Swingable headlight for vehicles

Claim 2

A headlight arrangement for use in a vehicle of the type having headlights which are swingable from an in-use position to a rest position in an opening of the vehicle body; said arrangement comprising: vehicle body structure delimiting outwardly facing edges of an opening for accepting a headlight, pivotal supporting means for supporting a headlight for pivotal movement about a pivot axis into and out of said opening, said vehicle body structure including a structural element defining a part of the edges of said opening, and force responsive means for permitting the relative movement of at least part of said structural element with respect to the pivot axis of said pivotal supporting means in response to a predetermined force on said structural element, whereby the danger to a limb of a person or the like which may inadvertently be located between the headlight and the edges of the opening during movement of the headlight is reduced, wherein said pivotal supporting means is constructed such that said pivot axis is located in a fixed position with respect to the parts of the vehicle body structure other than said structural element which delimit the edges of said opening, wherein said force responsive means forms part of connecting means for connecting the structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure, and wherein the connecting means includes yielding elements.

Claim 3

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the structural element is made of a form-rigid material.

Claim 4

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the yielding means have a cross-sectional constricted portion.

Claim 5

Headlight according to claim 3, wherein the structural element is made of a form-rigid material.

Claim 6

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said force responsive means includes disengagable means connecting the structural element at the vehicle body.

Claim 7

An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the structural element is made of a form-rigid material.

Claim 8

An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the disengageable means are constructed of form-rigid and yielding members.

Claim 9

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the structural element, in its assembled position, matches the shape of adjacent boundary walls of the vehicle body.

Claim 10

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the pivot axis extends perpendicularly to the driving direction of the vehicle, and wherein the structural element borders on the side of the headlight remote from the pivot axis.

Claim 11

An arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the structural element is arranged ahead of the headlight in the driving direction.

Claim 12

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the structural element is approximately U-shaped in cross-section.

Claim 13

An arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the structural element is made of a form-rigid material.

Claim 14

An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the yielding elements are constructed as pins extending through respective apertures in both said structural element and the adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure.

Claim 15

An arrangement according to claim 13, wherein said pins include a constricted cross-seCtional area which permits shearing of said pins when a predetermined force is applied to said structural element.

Claim 16

An arrangement according to claim 14, wherein said opening includes a bottom wall for catching and holding said structural element in the event the pins are sheared.

Claim 17

A headlight arrangement for use in a vehicle of the type having headlights which are swingable from an in-use position to a rest position in an opening of the vehicle body; said arrangement comprising: vehicle body structure delimiting outwardly facing edges of an opening for accepting a headlight, pivotal supporting means for supporting a headlight for pivotal movement about a pivot axis into and out of said opening, said vehicle body structure including a structural element defining a part of the edges of said opening, and force responsive means for permitting the relative movement of at least part of said structural element with respect to the pivot axis of said pivotal supporting means in response to a predetermined force on said structural element, whereby the danger to a limb of a person or the like which may inadvertently be located between the headlight and the edges of the opening during movement of the headlight is reduced, wherein said force responsive means forms part of connecting means for connecting the structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure, and wherein the connecting means includes two part disengageable means, one part of said disengageable means being fixed to said structural element and the other part of said disengageable means being fixed to said adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure, and wherein said two parts are disengageable from one another upon the application of a predetermined force on said structural element.

Claim 18

A headlight arrangement for use in a vehicle of the type having headlights which are swingable from an in-use position to a rest position in an opening of the vehicle body; said arrangement comprising: vehicle body structure delimiting outwardly facing edges of an opening for accepting a headlight, pivotal supporting means for supporting a headlight for pivotal movement about a pivot axis into and out of said opening, said vehicle body structure including a structural element defining a part of the edges of said opening, and force responsive means for permitting the relative movement of at least part of said structural element with respect to the pivot axis of said pivotal supporting means in response to a predetermined force on said structural element, whereby the danger to a limb of a person or the like which may inadvertently be located between the headlight and the edges of the opening during movement of the headlight is reduced, wherein said force responsive means forms part of connecting means for connecting the structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure, and wherein the connecting means includes two part disengageable means, one part of said disengageable means being fixed to said structural element and the other part of said disengageable means being fixed to said adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure, and wherein said two parts are disengageable from one another upon the application of a predetermined force on said structural element.

