This invention relates to arrangements for attaching a headlight or a lamp, both referred to herein as a lamp, to a vehicle part in which the lamp includes a housing with a transparent cover, referred to herein as a lens, which is attachable as a structural unit to the vehicle part by fasteners which are not covered by the lens.
European Application No. 0 604 306 A1 discloses a lamp mount arrangement in which fastening devices for the housing are covered by the lens. In this arrangement, however, the housing is first attached to a vehicle part and then the lens is mounted on the housing. The fastening devices are not accessible without removing the lens.
German Patent No. 43 23 854 describes an adjusting device for a headlight which is located between a headlight and a blinker. The adjusting arrangement in this case is covered by the lens of the blinker.
Such covering of fasteners or adjusting devices is possible only if a second lamp abuts the lamp or the headlight. If a lamp or a headlight is fixed in a vehicle part without an adjacent lamp, that arrangement is not possible. Moreover, that arrangement requires a minimum gap width for introduction of an adjusting tool.
It is known in the prior art that a lamp fastening or adjusting arrangement may be covered with adjacent body parts or arranged on a rear housing wall of the lamp. Installation or actuation of such arrangements, however, is possible only if the lamp is adjacent to a removable or openable body part and accessibility is made possible by opening or removal of such a body part. If a lamp is located in the center of a body part, as for example on a fender, the fastening device cannot be covered by a hood, bumper, or the like. Furthermore, for reasons of design, it may be difficult to provide assembly-friendly access to the fastening device from the side of the fender facing the engine compartment.
It is also known that a lamp may be attached by one or more fastening devices, for example screws, which are accessible through the lens. In such arrangements, the fastening devices, in the absence of an additional covering, are recognizable when viewing the lamp from the front. Such arrangements are unacceptable in today's exacting aerodynamic and stylistic requirements.