US2044224A - Head lamp - Google Patents

Description

June 16, 1936. e. A. PEPLE, JR

HEAD LAMP Filed July 14, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ZWW??? I INVENTOR Gusizz e A.Pe o/e HIS A'ITORNEYS June 16, 1936- ca. A. PEPLE, JR 3 2 HEAD LAMP Filed July 14, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 son-1 IOOFt I50 FF I50 Ft ISOFt |50Ft l50 I50 Ft Patented June 16, 1936 stares w en P AT E This invention relates to head-lamps, particularly those for automobiles, and its chief object is to provide a head-lamp that will entirely obviate all effect of glare on oncoming drivers while nonetheless providing an improved illumination of the roadway. More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a headlamp which will not exhibit any strong direct light at all, except directly and solely on the roadway, and will instead appear to oncoming drivers to be of merely the same intensity as the rest of the car, whether looked at from a point quite a distance away, or up to the very time of passing the car bearing it.

A particular object of the invention is to provide head-lamp improvements of this sort which may be easily, and inexpensively either attached by the purchaser to a standard head-lamp; or built in it at the factory, with few, if any, changes in the essential structure of head-lamps, and at no appreciable advance in their cost.

A few forms of the invention are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings, but the invention is limited in its embodiments only by the scope of the subjoined claims. In these drawings,

Fig. l is a front elevation of the entire headlamp;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the lens-member;

Fig. 4 is a rear-elevation of said member;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of the lens along line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section of the lens along line 6-6 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 7 is a vertical central section of a modified forms of lens.

In the ordinary head-lamp, when the light rays pass out through the lens enough rays are diffused by. interception, by the dust and dirt particles on the lens, and by flaws and spots in the glass itself, to render the whole face of the lamp a glaring and glowing spot, somewhat like a white-hot 'ball, these stray rays from the lens-face appearing to oncoming drivers to be independent of the direct rays illuminating the roadway or entering the eye directly from the incandescent light-source in the head-lamp. This spot offers such a strong contrast to the relatively weak illumination thrown purposely onto the roadway, as to often cause a totally blinding effect, temporarily, on an oncoming driver. In all cases, it causes the pupils to involuntarily contract to such an extent that they do not receive enough rays to perceive other objects, or, the driver cannot see the road", with obvious consequences.

I entirely cut off all these diffusedor stray rays, and the preferred means for cutting ofi or otherwise preventing these stray and other rays from reaching the eyes of oncoming drivers, comprise a conventional body I, a conventional incandescent light-source 2, a standard parabolic reflector 3, and a rim 4, all made and assembled as in standard practice; and, in addition, a special lens 5, and a special frame 6.

The lens 5 can be either built. in with the rest of the head-lamp, or bought separately and quickly and easily put in place of an ordinary lens already in a head-lamp, and is held to the body by the standard rim 4. The frame 6 can also be either built in the head-lamp or attached to an ordinary head-lamp, and carries a set of blackened louvresl. The louvres are fixed in position and so spaced and sloped that an oncoming driver cannot see any portion of the face of the lens proper. In one embodiment, by way of example, a person with his eyes approximately five feet above the level ground (the usual height of a seated driver's eyes) and approximately one hundred fifty 'feet away, will have his line of vision coincide with the lower front edges of one louvre and the upper rear edges of the next lower louvre, so that all diffusion rays from the face of the luminous spot, which is the lens, will be entirely out off, and the oncoming driver thus cannot see the face of the lens. In the embodiment illustrated, all the louvres 1, except the lowermost four, are made to slope parallel to each other at 615 below horizontal, in order to effectuate this blanking-out; and to co-act with certain features of the lens itself, hereinafter described. The four lowermost vanes, however, are sloped at 90',.1130', 1335, and 1630, for a purpose to be later made manifest.

The lens itself is so shapes, and combined with prisms so shaped, that about half of the rays from its front face will be positively directed sharply downwardly below horizontal towards the road, focusing relatively closely, and the other half downwardly focusing at varying greater distances away, all passing out without striking any louvre. To this end, the front face of the lens is provided with horizontally-running prisms shaped, spaced; and grouped as shown; that is, with a plurality of prisms 9 of the shape of a trapezium in cross-section, the two outer faces in each trapezium having slopes differing from each other, and successive trapeziums having diiferent cross-sectional angles.

In the preferred embodiment, and using the conventional composition of glass for the lens, the upper outer faces of the trapezoids lie at 12 from the vertical down to the third to last trapezium, and throw the light rays onto the road relatively close to the car, say about 10-30 feet away according to the well-known law of optics according to the law of refraction of light; lie

at 320 for the next three prisms and refract to 100 feet for a similar reason; and lie at 218 for the remaining trapeziums and refract to 150 feet. However, other angles, thicknesses, and arrangements of the prisms may be used provided they cause light passing'from the parabolic reflector in parallel rays to be positively directed and controlled by the prisms, some to strike the ground at points no more than 150 feet away, and usually exactly at the distance of 150 feet; that passing out other faces, at or about 100 feet; and that passing out still other faces, at 50 feet, or thereabouts, or so that at least half therays coming from the parabola will be distributed well over the roadway from 150 feet away to say 50 feet ahead of the'car, and the other half within say 25-30 feet of the car, instead of all rays being indiscriminately scattered up in the air as well as over the roadway. The direct rays from the filament can be used, yet cut off from direct vision, by, if desired, making the bulb spherical, and silvering the front hemisphere thereof.

The louvres are all set at the same angle, preferably 615, except the lower four louvres, which are set at varying angles, as shown, to coact with the varying lower four prisms on the lens. Light rays thatenter the lens horizontally will be refracted by the prism faces that slope 120 to such an angle as to emanate exactly parallel to louvres having the slope of 615; by faces that slope 1650, parallel to louvres sloping 90; by faces sloping 2050, parallel to louvres sloping 1130; and by faces sloping 2345, parallel to louvres sloping 1335. The lowermost portion of the lens is adapted to cast light closer to the car than the uppermost, and the louvres are correspondingly located and sloped so that they still do not intercept any of i these directed rays, but allow some to pass out at 50 ft. and others to strike the road at 25 ft. or less, even though the lowermost prisms are thicker and larger and thus refract. the light more and emit more light.

The back face of the lens is provided with a plurality of substantially vertically extending flutes, or semi-cylinders 90, occupying approximately three-fourths of its area, the remaining portion being provided with vertically extending triangular prisms 9|, having the differing slopes of faces shown, to refract entering rays to different striking-positions at the side of .the roadway. The flutes are preferably all of the same size and contour, and refract raysright and left, which rays illumine the lateral environs of the car, so that the driver may keep out the ditches, ruts, etc. The prisms 9| have their broadest faces lying at successively increasing angles from the edge of the lens toward the center of the lens in order to appropriately illuminate the right or ditch side of the road at different lengths ahead of the car, so that the driver can observe turnings-ofl in the road.

In the modification shown in Fig. '7, the frontface of the lens is provided with prisms like a trapezium and all having the slope of 12 on the upper outer face, except the last three, in order to focus one-half the light at about 30 feet-25 feet for all except the last three, and at less than 25 feet away from the car for the last three, and arranged in successive groups of three as to the slope of the lower outer face, the series being 218, 320, and 640, in order to distribute the rest of the light at the 150, and 50 feet zones, respectively.

In cars equipped with the present lamp, the user is never required to dim his lights, as they create no glare at all on the eyes of oncoming drivers; and as they do not in any way reach the eyes of an oncoming driver, they reduce the chances of accident at least by half, since though the present user may well be blinded by the lights of an oncoming'car not equipped with the present invention, the said user instinctively slowdown and hugs his side of the road, and the oncoming driver,not having any light at all in his eyes, has a clear vision and will instinctively keep clear of a car which he can plainly see due to the no-glare. feature of the present head-lamps.

The actual manufacture of the lamp, where it varies at all from the conventional, departs so little from standard methods that it is simple and cheap; and the car-owner may, if desired,

himself apply the present improvements to a standard lamp at a cost considerably less than that of buying a new pair of standard headlamps. The construction of the louvre and lens is exceedingly simple, and easy access may be had to the interior of the lampfor renewals and cleaning. It can be made either in theconfig uration and appearance shown, or along modernistic or other artistic designs, without in the slightest affecting the improved functions and advantages described hereinabove.

I claim:

1. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged upon one face thereof, said prisms having broader upper outer surfaces than their lower outer surfaces, and a screening. device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens.

2. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged upon one face thereof, said prisms having broader upper outer surfaces than their lower outer surfaces, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens, all of said vanes being inclined at the same angle below the horizontal except for the vanes opposite the I ranged upon a portion of one face thereof, and

havingvertical triangular prisms arranged upon the other portion of said face of said lens, said aoaaaaa lenshaving horizontal prisms arranged upon its opposite face, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent horizontal prisms of said lens.

4. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having vertical flutes arranged upon a portion of one face thereof, and having vertical triangular prisms arranged upon the other portion of said face of said lens, said lens having horizontal prisms arranged upon its opposite face, and a screening device arranged in front of the lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent horizontal prisms of said lens, all of said vanes being inclined at the same angle below the horizontal except for the vanes opposite the lower third of the lens, said vanes opposite the lower third of the lens being inclined at different angles from each other and from said other mentioned vanes.

5. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged upon one face thereof, and having vertical flutes arranged upon a portion of the other face thereof, and having vertical triangular prisms arranged upon the remaining portion of said second-mentioned face, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent horizontal prisms of said lens.

6. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged upon one face thereof, and having vertical flutes arranged upon a portion of the other face thereof, and having vertical triangular prisms arranged upon the remaining portion of said second-mentioned face, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent horizontal prisms of said lens, all of said vanes being inclined at the same angle below the horizontal except for the vanes opposite the lower third of the lens, said vanes opposite the lower third of the lens being inclined at diflerent angles from each other and from said other mentioned vanes.

7. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged upon one face thereof, said prisms having upper outer surfaces with the same slope exceptfor the lowermost ones, said lowermost prisms having their upper outer surfaces sloping at a gradually increased size down to the last two of said prisms, and said last two prisms 5 having upper outer surfaces of the same slope size, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens. 10

8. A non-glare head-lamp comprising 2, casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium prisms arranged urmn one face thereof, said prisms having lower outer surfaces which de- 15 crease in size from the topmost prisms to the central prisms, and increase in size from said central prisms to the lowermost prisms, and ascreening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of 0 inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens.

9. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector, a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having horizontal trapezium 25 prisms arranged upon one face thereof, said prisms having their upper outer surfaces of the same slope except for the lowermost ones, said lowermost prisms having upper outer surfaces which gradually increase in size down to the last 30 two, said last two prisms having their upper outer surfaces of the same slope, said prisms having lower outer surfaces which decrease in size from the uppermost prism to the central prisms, and increase in size from said central prisms to 35 the lowermost prisms, and a screening device arranged in front of said lens, said screening device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens. 40 10. A non-glare head-lamp comprising a casing, a reflector. a source of light mounted within said reflector, a lens having substantially horizontal prisms arranged upon one face thereof, and a screening device arranged in front of said 5 lens,'said screening, device comprising a plurality of inclined vanes spaced from each other to the height of their adjacent prisms of said lens, each prism having a portion of its surface shaped to direct the reflected rays substantially parallel with said vanes, and another portion of its surface shaped to direct other reflected rays in substantially parallel planes between the inner upper edge and the lower outer edge of adjacent vanes. I

1 PELE, JR.

Images