EP0081361A1 - Feu - Google Patents

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Publication number
EP0081361A1
EP0081361A1 EP82306459A EP82306459A EP0081361A1 EP 0081361 A1 EP0081361 A1 EP 0081361A1 EP 82306459 A EP82306459 A EP 82306459A EP 82306459 A EP82306459 A EP 82306459A EP 0081361 A1 EP0081361 A1 EP 0081361A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
light
baffle
lamp
transmitting member
transmitting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP82306459A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Kenneth James Jones
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ZF International UK Ltd
Original Assignee
Lucas Industries Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Lucas Industries Ltd filed Critical Lucas Industries Ltd
Publication of EP0081361A1 publication Critical patent/EP0081361A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S43/00—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights
    • F21S43/20—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights characterised by refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters
    • F21S43/255—Filters

Definitions

  • This invention relates to lamps, and is concerned with the prevention of so-called "ghost" signals caused by externally incident light being reflected within the lamp and then being re-emitted, giving the appearance that the lamp is energised when in fact it is not.
  • the light emerging from the baffle may have an undesirably large spread rendering it unsuitable for use as the output beam of the lamp as it stands.
  • the amount of control which can be exercised on these characteristics is limited due to the fact that the light rays in each pencil are already substantially diverged when they reach the additional lens element 15.
  • a lamp including a baffle which is generally light-obstructing but which has a plurality of light-transmitting portions, and a light-transmitting member which is disposed behind the baffle with respect to the front of the lamp and which includes a plurality of light-deflecting devices, each light-deflecting device being composed of a positive lens surface which is provided on a side of the light-transmitting member facing away from the baffle and which converges light rays towards a respective light-transmitting portion of the baffle, and a formation on a side of the light-transmitting member which faces towards the baffle, each formation being specifically designed as a further lens element to reduce the spread of the light emerging from the opposite side of the baffle and being disposed optically adjacent to the respective light-transmitting portion of the baffle.
  • each formation is designed specifically as a negative lens surface.
  • a light-transmitting cover may be provided on a side of the baffle remote from the reflector.
  • the cover can be plain or can have lensing thereon, and for certain applications it may be tinted, such as by being made of a neutral-density light-absorbing material.
  • the spread of the light rays in a further plane at right-angles thereto can be determined by suitably configuring a reflector of the lamp, for example by providing flutes thereon. Additionally or alternatively, the spread of said light rays can be determined by providing lensing on the light-transmitting cover as aforesaid, and/or by arranging for the positive lens surfaces to spread the light rays in said,further plane.
  • the baffle is secured to or mounted on the side of the light-transmitting member on which said formations are provided.
  • the side of the light-transmitting member preferably has recesses therein, at least some of which constitute said formations, and the baffle can be produced by printing, painting or adhering a light-obstructing material onto said side of the light-transmitting member except at the places where the recesses are provided.
  • the lamp illustrated therein comprises a reflector 20 which directs light emitted by a light bulb 21 towards a lens element 22, the reflector being parabolic so that the light reaching the lens element comprises substantially parallel rays.
  • the lens element 22 then focusses individual pencils of light rays through respective light-transmitting interstices 23 of a baffle 24 which is otherwise opaque, the size of the interstices being limited to that necessary to transmit the respective pencil of light rays.
  • the lens element 22 is composed of a light-transmitting member (for example made of plastics material) which has a series of positive lens surfaces 25 formed on a side thereof which faces the reflector 20 and a series of negative lens surfaces 26 formed on a side thereof which faces the baffle 24.
  • the lens surfaces 25 are thus convex to the reflector, while the surfaces 26 are concave to the baffle.
  • Each lens surface 26 is disposed immediately adjacent a respective one of the baffle interstices 23, and is optically aligned with a respective one of the lens surfaces 25, such that the lens surfaces 25 and 26 co-operate optically in pairs.
  • the lens surface 25 serves to converge the light rays in a respective pencil to a degree sufficient to ensure that the whole pencil will pass through the respective baffle interstice 23 while maintaining the distance between the lens surface 25 and the baffle 24 comparatively small, while the lens surface 26 is specifically designed to reduce the convergence of said light rays when they are in the immediate vicinity of the interstice 23.
  • the spread of the light emerging from the baffle can be substantially reduced as compared with the conventional systems described previously, without any need to increase the thickness of the lens element 22 or to separate it from the baffle.
  • the final spread of the light rays in each pencil emerging from the baffle will be dependent upon the radii of curvature of the two lens surfaces 25 and 26 and their mutual separation. There will, however, be a variation in the spread obtained due to the fact that the light rays reaching the lens element 22 are not all parallel, due for example to the finite size of the bulb filament. This variation may be employed to obtain the necessary characteristics in the output beam of the lamp, with the result that it is not necessary to provide an additional lens element for this.purpose.
  • the lens surfaces 26 define recesses in one side of the lens element 22. These recesses can be employed to advantage to enable the baffle 24 to be produced by printing, painting or adhering an opaque material directly onto said side of the lens element, the presence of the recesses preventing the material from coming into contact with the lens element at the places where the interstices 23 are needed.
  • the baffle can be produced by hot-foiling in the manner described in the above-mentioned US Patent No. 4241388.
  • the recesses will have flat base surfaces, as indicated at 27 in Figure 6.
  • the printing process can be arranged to produce decorative patterning and/or lettering.
  • the baffle 24 is left exposed there is a danger that it may be damaged, or its interstices may become blocked by dirt and the like. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a light-transmitting cover 28 on a side of the baffle remote from the reflector 20, the cover forming the external surface of the lamp.
  • the provision of the cover 28 also has the advantage that the exterior of the lamp can then be conformed to the shape of the apparatus to which the lamp is fitted. If the cover were not provided, then the external surface of the lens element 22 would have to be so conformed instead, and this would impose severe restrictions on the type of baffle which could be employed.
  • the baffle could not be made of sheet material adhered to the lens element.
  • the cover 28 may be plain or may be provided with additional lensing thereon to assist in obtaining the desired characteristics in the output beam of the lamp. In the event that such additional lensing is provided, it will be apparent that a much greater control of the beam characteristics can be obtained than in the case in the conventional arrangement described previously, due to the reduced divergence of the light reaching the cover from the baffle 24. If it is desired to render the interior of the lamp less visible, a mask can be incorporated into the cover, or alternatively the cover may be tinted.
  • the cover is made of neutral-density light-absorbing material: this has a particular application where the lens element 22 is coloured and it is desired that its colouration should not be perceived from the exterior of the lamp when the bulb 21 is not energised.
  • both the lens surfaces 25 and the lens surfaces 26 are formed by cylindrical lensing, i.e. they are curved in only one plane. Accordingly, the lens surfaces 25 and 26 affect the spread of the light only in their plane of curvature, and not in a further plane at right-angles thereto.
  • the reflector 20 can be provided with suitable fluting and/or the cover 28 can be formed with appropriate lensing as aforesaid.
  • the lens surfaces 26 can be modified so that they are curved in said further plane also, either concavely or convexly to the reflector according to the desired characteristics of the output beam.
  • Figure 8 shows an arrangement where the lens surfaces 25 are curved convexly in said further plane.
  • the lens surfaces 26 can be curved in two mutually perpendicular planes.
  • the lens surfaces 25 are preferably also curved in both of said mutually perpendicular planes.
  • Figure 9 shows an example of such an arrangement wherein the lens surfaces 25 do not impinge upon one another. This arrangement does not, however, use the space available for the lens surfaces 25 in a particularly economic or efficient manner, and it is therefore preferred to overlap the lens surfaces 25 so that they form a rectangular or hexagonal grid pattern, as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11 respectively.
  • the lens surfaces 25 and 26 may be part-spherical, or they may have different radii of curvature in said two mutually perpendicular planes.
  • either or both of the lens surfaces 25 and 26 can be produced by the method described in our UK Patent No. 1387589, such that they each comprise a cylindrical mid-portion and two end portions each defined by part of a body of revolution.
  • the lens surfaces 25 and/or 26 can be made of other configurations, for example to allow for the reflector 20 having a greater horizontal than vertical spread.
  • the type of lensing used does not have to be uniform over the whole lens element 22: different regions of the lens element can have different forms of lensing, depending upon the characteristics desired for the output beam of the lamp.
  • the lens element 22 would normally be produced by moulding, it could be manufactured by extrusion techniques or by rolling sheet material, for example.
  • each positive lens surface 25 will converge the respective pencil of light rays at a point behind the associated lens surface 26 with respect to the direction of light propagation.
  • each lens surface 26 is given a negative refractive power to reduce the convergence of the light rays before they pass through the respective baffle interstice 23.
  • the radius of curvature of each positive lens surface 25 in relation to the thickness of the lens element 22 is such that the pencil of light rays is converged in front of the associated lens surface 26 (i.e. so that the light rays are already diverging when they reach the latter)
  • the lens surface 26 will be given a positive refractive power to reduce the divergence of the light rays as they pass through the respective baffle interstice 23.
  • the lamp of the invention may be employed as a vehicle fog or headlamp. It does, however, have many other uses and can be advantageously employed anywhere that "ghost" signals are likely to be dangerous or misleading. Where the lamp is used for signalling purposes, the lens element 22 will normally be coloured.
  • the lamp has been described above as including a reflector 20, which is of course provided to concentrate the light emitted by the bulb 21 onto the lens element 22.
  • the reflector 20 can be replaced by other forms of light-concentrating means, such as a Fresnel lens.
  • both the reflector 20 and the bulb 21 can be replaced by a reflex reflector or retroreflector, i.e. a reflector which reflects back any light incident thereon and at the same time preferably colours same.
  • the baffle 24 and the lens element 22 will not be provided to eliminate "ghost" signals, but rather to hide the reflex reflector from normal view and thereby give the lamp a more pleasing appearance.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
EP82306459A 1981-12-08 1982-12-03 Feu Withdrawn EP0081361A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8136928 1981-12-08
GB8136928 1981-12-08

