrally formed on the frame element 12. These stop elements 26, 27, 28 are designed as web-like projections and protrude from the inner surface 29 pointing in the direction of the receiver 10, in the region of the window-like opening 19 of the frame element 12. By means of the stop elements 26, 27, 28, the frame element 12 and the cylinders 23, 24, 25, can be aligned and clamped to the housing G received in the receiver 10.

(13) The lens L is received, aligned and clamped in the pre-centering device 11 via the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. The positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are arranged distributed over the circumference of the frame element 12. By the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 being fixedly positioned on the movably supported frame element 12, the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 can also be aligned relative to the housing G received in the receiver 10 during a movement of the frame element 12.

(14) A certain number of positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are designed as block slides and a certain number of positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are designed as spring-loaded slides. In the embodiment shown here, three positioning elements 13, 14, 15 are designed as block slides and three positioning elements 16, 17, 18 are designed as spring-loaded slides. By designing the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 as block slides and as spring-loaded slides, the lens L can be aligned when it is received in the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, before it is clamped between the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. In each case, a positioning element 16, 17, 18 designed as a spring-loaded slide is positioned opposite a positioning element 13, 14, 15 designed as a block slide.

(15) After the pre-centering process, the lens L can be grasped by a holder 30 by generating negative pressure, and be lifted up out of the pre-centering device 11 by the holder 30. During the subsequent joining process, the lens L can be held by the holder 30. The holder 30 is positioned in the z-direction above the receiver 10 and above the pre-centering device 11. The holder 30 is movable in the z direction, so that the lens held in the holder 30 can be set on the housing G joined in the receiver 10 and also lifted therefrom by a shifting movement of the holder 30.

(16) FIG. 3 shows a pre-centering process of a lens L on a housing G.

(17) In step 1, the housing G is placed on the reference points P1, P2, P3 of the reference point system and fixed in this position in the receiver 10.

(18) In the subsequent step 2, the lens L is placed on the housing G, received by the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and clamped between the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, in that the lens L is brought to bear against the positioning elements 13, 14, 15 designed as block slides, and then, the positioning elements 16, 17, 18 designed as spring-loaded slides are moved against the lens L so that the lens L is clamped against the positioning elements 13, 14, 15 designed as block slides.

(19) In the subsequent step 3, the pre-centering device 11 is aligned together with the joined lens L relative to the housing G which has been received in the receiver 10. In this case, by a control via the pneumatic cylinders 23, 24, 25, as indicated by the dashed arrows, the frame element 12 planarly supported to be movable in a plane is moved with its stop elements 26, 27, 28 against the housing G received in the receiver 10 and is thereby aligned with the housing G. The frame element 12 is first moved in the y-direction by means of the pneumatic cylinders 23, 24 acting on a longitudinal edge of the outer circumferential surface 32 of the frame element 12 in such a manner that initially, the stop elements 26, 27 to be positioned on the longitudinal side of the housing G bear against the housing G. Subsequently, the frame element 12 is moved in the x-direction via the pneumatic cylinder 25 acting on a transverse edge of the outer circumferential surface 32 of the frame element 12 in such a way, that the stop element 28 bears against the transverse side of the housing G. The frame element 12 then lies with all its stop elements 26, 27, 28 on the housing G. The frame element 12 and also the lens L received between the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 is thereby aligned relative to the housing G and thus also aligned relative to the reference points P1, P2, P3 of the reference point system. The lens L is now pre-centered and optimally aligned relative to the housing G and the reference point system.

(20) Subsequently, the holder 30 can be moved in the z direction downwards towards the lens L to remove the latter from the pre-centering device 11, see FIG. 2. Here, the holder 30 can receive and hold the pre-centered and aligned lens L by applying negative pressure. In a next step, the joining process can then be initiated for the cohesive connection of the pre-centered lens L with the housing G.

(21) This can be done in such a way that after the lens L has been transferred from the positioning elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 to the holder 30, the lens L is first moved upwards by the holder 30 and thus moved away from the housing G. Subsequently, infrared emitters can be introduced, which heat the welding contours of the housing G and of the lens L. The welding contours can be the edge region R.sub.G of the housing G and the edge region R.sub.L of the lens L. Subsequently, the infrared emitters can be removed and the lens L held in the holder 30 can be lowered in the direction of the housing G until the lens L sits with its welding contour or its edge region R.sub.L on the welding contour or the edge region R.sub.G of the housing G. Subsequently, the actual joining, in particular welding, can take place. For example, this can be done by means of a friction welding process.

(22) The invention is not limited in its execution to the above preferred embodiment. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable, which make use of the illustrated solution even with fundamentally different types of embodiments. All of the features and/or advantages arising from the claims, the description or the drawings, including design details, spatial arrangements and process steps, can be essential to the invention both individually and in different combinations.

(23) The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims: