Optical module for a motor vehicle headlight provided with an optical deviation element

• US 7,503,679 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2007
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Godbillon, Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Negron; Ismael
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALLEN, DANIELLE NICOLE
• Application Number:
  US11/679,333
• Publication Number:
  US 20070211485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 362/522
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/162 Incandescent light sources, e.g. filament or halogen lamps
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/172 High-intensity discharge light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/26 Elongated lenses
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/334 the reflector consisting of patch like sectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/336 with discontinuity at the junction between adjacent areas
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/36 Combinations of two or more separate reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/365 successively reflecting the light

Abstract

An optical module for a motor vehicle headlight comprising a reflector having an optical axis and at least one focus, a light source placed in the vicinity of the focus to be reflected, and a transparent optical deviation element placed in front of part of the reflector and comprising a lens referred to as a “square lens”, the reflector being placed at the rear of the lens, the optical deviation element being able to provide an essentially horizontal spread of the light. The exit face of the “square lens”is tangent to a plane disposed obliquely with respect to the optical axis.

Claims

1. An optical module for a motor vehicle headlight comprising:

a reflector having an optical axis and at least one focus, a light source placed in the vicinity of said at least one focus of said reflector, and a transparent optical deviation element placed in front of part of said reflector and comprising a lens, said reflector being placed at a rear of said lens, said transparent optical deviation element being rotated to provide a substantially horizontal spread of the light, wherein a first face of said lens lies in a plane that is tangent to said optical axis of said reflector is substantially disposed along a horizontal axis, with at least one of said first face of said lens or a second face of said lens having vertical generatrices disposed obliquely with respect to said plane by an angle different from ninety degrees, wherein said vertical generatrices of said first face and said second face remain substantially parallel after such rotation and a direction of said light source not being substantially affected by such rotation.

2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a wall of said reflector comprises at least one cutout on one side of a plane passing through said optical axis of said reflector, and that at least one second reflector is disposed on a side of said at least one cutout opposite to said optical axis, and said at least one second reflector being designed to collect at least part of the light coming from said light source emerging through said at least one cutout, and to produce a supplementary beam that is not intercepted by said lens.

3. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a plane tangent to said first face and/or to vertical generatrices of said second face of said lens is inclined by at least 1.5°

, with respect to a plane passing through the normal to said optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis.

4. The optical module according to claim 3, wherein a plane tangent to said first face of said lens and/or to vertical generatrices of said second face of this is inclined by no more than 12°

, with respect to a plane passing through the normal to said optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis.

5. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a plane tangent to said first face of said lens and/or to vertical generatrices of said second face thereof is inclined by an angle of between 4°

and 6°

with respect to the plane passing through the normal to said optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis.

6. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a plane tangent to said first face and/or to vertical generatrices of said second face of said lens is inclined with respect to the plane passing through the normal to said optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis an angular difference being measured positively above said optical axis.

7. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a plane normal to said optical axis is substantially vertical, said optical module being mounted in the vehicle.

8. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a top edge of said lens is further forward than a bottom edge with respect to the general direction of travel of light emitted by said light source, said optical module being mounted in the vehicle.

9. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein at least one lateral edge of said lens is further forward than an opposite lateral edge, with respect to the general direction of travel of the light emitted by said light source, said optical module being mounted in the vehicle.

10. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a wall of said reflector comprises two cutouts situated on each side of a plane passing through said optical axis, in particular respectively above and below the horizontal plane passing through said optical axis or respectively to the right and to the left of a vertical plane passing through said optical axis, at least one supplementary reflector being associated with each cutout and disposed on the side of a cutout opposite to said optical axis in order to produce a supplementary beam that is not intercepted by said lens.

11. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein each of said two cutouts is associated with two supplementary reflectors, each of said two supplementary reflectors being asymmetric.

12. The optical module according to claim 11, wherein each of said two supplementary reflectors have either different focal lengths or focal lengths of at least 10 mm.

13. A motor vehicle headlight including an optical module according to claim 1.

21. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said first face is an exit face and said second face is an entry face.

14. An optical module for a motor vehicle headlight, said optical module comprising:

a reflector having an optical axis and at least one focus, a light source placed in the vicinity of said at least one focus of the reflector, and

a lens in front of said reflector for providing a substantially horizontal spread of the light, wherein, at least one of a first face or a second face of said lens is generally tangent to a plane disposed obliquely with respect to said optical axis and said second face that forms an angle with respect to a plane that is normal to said optical axis wherein at least one of said first face or said second face comprises vertical generatrices obliquely oriented with respect to said plane by an angle different from ninety degrees, wherein said vertical generatrices of said first face and said second face remain substantially parallel after such rotation and a direction of said light source not being substantially affected by such rotation.

15. The optical module according to claim 14, wherein vertical generatrices of said second face of said lens are disposed in a plane disposed obliquely with respect to said optical axis.

16. The optical module according to claim 15, wherein a wall of said reflector comprises at least one cutout on one side of said plane passing through said optical axis of said reflector, and at least one supplementary reflector is disposed on a side of a cutout opposite to said optical axis, said at least one supplementary reflector being designed to collect at least part of the light coming from the light source emerging through said cutout and to produce a supplementary beam that is not intercepted by said lens.

17. The optical module according to claim 14, wherein a plane tangent to said first face and/or to the vertical generatrices of said second face is inclined by at least 1.5°

, with respect to a plane passing through the normal to said optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis.

18. The optical module according to claim 17, wherein the plane tangent to said first face of said lens and/or to the vertical generatrices of said second face of this is inclined by at most 12°

, in particular no more than 10°

, with respect to a plane passing through the normal to the optical axis and cutting said plane on said optical axis.

19. The optical module according to claim 14, wherein said first face is an exit face and said second face is an entry face.

20. An optical module for a motor vehicle headlight comprising:

a reflector having an optical axis and at least one focus, a light source placed in the vicinity of said at least one focus of the reflector, and a transparent optical deviation element placed in front of part of the reflector and comprising a lens having a cylindrical face with vertical generatrices, said reflector being placed at the rear of said lens, said transparent optical deviation element being rotated to provide a substantially horizontal spread of the light, wherein an exit face of said lens being generally tangent to a plane disposed obliquely with respect to said optical axis and said optical axis of said reflector being substantially disposed along a horizontal axis, with said cylindrical face being inclined with respect thereto by an angle different from ninety degrees and wherein said vertical generatrices are disposed obliquely with respect to said planes, wherein said vertical generatrices of said first face and said second face remain substantially parallel after such rotation and a direction of said light source not being substantially affected by such rotation.