US1226294A - Automobile-lamp. - Google Patents

Description

F. E. WOLCOTT.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP.

APPLICATlON FILED JUNE'Hi, 1916.

1,226,294. Patented May15,1917.

"WEN TOR Afro/Mrs WITNESSto 30 around its axis,

U ITED s'rATEs PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. woiicorr, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT."

AUTOMOBILE-LAMR To all whom it may concer /L:

Be it known" that I, FRANK E, WoLoo'rT,

a citizen of the'United States, and" a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hart ford nd Stateof Connecticut, have invented a; new andlmpro ved Automobile-J Lamp, of. whichwthe fol-lowing'is a full, clear, and exact description. t This invention relates to headlights for vehicles, and has particular reference to removable or adjustablelarnps adapted espe-, i'cially for-automobile practice;

.Among'the' objects of'theinve'ntion is to I, prov de clamp comprising a conventional l5 typ'eYof casing adapted to be held instm .tio'nery position by any suitable brackets orsuppo'rts and having" at; window or lens at its front, and also being" provided within the casing with a movable reflectoredepted' to throw: the light normally downwardly at someconveni ent distance closely in front ofthevehicle; r Another object ofth'e inventionis to pro- I vide alarnp reflector pivoted on; e horizon 25,-talaxis adjacent the front" edge or. end

thereof remote from the optical center of thereflector, means being provided whereby the" operator at a distance 'mayTswingthe reflector. upor down as mayv be desired L With. the foregoing and therobjects in. wiew the invention consists inthe arrange- 1 mm and combination of ports hereinafter "described cndcleir'ried, and while the invention' is not restricted to the exact details ofconstructiondisclosed orsuggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a. practical embodiment thereof rcference'is had to the accompenying drawings, in

i 'which likemeference characters designate the controlling parts of the lamp, but with the parts in changed: position from that of v Fig.-

is a vertical transverse sectional detail on the line -33 of'Fig. 2; and Fig, 4 is a, detail of-e' modification describedbelow. r

.lemplov e station y ca g 1 0 of ny Specification of Letters Patent. 'lpnlicetionfiled June 13, 1916. Serial No. 103,961.

Patented -May 15, 1917.

conventional 61- well linolvn type, the same hav ng a lens on windowfll secured to the frontthereof by means of an outer rim 12. The front rim portion of the casing 10 comprises an inwardly turned roll or bend 10, against which the outwardly directed flange 13 of a supplemental segmental re flector 13- is held 'by the lens and outer mm 12.

zontal axis at 151' to the inner surfecdof the spherical flange: 13. jTheifx is of the. pivots. 1'5 lies clo'se'to the front edge of the reflector andis perpendicular. tothe longitudinal axis of the reflector, the lamp ,16 being fitted in a socket '17 near the rear,

end of saidlongitudinal axis, The lower half' of the reflector below the pleneintersecting the pivotal axis of the reflector and the center of the lamp, is provided with its frontvedge lying in e-plane perpendicw lar to the last-mentioned intersecting plane, In other Words, with the reflector, adgusted W 65. .I he reflector 14, preferably of a parabolic type, is pivotally connected on a horiso as to project the light directly ahead,

the bottom edge of the reflector will lie substantially against the' bottom half of the lens 11, and-with theffocel center of the reflector lying in the horizontal longitudinol axis of the reflector, this axis being indicatedby the dotted line 18 representing .the direction in which intenselight is projected.

The upperhzilf of the reflector is beveled as indicated at 19 whereby the reflector y bejfiiged wardly 'and forwardly around the nxis15 to tilt the axis 18 and cause the'light to be projected downwardly upon the roadway. In either'position of the reflector, the exposed portion ofthe flange 13 constitutes in effect cont-innstion of the reflecting surface of the reflector. The means I prefer to use to control the position and action of the reflector includes a tubular support 20 fixed in stationary po-,

sition in the back part of the casing 10. The rear end ofthis support is screw threaded and tappedinto a hole 21 at a convenient place for the attachment of the electrical connections, and is locked in plaice by means of at lock nut 22. On the inside of the casing 10, the support is curved upwardly and car:

ries a vertically reciprocatingplunger 23."

A flexible tube2 t is passed into the lower open end of the support -20 and is secured to a partition 25 at the lower end of the very at its upper 'end against the head 23' of the plunger. A wire orrod 27 extends through the flexible tube 24 and through the spring,

and is connected at its upper end to the head 23 of the plunger.

The socket l7 mentioned above is in the nature ofa hub projecting rearwardly from the reflector 14c, and is adapted to receive the base 28 of the lamp. The electric wires 29 to the lamp .thence laterally through a side opening 30 within the main casing 10.

As shown best in Figs. 2 and 3, the hub or socket 17 is surrounded or embraced bya ring or yoke 31 spaced from the socket to allow freedom of action, effectively closed by means of spring cush ions 32, shown as four in number and arranged .both above and below, and at the right and left sides.

