US1409469A - Automobile headlight - Google Patents

Description

F.- A. REECE.

AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-22,1917.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

fiizuzw; Law- M FRANK A. REESE, OF HOYKIN'ION, SSAQH USETES.

Anroonrnn nnannrenr.

Specification of Letters Iatent. Patentgd M 14 i'ggg Application filed September 22, 1917. Serial No. 192,789.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. REECE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopkinton, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automobile Headlights, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to headlights for automobiles or the like such as are provided with a reflector having a parabolic or a substantially parabolic surface, and has for its object an improved headlight which is so constructed and arranged that no glare is produced above a predetermined point at a distance from the head light. The head light embodying my invention is provided with two light centres afforded preferably by an electric lamp, but any suitable pair of light centres may be employed. The light centres are so positioned relatively to the parabolic reflector of the headlight that one of the light centres is located in front of the focal point and the other light centre is behind the focal point. There is also provided a partition or dividing member which separates the light centres so that the rays from each light centre are reflected from one-half of the parabolic reflector only. The reflector causes the rays from the centre of light in front of the focal point to converge and causes the rays from the centre of light behind the focal point to diverge. The centres of light are preferably arranged so that the rays of light thus reflected from both halves of the reflector are inclined downwardly to the horizontal so that there is no glare from the reflector above a predetermined point at a distance from the headlight. In this way all objectional glare from the head light is done away with without the use of a dimming screen of any sort and the full benefit of the light produced from the light centres is obtained.

My invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical view of a headlight embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the lamp shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail in perspective of a partition employed in the lamp embod ing my invention.

aving reference to the drawings, there is shown a head light which has a reflector 12 of parabolic or of substantially parabolic shape. The head light is provided with a socket 13 which is located centrally of the reflector 12 and in which an electric lamp 14B is received.

The lamp 14: is provided with the ordinary socket member having a shell 15 of brass provided with anchor pins 16 which are received in corresponding grooves 17 in the socket 13 and which detachably secure the lamp 13 in position. The shell 15 has centrally thereof a terminal 18 which is insulated from the shell by any common form of insulating material 19. The socket member is provided with a bulb 20, which ispreferably of the shape shown for reasons hereinafter to be set forth, and within the bulb 20 is a neck 21 of any common insulating material such ,as glass or the like. While I have described the lamp socket shown in the drawings somewhat in detail, it will be understood that any desired form of lamp socket or mounting may be employed.

A pair of filament supporting members or terminals 22 and 23, the former of which is preferably longer than the latter, are mounted in the neck 21 and are connected, one with the terminal 18, and the other with the shell 15 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Connecting the terminals 22 and 23 is a lightin filament 24: which may be of any desire material of high resistance such as carbon, tungsten, platinum orthe like. It is arranged in two coils 25 and 26 each of which forms a centre or unit of light. A partition 27 which may be of any non-transparent material, is mounted in the neck 21 between the terminals 22 and 23 and projects outwardly from the neck between the light coils 25 and 26, being preferably in the horizontal position shown. It separates the lighting coils 25 and 26 so that light" from the coil 25 strikes the upper half 28 of the reflector 12 only,

and light from the coil 26 strikes the lower half 29 of the reflector only. The partition 27 is preferably of the shape shown in Fig. 3 and consists of a plate 30 having a hole- 31through it and having a laterally extending projection 32 at one end, by which it is supported in the'n'eck 21 of the lamp,

and an upturned end 33 at the other end. The lighting filament 24; extends from the coil 25 through the hole 31 and to the coil 26 so as to connect the terminals 22 and 23. If desired the light coils may be separated, in which case additional terminals must be used, or the coils be connected through the plate as a conductor, in which case the hole 31 in the partition 27 is not used, the important feature being to arrange the light coils with relation to the focal point as will now be described. The focal point of the reflector 12 is indicated at F.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, reflected rays from a light unit which is in front of the focal point and infront of a straight line from the focal point to the edge of the reflector will converge, and reflected rays from a light unit which is behind the focal point and behind a straight line between the focal point and the inner edge of the reflector will diverge. The lines in question may be called limiting lines and are shown at X and Y in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The lamp embodying my invention is constructed with this principle in view. The lighting coil 25, which is located above the partition 27, is in front of the limiting line X so that a ray of light from the coil 25 which passes along the line A, strikes the reflector 12 at 34 and is reflected along the line B. The partition 27 cuts off the direct rays from the light coil 25 from the lower half of the reflector so that rays from the light coil 25 strike the upper portion of the reflector only. In order that there may be no direct rays from the light coil 25 which do not strike the upper half of the reflector, the partition 27 is provided with the upturned end 33. The upturned end 33 is formed on a curve which corresponds to the, curve around the front edge of the reflector, as shown in Fig. 3, so that all direct rays at thefront of the headlight from the coil 25 are shut off and therefore any glare from this source is eliminated. The axis ofthe light coil 25 is preferably parallel with the limiting line X so that all the reflected rays from the light coil 25 travel on lines which are substantially parallel. The coil 26 is arranged below the focal point and behind the limiting line with its axis preferably parallel to the said line.

