Description:A HEADLAMP-BUMPER GAP CONTROL STRUCTURE

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter described herein relates to a headlamp of a vehicle. The present invention is particularly related to a headlamp outer lens structure provided on a periphery of the headlamp outer lens to control control assembly variation due to warpage in the bumper and achieve desirable gap control.

BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present subject matter. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] A headlamp is provided on the front end of a vehicle to satisfactorily illuminate the road ahead of the vehicle without causing glare and provide safety benefits during low light operation. Further, a car or other vehicle is likely to have two headlamps and a bumper that spans the front of the vehicle.
[0004] In the existing design, for illumination or signalling purposes, most vehicles include headlamp assemblies and bumper at the front and back of the vehicle. In order to provide the exterior of the automobile vehicle a nice appearance, a section of the bumper placed next to the headlight assembly is made with a complementary shape with the headlamp assembly. Therefore, the headlamp assembly and bumper needs to be positioned precisely.
[0005] The ends of the bumper are typically joined to the side fenders or side panels whereas the headlight assembly is typically mounted to the vehicle's main body. The side-to-side or lateral movement of the bumper, however, may not be adequately controlled by the attachment of the bumper to the side fender or side panels. In order to retain the position of the bumper in relation to the headlight assembly, a small, well-controlled design gap between the bumper and the headlamp assembly is needed to enhance the vehicle's appearance.
[0006] However, without considerably increasing the vehicle's manufacturing complexity, it is challenging to control such a design. Also since the bumper is a long part and is also lightweight, there are chances that it may get loose over a prolonged period of time, further leading to unever gap. Therefore, better tools and techniques are required to allow for an improved vehicle look with little increase in production complexity.
[0007] Therefore it is required to improve a headlamp assembly that is capable of controlling the position of a bumper.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0008] It forms an object of the present disclosure to overcome the aforementioned and other drawbacks/limitations in the existing solutions available in the form of related prior arts.
[0009] It is primary object of the present disclosure is to provide a structure wherein there is no uneven gap, between the headlight and the bumper.
[0010] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a bumper restricting structure that is located on a periphery of a headlamp outer lens of the lamp assembly to control assembly variation due to warpage in a bumper and achieve desirable gap control.
[0011] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a cost-effective solution to achieve the above objectives.
[0012] These and other objects and advantages of the present subject matter will be apparent to a person skilled in the art after consideration of the following detailed description taken into consideration with accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present subject matter are illustrated.