Claim 19

An arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the two part disengageable means is constructed as a two part pin, the respective parts of said pin extending through corresponding apertures provided in the respective structural element and adjacent fixed vehicle structure.

Claim 20

An arrangement according to claim 17, wherein one part of said pin includes a conical recess for accepting a conical end portion provided on said other part.

Claim 21

An arrangement according to claim 17, wherein said pin extends parallel to and spaced from said pivot axis of the headlight.

Claim 22

A headlight arrangement for use in a vehicle of the type having headlights which are swingable from an in-use position to a rest position in an opening of the vehicle body; said arrangement comprising: vehicle body structure delimiting outwardly facing edges of an opening for accepting a headlight, pivotal supporting means for supporting a headlight for pivotal movement about a pivot axis into and out of said opening, said vehicle body structure including a structural element defining a part of the edges of said opening, and force responsive means for permitting the relative movement of at least part of said structural element with respect to the pivot axis of said pivotal supporting means in response to a predetermined force on said structural element, whereby the danger to a limb of a person or the like which may inadvertently be located between the headlight and the edges of the opening during movement of the headlight is reduced, wherein said structural element is constructed U-shaped with the legs of the U facing inwardly from the outer surface of adjoining fixed vehicle parts, the joining part of the U matching the outer surface of the adjoining fixed vehicle part, whereby the structural element and the adjoining fixed vehicle parts form a substantially uninterrupted outwardly facing surface when said structural element is in the assembled condition with no external forces acting thereon.

Claim 23

A headlight arrangement for use in a vehicle of the type having headlights which are swingable from an in-use position to a rest position in an opening of the vehicle body; said arrangement comprising: vehicle body structure delimiting outwardly facing edges of an opening for accepting a headlight, pivotal supporting means for supporting a headlight for pivotal movement about a pivot axis into and out of said opening, said vehicle body structure including a structural element defining a part of the edges of said opening, and force responsive means for permitting the relative movement of at least part of said structural element with respect to the pivot axis of said pivotal supporting means in response to a predetermined force on said structural element, whereby the danger to a limb of a person or the like which may inadvertently be located between the headlight and the edges of the opening during movement of the headlight is reduced, wherein said structural element is constructed U-shaped with the legs of the U facing inwardly from the outer surface of adjoining fixed vehicle parts, the joining part of the U matching the outer surface of the adjoining fixed vehicle part, whereby the structural element and the adjoining fixed vehicle parts form a substantially uninterrupted outwardly facing surface when said structural element is in the assembled condition with no external forces acting thereon.

Claim 24

An arrangement according to claim 20, wherein said force responsive means includes yielding means holding the structural element at the vehicle body.

Claim 25

An arrangement according to claim 21, wherein the yielding means have a cross-sectional consTricted portion.

Claim 26

An arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the structural element, in its assembled position, matches the shape of the boundary walls of the vehicle body.

Claim 27

An arrangement according to claim 23, wherein the pivot axis extends perpendicularly to the driving direction of the vehicle, and wherein the structural element borders on the side of the headlight remote from the pivot axis.

Claim 28

An arrangement according to claim 20, wherein said force responsive means forms part of connecting means for connecting the structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure.

Claim 29

An arrangement according to claim 20, wherein said pivotal supporting means is constructed such that said pivot axis is located in a fixed position with respect to the vehicle body structure other than said structural element which delimits the edges of said opening.

Claim 30

An arrangement according to claim 20, wherein said force responsive means forms part of connecting means for connecting the structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure.

Claim 31

An arrangement according to claim 20, wherein said force responsive means form part of connecting means for connecting the legs of the U-shaped structural element to adjacent relatively fixed vehicle structure.