A ray from this coil, which for example travels along the line C, strikes the reflector at 35 and is reflected along the line D. The light coil 26 is so arranged in relation to the focal point F that the reflected rays travel on lines, one of which is shown at D, which are inclined at substantially the same angle as lines along which reflected rays from the coil 25 travel, one of which is indicated at C. By this construction all the rays from each of the light coils are reflected along lines which may be made to incline downwardly as desired so that no glare is afforded above a predetermined point at a. distance from the headlight. While the partition 27 shown and described is preferably used to cut off from one portion of the reflector the direct rays from one of the light centres, and to cut off from another portion of the reflector the direct rays from the other light centre any other means for effectjlng this object may be employed if desire The bulb 20 of the lamp 14 is preferably shaped as shown. The upper half 36 of the bulb 20 is formed on an arc of a circle, the centre of which is at, or substantially at the light coil 25, and the lower half 37 of the bulb is formed on an arc of a circle, the centre of which is as near as is practicable to the light coil 26. This construction practically eliminates all reflection from the glass surface of the bulb. I regard this as important for where the bulb is not formed on a circle the centre of which is substantially at the light unit, an image is produced by reflection from the inner surface bulb and this image being away from the focus of the reflector produces reflected rays which are not parallel either with the direct rays from the source of light or with the reflected rays therefrom, and glare is produced in this manner.

\Vhat I claim is:

l. The improved headlight comprising a reflector with a substantially symmetrical reflecting surface having a focal point, a pair of lights centers located respectively behind and in front of said focal point and in close proximity to the axis of said surface, and means for cutting off the direct rays emanating from the first of said light centers from reaching the upper half of the reflector above a plane through said axis and for cutting off the direct rays emanating from the second light center from reaching the lower half of said reflector.

2. The improved headlight comprising a reflector having its entire reflecting surface lying substantially in a single paraboloid, a pair of light centers within said reflector in close proximity to the axis thereof and located respectively behind and in front of the focal point thereof, and, an opaque light screen between said light centers and lying approximately in a plane including the axis of said par'aboloid, said light screen cutting off the direct rays emanating from the first of said light centers from reaching the upper half of the reflector above a plane through said axis and for cutting off the direct rays emanatin from the second light centerfrom reac ing the lower half of said reflector.

3. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a reflector with a concave, substantially symmetrical reflecting surface having a focal point, and a single light producing unit within said reflector and locatedaxially thereof, said unit having two light centers and an o aque partition separating said centers, sai unit eing placed in said reflector so that said centers are located respectively behind and in front of said focal point and said screen so located as to cut off the direct rays emanating from the first of said 1i ht centers from reaching the upper half 0 the re flector above a plane through said axis and to cut off the direct rays emanating from the second light center from reaching the lower half of said reflector.

4. The improved headlight comprising a curved reflector, two light centres one of which is located above the focal point of the reflector and in front of its limiting line and the other of which is located below the focal point of the reflector and behind its limiting line, an opaque surface which cuts ofl" from one portion of the reflector the direct rays from one light centre, and from another portion of the reflector the direct rays from the other centre of light.

5. The imfproved headli ht comprising a parabolic re ector, two lig t centres one of which is located above the focal point of the reflector and above its limiting line and the other of which is located below the focal point of the reflector and behind its limitmg line, and an opaque partition between said slight centres.

6. In a device of the character described and in combination with a parabolic reflector, an incandescent electric lamp having a filament which is arranged to produce two light centres, and an opaque partition in sai lamp by which said llght centres are separated said lamp bein so placed in the reflector that one of said ight centres is in front of the focal point of the reflector and the other of said light centres is behind said focal point.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si nature.

FRAhTK A. R GE.

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