Automobile headlamp with small height and high flux recovery

• US 4,899,261 A
• Filed: 10/13/1988
• Issued: 02/06/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Cibie Projecteurs
• Inventors: Blusseau, Eric, Brun, Norbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Husar, Stephen F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cole, Richard R.
• Application Number:
  US07/257,211
• Time in Patent Office: 481 Days
• Field of Search: 362/61, 362/80, 362/297, 362/298, 362/299, 362/308, 362/339, 362/340, 362/343, 362/346
• US Class Current: 362/521
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/00 Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps reversing lights F21S43/00
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/14 characterised by the type of light source
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/162 Incandescent light sources, e.g. filament or halogen lamps
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/28 Cover glass
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/285 Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S41/24-F21S41/28
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/321 the reflector being a surface of revolution or a planar surface, e.g. truncated
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/323 the reflector having two perpendicular cross sections having regular geometrical curves of a distinct nature
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/33 Multi-surface reflectors, e.g. reflectors with facets or reflectors with portions of different curvature
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/333 with discontinuity at the junction between adjacent areas
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/336 with discontinuity at the junction between adjacent areas

Abstract

A headlamp for an automobile vehicle comprises a luminous filament, a reflector, and a closing glass. According to the invention, the reflector comprises a parabolic base part and side pieces in the form of parabolic cylinders focussed on the filament, and in addition there are deflecting means, for example toroidal lenses, which re-direct the inclined rays of light received from the filament into the horizontal direction, towards the side pieces. A greater proportion of the luminous flux is thus recovered, which enables production of lamps with a small height and with a high efficiency.

Claims

1. A headlamp for an automobile vehicle, of the kind comprising a light source, a reflector defining an optical axis, and a closing glass, wherein the reflector comprises a base part substantially in the form of a paraboloid of revolution focussed on the light source, and side pieces in the form of parabolic cylinders having a vertical generatrix, and said headlamp further comprises a deflecting means extending near the source substantially over the full height of the headlamp and adapted to deflect the direction of the light rays coming from the source in order to re-emit them in an essentially horizontal direction towards the said side pieces of the reflector, which in turn reflect them in a direction essentially parallel to the optical axis to participate in the formation of the beam.

2. A headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the light source is an elongated filament orientated along the optical axis.

3. A headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the base part of the reflector extends forwards as far as the vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis and passing through the light source.

4. A headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the deflecting means, in projection in a horizontal plane, occupy on both sides of the optical axis an angular interval relative to the light source which is substantially equal to the angular interval occupied by the side pieces of the reflector, and the rays re-emitted by the side pieces of the reflector are contained in the respective vertical planes containing the incident rays.

5. A headlamp according to claim 4, wherein the deflecting means comprise two toroidal lens elements centered on the light source and extending over the full height of the lamp, and each constituted by a succession of staged deflecting prisms.

6. A headlamp according to claim 5, wherein the side pieces of the reflector are parts of a parabolic cylinder having a vertical generatrix, having a vertical line passing through the light source as the focal line.

7. A headlamp according to claim 6, wherein the toroidal lens elements and the two pairs of auxiliary reflectors each occupy a third of the height of the headlamp.

8. A headlamp according to claim 4, wherein the deflecting means comprise two toroidal lens elements centered on the light source and occupying an intermediate part of the height of the lamp, and constituted by a succession of staged deflecting prisms, and two pairs of auxiliary reflectors in the form of toroidal paraboloids having a vertical axis of rotation passing through the source and occupying, respectively above and below the toroidal lens elements, the remainder of the height of the lamp.

9. A headlamp according to claim 8, wherein the side pieces of the reflector are parts of a parabolic cylinder having a vertical generatrix, having a vertical line passing through the light source as the focal line.

10. A headlamp according to claim 9, wherein the toroidal lens elements and the two pairs of auxiliary reflectors each occupy a third of the height of the headlamp.

11. A headlamp according to claim 1, wherein the deflecting means comprise a toroidal lens element centered on the light source, extending over about 180°

in front of the latter, and occupying an intermediate part of the height of the reflector, the said element being constituted by a succession of staged deflecting prisms, and two pairs of auxiliary reflectors in the form of parabolic cylinders having a horizontal generatrix parallel to the optical axis, having the same focal line coincident with the said optical axis, and occupying, respectively above and below the toroidal lens element, the remainder of the height of the headlamp, and wherein the side pieces of the reflector comprise at the level of the said toroidal lens element, two parts of a parabolic cylinder having a vertical generatrix, having a vertical line passing through the light source as the focal line; and

above and below the said two parts, and at the level of the two pairs of auxiliary reflectors respectively, parts of two parabolic cylinders having a vertical generatrix, having respectively as focal lines, vertical lines situated on either side of the light source, both being at distances from the latter substantially equal to twice the focal distance of the auxiliary reflectors.