The spring 26 is arranged so that it will tend to move the plunger and yoke 31 in one suggest that the automatic'action through direction automatically. This. movement is in a straight line and vertical, as shown in Movement'in the oppos te direction Fi 2. is iiccomplished throughthe wire 27 in opposition to the force of the spring 26. Without unnecessarily limiting the operation, I

the spring be in the direction to elevate the lamp, and cause the rays of light to, be thrown downwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, and the draft'upon the wire or .rod 27, which may be accomplished either by hand or foot means, (not shown) will be for the I purpose of throwing the lamp d0wnwardly,.

therefrom will or so that therays of'light "be projected in a horizontal beam. Since the reflector and lamp are moved aroundthe axis 15 in the arc of a.circle and the yoke 31 is moved in 'a vertical 'line only, being held from movement in other directions through the plunger and surrounding support or barrel, it is necessary to provide a certain amount of freedom of action between the yoke and the hub 17. This freedom of movement is provided for by the springs 32. In otherwords, the yoke always embraces the socket or hub 17, so as to actuate the reflector either up or down, and the springs provide for a substantial constant contact to prevent rattling or lost motion. The wire 29 is so arranged that it does not interfere with theadjustment of the lamp and reflector.

In the modified form, shown in Fig. 4, the support 20 is shown as straight and extending verticallythrough a. hole 21 in the rear portion of the casing. This support is locked in position by means of the nut- 22 drawing upon a pair of tubular washers 20 ing" at its front portion the front portion ofthe flange, a are led upwardly through the hollow lowerend of the support 20 and' but the space isflector, a lam I portion,

on the inside aud outside of the casing. Thls form of support 1s better adapted for lamp casings where less room structure and operation are the same, however, as already set forth.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a stationary casinghava rearwardly proa lensfsecured against arabolic reflector within the casing'and pivoted at its front edge on a horizontal axis to said flange, said reflector being so disposed that the front edge of its lower half is adapted to abut against the lens whenthe axis of ecting inner flange,

is provided between the reflector and the main casing. Otherwise the the reflector is horizontal, and being beveled at its. upper half so that the upper portion of the lens when the axis of. the reflector is-tilted to cause the light to beprojected in a beam downwardly in front of the lamp, and means. projecting through the rear portion of the casing to it will abut against conduct electricity to the lamp and control the position of the reflector.

2. In an automobile lamp, the combination of a casing having attached at its front an inner rearwardly projecting curved flange, a parabolic reflector .within'the ens ing pivoted on a horizontalaxis' to said flange, the upper and lower halves of the re flector having their front edges arranged in planesiat an angle to each other" and so disposcd'that said flange constitutes a continuation of the reflecting surfaceof the reflector according to the position of the refitted in the rear portion of the reflector in the focal center thereof, a

stationary support fitted in the rear portion of the casing and extending thence upwardlybetween the reflector and the casing,

aplunger slidable in said sup ort and .em-

bracing a portion of there ector,-means acting upon the plunger to move it automatically in one direction, and other means acting in opposition to the automatic means tion.

' 3. In an automobile lamp, the combination of a casing'having a hole at the hack a' stationary support fitted rigidly to-move the reflector in the opposite direcin said hole and having a tubular lower end, i

the upper end of the support extending ver-. tically. a. lungerslidably fitted in the vertical'end o the support, a. spring acting upon the. plunger to move it in one direction, manuallycontrolled means acting upon the plunger to move it in the opposite direction, a yoke connected to the upper'end of the plunger, a reflector pivoted on a horizontal axis at the front portion of the casi'ng, a lamp carried by the rear portion of the reflector, said reflector including a socket'for the lamp, said socket being cmbraced by said yoke, and means extending through the hollow lower end of the support to conduct electricity to the lamp.

t. ln an automobile lamp, the combination of a main support, a reflector pivoted at its front edge in said support and movable at its rear end vertically in the arc of a circle. said rear end including a rearwardly projecting extension, a lamp fitted in said extension, and means cooperating with said extension to ,eontrol the pivotal movements ot the reflector. said last mentioned means including a ring loosely embracing the extension and having spring contacts filling the space between the ring and the extension, said ring being movable vertically:

.3. The combination of a stationary casing. a tubular support fixed in the rear portion of the easing, the lower end of the support being curved and the upper end of the support being straight and vertical, the curved portion of the support being prorided with a lateral hole, a plunger telescopically connected with the upper end of i the support, a spring acting upon the plunger to project it upwardly in avertical line. with respect to the support, a yoke secured to the upper end of the plunger, a relleetor pivoted in the casing and having at its rear end a socket projecting rearwardly over the plunger and through the yoke, a lamp fitted in the socket, spring contacts between the yoke and the socket extension, and lamp wires leading through the lower end of the support and thence through the lateral hole to the lamp socket between the casing and the reflector.

ti. The combination of a fixed casing, a rigid support fixed therein and comprising a tubular curved lower end and a vertical straight upper end, a flexible tube extending through the lower end of the support and connected to the middle portion thereof, a plunger telescopically connected With the upper end of the support, a spring acting upon the plunger to move it in one direction, a wire connected to the plunger and extending thence outwardly through the flexible tube acting upon the plunger in opposition to the spring, a yoke connected to the t%pper end of the plunger, and a movable re ector Within the casing having a rearward extension embraced by said yoke, substantially as set forth.

FRANK E. WOLCOTT.

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