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0081361A1 true EP0081361A1 (fr) 1983-06-15

Family

ID=10526438

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82306459A Withdrawn EP0081361A1 (fr) 1981-12-08 1982-12-03 Feu

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0081361A1 (fr)
JP (1) JPS58108650A (fr)
BR (1) BR8207121A (fr)

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0138588A1 (fr) * 1983-10-14 1985-04-24 Carello Lighting Plc Feu indiscernable
EP0306399A1 (fr) * 1987-09-03 1989-03-08 Valeo Vision Feu masqué pour véhicules automobiles
FR2635166A1 (fr) * 1988-08-03 1990-02-09 Hella Kg Hueck & Co Phare d'automobile comportant un verre deflecteur intermediaire
US4924356A (en) * 1988-12-07 1990-05-08 General Electric Company Illumination system for a display device
DE4003905C1 (en) * 1990-02-09 1991-07-25 Stuehrenberg Gmbh, 4930 Detmold, De Phantom light suppressor for signal lamp with reflector - has ambient light absorber in emergent light beams region of dispersion lenses
EP0635674A1 (fr) * 1993-07-23 1995-01-25 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation à voyant et écran intermédiaire pour véhicule automobile
FR2708081A1 (fr) * 1993-07-20 1995-01-27 Axo Scintex Cie Equip Automobi Feu de signalisation de véhicules automobiles.
GB2265977B (en) * 1992-04-08 1995-06-28 Sec Dep For Transport The Improvements in or relating to indicator lamps
EP0838631A1 (fr) * 1996-10-25 1998-04-29 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation, notamment pour véhicules, a aspect éteint amélioré
EP1541920A1 (fr) * 2003-12-10 2005-06-15 Sagem SA Feu de signalisation à diodes electroluminescentes
FR2888796A1 (fr) * 2005-07-25 2007-01-26 Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa Feu de signalisation pour vehicule automobile
EP1363067A3 (fr) * 2002-05-17 2007-11-28 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Feu de véhicule avec pare-soleil
WO2011031170A1 (fr) * 2009-09-09 2011-03-17 Instytut Optyki Stosowanej Système optique à ensemble de distribution de lumière
DE102012024625A1 (de) * 2012-12-17 2014-06-18 GM Global Technology Operations LLC (n. d. Gesetzen des Staates Delaware) Kraftfahrzeugleuchtenanordnung
EP2824383A4 (fr) * 2012-03-08 2016-01-27 Koito Mfg Co Ltd Douille de lampe pour véhicule
FR3026817A1 (fr) * 2014-10-02 2016-04-08 Valeo Vision Dispositif lumineux muni de surfaces dispersives, et feu comprenant un tel dispositif lumineux.
WO2021161098A1 (fr) 2020-02-10 2021-08-19 Flex-N-Gate Advanced Product Development, Llc Système fournissant un éclairage fonctionnel à travers une finition opaque

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS59115516U (ja) * 1983-01-26 1984-08-04 トヨタ自動車株式会社 ランプ構造

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE934401C (de) * 1953-06-30 1955-10-20 Nicolaas Johan Hiemstra Lichtdurchlaessiger Bauteil fuer Beleuchtungszwecke
US2907249A (en) * 1956-10-05 1959-10-06 Electro Seal Corp Lens for signal lights
US4241388A (en) * 1978-05-30 1980-12-23 Lucas Industries Limited High contrast lamp assembly
DE2939329A1 (de) * 1979-09-28 1981-04-16 Robert Bosch Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart Signalleuchte, insbesondere blinkleuchte fuer kraftfahrzeuge

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE934401C (de) * 1953-06-30 1955-10-20 Nicolaas Johan Hiemstra Lichtdurchlaessiger Bauteil fuer Beleuchtungszwecke
US2907249A (en) * 1956-10-05 1959-10-06 Electro Seal Corp Lens for signal lights
US4241388A (en) * 1978-05-30 1980-12-23 Lucas Industries Limited High contrast lamp assembly
DE2939329A1 (de) * 1979-09-28 1981-04-16 Robert Bosch Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart Signalleuchte, insbesondere blinkleuchte fuer kraftfahrzeuge

Cited By (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0138588A1 (fr) * 1983-10-14 1985-04-24 Carello Lighting Plc Feu indiscernable
US4656567A (en) * 1983-10-14 1987-04-07 Lucas Industries Plc Indiscernible lamp
EP0306399A1 (fr) * 1987-09-03 1989-03-08 Valeo Vision Feu masqué pour véhicules automobiles
FR2620197A1 (fr) * 1987-09-03 1989-03-10 Neiman Sa Feu masque pour vehicules automobiles
FR2635166A1 (fr) * 1988-08-03 1990-02-09 Hella Kg Hueck & Co Phare d'automobile comportant un verre deflecteur intermediaire
US4924356A (en) * 1988-12-07 1990-05-08 General Electric Company Illumination system for a display device
DE4003905C1 (en) * 1990-02-09 1991-07-25 Stuehrenberg Gmbh, 4930 Detmold, De Phantom light suppressor for signal lamp with reflector - has ambient light absorber in emergent light beams region of dispersion lenses
GB2265977B (en) * 1992-04-08 1995-06-28 Sec Dep For Transport The Improvements in or relating to indicator lamps
FR2708081A1 (fr) * 1993-07-20 1995-01-27 Axo Scintex Cie Equip Automobi Feu de signalisation de véhicules automobiles.
EP0639740A1 (fr) * 1993-07-20 1995-02-22 Compagnie D'equipements Automobiles Axo Scintex Feu de signalisation de véhicules automobiles
EP0635674A1 (fr) * 1993-07-23 1995-01-25 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation à voyant et écran intermédiaire pour véhicule automobile
FR2708082A1 (fr) * 1993-07-23 1995-01-27 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation à voyant et écran intermédiaire pour véhicule automobile.
EP0838631A1 (fr) * 1996-10-25 1998-04-29 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation, notamment pour véhicules, a aspect éteint amélioré
FR2755077A1 (fr) * 1996-10-25 1998-04-30 Valeo Vision Feu de signalisation, notamment pour vehicules, a aspect eteint ameliore
US5933084A (en) * 1996-10-25 1999-08-03 Valeo Vision Indicating light, especially for a motor vehicle, having an improved appearance when extinguished
EP1363067A3 (fr) * 2002-05-17 2007-11-28 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Feu de véhicule avec pare-soleil
EP1541920A1 (fr) * 2003-12-10 2005-06-15 Sagem SA Feu de signalisation à diodes electroluminescentes
FR2863686A1 (fr) * 2003-12-10 2005-06-17 Sagem Feu de signalisation a diodes electroluminescentes
FR2888796A1 (fr) * 2005-07-25 2007-01-26 Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa Feu de signalisation pour vehicule automobile
WO2011031170A1 (fr) * 2009-09-09 2011-03-17 Instytut Optyki Stosowanej Système optique à ensemble de distribution de lumière
EP2824383A4 (fr) * 2012-03-08 2016-01-27 Koito Mfg Co Ltd Douille de lampe pour véhicule
DE102012024625A1 (de) * 2012-12-17 2014-06-18 GM Global Technology Operations LLC (n. d. Gesetzen des Staates Delaware) Kraftfahrzeugleuchtenanordnung
FR3026817A1 (fr) * 2014-10-02 2016-04-08 Valeo Vision Dispositif lumineux muni de surfaces dispersives, et feu comprenant un tel dispositif lumineux.
EP3002502A3 (fr) * 2014-10-02 2016-08-10 Valeo Vision Dispositif lumineux muni de surfaces dispersives, et feu comprenant un tel dispositif lumineux
WO2021161098A1 (fr) 2020-02-10 2021-08-19 Flex-N-Gate Advanced Product Development, Llc Système fournissant un éclairage fonctionnel à travers une finition opaque
EP4103879A4 (fr) * 2020-02-10 2023-08-23 Flex-N-gate Advanced Product Development, LLC Système fournissant un éclairage fonctionnel à travers une finition opaque

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS58108650A (ja) 1983-06-28
BR8207121A (pt) 1983-10-11

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Legal Events

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Designated state(s): DE FR GB IT

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

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18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 19840216

RIN1 Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)

Inventor name: JONES, KENNETH JAMES