INTEGRATED LAMP HOUSING/IMPACT SUPPORT BRACKET Field of the Invention This invention relates to the integration of lamp housings and support brackets in lighting applications. More particularly, the invention relates to the reduction and/or elimination of separate bracketry for lamps and fascia supports in motor vehicle applications by molding the lamp housing as a unitary construction with the impact support bracket for the fascia.

Background of the Invention Forward lighting on motor vehicles can comprise headlamps, parking or turn signal lamps, fog lamps, etc. Each of these can have a lens and housing component attached together; the housing component may comprise the reflector and contain the bulb. The housing component is attached to the vehicle using metal or plastic brackets that either attach to energy absorber brackets, fascia support brackets or cross-car beams.

The vehicle lamp may also fit into a receptive trim element by way of ball pins or screws. One such apparatus is disclosed in U. S. Patent 5,743, 619 to Mercedes- Benz AG which uses two spaced apart holder devices.

A lamp housing assembly may also be mounted upon the fascia of a motor vehicle as disclosed in U. S. Patent 5,924, 790 wherein a fog lamp has a cup-shaped body which is attached to the fascia by way of a separate mounting bracket.

Another mounting structure as disclosed in U. S. Patent 4,916, 589 involves a mounting stay formed on the lamp body and connected to a housing of the headlight through a resilient member. A p ivotal c onnection c onsisting o f a receptacle and a spherical member is provided between the lamp body and the body of the automobile at a location spaced apart from the mounting stay.

An alternate arrangement is disclosed in U. S. Patent 5,904, 416 to Volkswagen AG in which the lamp is retained in an opening formed by at least two body parts by spring forces acting between the vehicle parts and the body parts forming the opening.

What is common amongst current practice is the use of multiple attachment mechanisms, brackets, pins, screws, bolts and the like to attach and locate the lamps.

Accordingly it is a general object of the invention herein to provide a lamp housing of unitary construction which is molded as part of the vehicle fascia support, eliminating

the need for additional and separate bracketry. This will therefore provide efficiencies in cost, weight, part count, inventory and installation labor.

It is a further object to incorporate the lamp housing into the fascia support by molding the housing into a shape which allows it to be the reflector and bulb holding portion of the lamp as well as providing support for the fascia.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a lamp assembly which combines, e. g. , a fog lamp and a directional or marker lamp into the same lamp housing.

Summary of the Invention An arrangement for mounting a lamp to a vehicle component comprising a fascia support and a lamp housing comprising a receptacle for a bulb, a reflector having a reflecting surface, said lamp housing molded as part of said fascia support in unitary construction.

In a second summary embodiment, the present invention relates to an arrangement for mounting one or more lamps to a vehicle component comprising a fascia support, one or more lamp housings comprising one or more receptacles for one or more bulbs, one or more reflectors having reflecting surfaces, said lamp housing molded as part of said fascia support in unitary construction.

In a third alternative summary embodiment the invention herein relates to an arrangement for mounting one or more lamps to a vehicle component comprising a fascia support, a lamp housing comprising receptacles for a plurality of bulbs, a plurality of reflectors having reflecting surfaces, said lamp housing molded as part of said fascia support in unitary construction.

In a fourth alternative summary embodiment the invention herein relates to an arrangement for mounting a lamp to a vehicle component comprising a fascia support, and a lamp housing comprising a receptacle for a bulb, a reflector having a reflecting surface, said lamp housing removably connected to said fascia support.

Brief Description of the Drawings These and other objects, features and advantages of the inventions will become apparent upon consideration of the description of this invention, and the appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of the front on a vehicle as an example of the prior art, illustrating separate bracketry for attachment of the fog lamp assembly and fascia impact support.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the front on a motor vehicle as an example of the prior art illustrating separate turn signal and fog lamp assemblies and the attaching bracketry required and fascia impact support.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the front of a motor vehicle as an example of the prior art illustrating an alternate fog lamp assembly and required bracketry and fascia impact support.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the front of a motor vehicle illustrating one embodiment of the present invention which corresponds to the prior art shown in Figure 1.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the front of a motor vehicle illustrating one embodiment of the present invention which corresponds to the prior art shown in Figure 2.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the front of a motor vehicle illustrating one embodiment of the present invention which corresponds to the prior art shown in Figure 3.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the front of a motor vehicle illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the turn signal lamp and fog lamp are contained in the same housing.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that all types of lamps can benefit from this invention and that the invention is particularly applicable to all motorized vehicles. According to the invention, the object is achieved by molding the housing portion of the lamp assembly of unitary construction to include the fascia support that mounts behind a vehicle fascia, eliminating any lamp bracketry. The lamp housing is then preferably finished in a manner known to those skilled in the art by, e. g., metallizing the reflector area, attaching a bulb and attaching a lens portion. The thus assembled lamp housing assembly/fascia support is then mounted to the fascia by conventional means. Subsequently, the fascia including the lamp housing assembly/ fascia support is mounted to the vehicle. The molded lamp housing can provide for multiple bulbs or lamp functions such as fog, turn signals, marker, etc.