SUMMARY
[0013] A solution to one or more drawbacks of existing technology and additional advantages are provided through the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0014] The present disclosure provides a solution in the form of a lamp outer lens structure on a headlamp assembly to control assembly variation due to warpage in a bumper. The lamp outer lens structure includes a curved side and a transverse side provided at an outer periphery of the lamp outer lens structure along a horizontal length of a vehicle. A step surface provided throughout the curved side and the transverse side of the outer periphery of the lamp outer lens. A flange extending horizontally away from the step surface and a plurality of protrusions provided on the flange, wherein the protrusion has a first surface parallel to the step surface, a second surface extended upwards in an angular direction from the first surface thereby forming a T-shaped chamfered surface.
[0015] In an aspect, a slot is formed between the protrusions and the step surface to accommodate the bumper.
[0016] In an aspect, the plurality of protrusions stand in an angular vertical orientation on the flange.
[0017] In an aspect, each protrusion is located at a predetermined distance from the other.
[0018] In an aspect, the first surface is parallel to the third surface.
[0019] In an aspect, the first slope profile and the second slope profile is formed between the T-shaped chamfered surface and the third surface.
[0020] In an aspect, the flange is inclined downwards thereby forming a slope.
[0021] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0022] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the present disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods or structure in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0023] Fig. 1a illustrates a front view of a lamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure;
[0024] Fig. 1b illustrates a perspective view of a step surface and a flange on the headlamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure;
[0025] Fig. 1c illustrates a bumper assembled in a lot between the step surface and the flange on the headlamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure;
[0026] Fig. 2a illustrates a protrusion on a flange of the headlamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure;
[0027] Fig. 2b illustrates a prespective view of the protrusion and the step surface of the headlamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure;
[0028] Fig. 3 illustrates a top view of the protrusion on a flange of the headlamp outer lens structure according to the present disclosure.
[0029] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0030] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0031] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0032] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0033] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0034] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration of specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0035] Hereinafter, a description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0036] The present invention has a headlamp outer lens structure provided on a lamp assembly that restricts a bumper movement in the lateral, or side-to-side, direction. The headlamp assembly is linked to the vehicle's main body, and a bumper hides some of the headlamp assembly.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b, it shows the headlamp outer lens structure (101) that is provided over the headlamp assembly. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) has a curved side (107) transitioning into a transverse side (104) along a horizontal length of a vehicle.
[0038] The lamp outer lens structure (101) comprises a step surface (103) that is provided across the periphery of the lamp outer lens structure (101) on the curved side (107) and the transverse side (104).
[0039] Further, a flange (105) is extended away horizontally from the step surface (103) on across the curved side (107) and the transverse side (104) of the headlamp outer lens structure (101). The flange (105) further moves away from the step surface (103). Also, surface of the flange (105) accommodates a plurality of protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f).
[0040] The step surface (103) and the plurality of protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) which in combination, engage the bumper (108 as provided in Fig. 1c) to control assembly variatons due to the bumper warpage.
[0041] Also, each protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) is located at a predetermined distance from the other.
[0042] The step surface (103) is provided throughout the curved side (107) and the transverse side (104) of the outer periphery of the headlamp outer lens structure (101).
[0043] Referring to FIG. 1c, a slot (109) is formed between the protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) and the step surface (103) to accommodate the bumper (108) such that the bumper (108) gets assembled between the slot (109). The step surface (103) prevents the bumper (108) from moving left or right in an undesired location that will amount to an unwanted gap.
[0044] Together, the step surface (103) and the protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) minimize the variations in the up, down and sideward positions of the bumper (108), thereby improving the appearance while providing ease of assembly.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 2a, a protrusion from the plurality of protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) is shown. The protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) is elongated in a vertical orientation in respect to the horizontal length of a vehicle.
[0046] The protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) is parallel to the step surface (103) and a consistent minimum gap is maintained between the protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) and the step surface (103) to accommodate the bumper (108).
[0047] Further, the protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) has a first surface (201a) that is placed at an angle to to the step surface (103). A second surface (201b) is connected to the first surface (201a) and extended upwards in an angular direction from the first surface (201a) thus forming a T-shaped chamfered surface (202).
[0048] The protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) has a third surface (201c) that is adjoined to the T-shaped chamfered surface (202) from one end and the third surface (201c) is connected to the flange (105) from the other end.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 2b, the T-shaped chamfered surface (202) acts as a locator to direct and assemble the bumper (108) in the slot (109) and help in ease of assembly. The slot (109) is provided between the protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) and the step surface (103).
[0050] Referring to FIG. 3, the third surface (201c) is provided at an angle to the first surface (201a) and forms a first slope profile (301a) on a left side and a second slope profile (301b) on a right side. Also, the first slope profile (301a) and the second slope profile (301b) is formed at the base of the T-shaped chamfered surface (202) thus providing adequate strength to the first surface (201a) during bumper assembly and part transportation.
[0051] The first slope profile (301a) and the second slope profile (301b) helps in preventing any stagnation of the laquer during the lacquering process. Also, due to the slope surface of the flange (105) and a particular gap of the slot (109) it is ensured that the laquer does not get accumulated around the protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f).
[0052] Also, the protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) are designed for a two color outer lens through pocketing.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES
[0053] With the help of the solution as proposed herein in the context of the present disclosure, the aesthetic appearance around the vehicle headlamp is improved.
[0054] Due to improvement in the lamp outer lens structure of the lamp assembly, assembly variatons due to warpage in a bumper are controlled significantly.
[0055] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to disclosures containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Also, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general, such construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances, where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general, such construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0056] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present disclosure contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the disclosure, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. Also, while a feature of the present disclosure may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present disclosure. The present disclosure also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature. , Claims:We claim:
1. A headlamp outer lens structure (101) on a headlamp assembly to control assembly variatons due to warpage in a bumper (108) of a vehicle, the lamp outer lens structure (101) comprising of:
a curved side (107) and a transverse side (104) on the lamp outer lens structure (101) provided across a horizontal length of thevehicle,
characterized in that
a step surface (103) provided throughout the curved side (107) and the transverse side (104) at an outer periphery of the headlamp outer lens structure (101);
a flange (105) extending horizontally away from the step surface (103); and
a plurality of protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) provided on the flange (105),
wherein the protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) has a first surface (201a) parallel to the step surface (103), a second surface (201b) extended upwards in an angular direction from the first surface (201a) thereby forming a T-shaped chamfered surface (202).

2. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a slot (109) is formed between the protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) and the step surface (103) to accommodate the bumper (108).

3. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) stand in an angular vertical orientation on the flange (105).

4. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 3, wherein each protrusion (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f) is located at a predetermined distance from the other.

5. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first surface (201a) is parallel to the third surface (201c).

6. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first slope profile (301a) and the second slope profile (301b) is formed between the T-shaped chamfered surface (202) and the third surface (201c).

7. The headlamp outer lens structure (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flange (105) is inclined downwards thereby forming a slope.