For elements common to the various embodiments of the invention, the numerical reference character between the embodiments is held constant, but distinguished by the addition of an alphanumeric character to the existing numerical reference character. In other words, for example, an element referenced at 10 in the first embodiment correspondingly referenced at 10A, 10B, and so forth in subsequent embodiments. Thus, where an embodiment description uses a location character to refer to an element, the reference character applies equally, as distinguished b y a n alphanumeric character, to the other embodiments where the element is common.

Referring now to the figures, Figure 1 provides a sectional view taken vertically through the front corner of a motor vehicle showing a fascia, fog lamp; and associated impact support and attachment bracketry as practiced in the prior art. A fascia 10 covers fascia support 11 which are connected to the vehicle. A fog lamp 12 projects through an opening in the fascia 10 and comprises a lens portion 16, a rear housing 13 and a bulb 17. The fog lamp snaps into a fog lamp bracket 14 and has an adjustment screw (not shown) for setting vertical alignment.

Figure 2 is a similar section through the front of another vehicle showing an alternate design in the prior art. Here again, a fascia 20 covers fascia support 21 which is connected to the vehicle. A turn lamp 25 and fog lamp 22 project through openings in the fascia 20. The fog lamp comprises a lens 26, a rear housing 23, and a bulb assembly 27. The fog lamp snaps into lamp bracketry 24 and has an adjustment screw (not shown) for vertical alignment. Similarly, the turn lamp 25 comprises a housing 26, lens 27 and bulb assembly 28.

Figure 3 is another sectional view showing an alternate embodiment of the prior art where the fog lamp 32, projects through an opening a fascia 30 but is rigidly attached to the fascia through separate lamp attachment brackets 34 which attach to the fog lamp housing 33. The fascia support 31 supports the fascia 10. The fog lamp comprises a lens 36, bulb 37 and rear housing 33.

Figure 4 is a sectional view o f the front o f a motor vehicle illustrating o ne embodiment of the present invention. The fascia 10A has a fog lamp 12A projecting through an opening, the fog lamp comprises a lens 16A, a bulb 17A and a rear housing 13A. The fog lamp 12A snaps into extended fascia support 18 which supports the fascia and holds the fog lamp. This extended fascia support replaces the separate brackets 14 as they are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is another preferred embodiment of the invention which illustrates the improvements provided when compared to the prior art of Figure 2. This sectional view shows a fascia 20A, through which two lamps project, a turn signal lamp 25A and a fog lamp 22A. The fog lamp has a lens 26A, bulb 27A and housing 29. The fascia support 29A i s extended to incorporate the housing for the turn signal lamp 25A and fog lamp 22A in a single molding eliminating brackets 24 shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 6 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of the invention where the fog lamp does not include an adjustment mechanism. A fog lamp 32A projects through an opening in a fascia 30A. The fog lamp comprises a lens 36A and a housing 40 which is molded and extends as illustrated to form part of the fascia support. The extended fascia support/housing 40 has features molded in to allow attachment at the fascia support points as well as connecting features to the lens at 41, attachment features for the bulb 37A and a reflector surface 42. Brackets 34 in Figure 3 are replaced by the housing 40.

Figure 7 is an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein a combined fog lamp/turn signal assembly 52, projects through a fascia 50. The assembly 52 has a common lens 56 and molded housing 53 which in addition to containing bulb assemblies for a turn signal 58 and fog lamp 57, is molded to include part of the fascia support yielding a unitary molding for housing, support and attachment purposes.

Thus, it can be seen that the invention provides a new and improved arrangement for integrating lamp housing and fascia support by incorporating the lamp housing into the molding of fascia support thus eliminating existing bracketry and providing cost and weight efficiencies.

The description and drawings illustratively set forth the presently preferred invention embodiments. The description and drawings are intended to describe these embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that still other modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teaching while remaining within the scope of the following claims. Therefore, within the scope of the claims, one may practice the invention otherwise than as the description and drawings specifically shown and described.