US1413811A - Headlight - Google Patents

Description

G. IHIPPE.

HEADLIGHL APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20,1920.

1,413,811.. Pat-@med Apr. 25,]1922I- WITNESS:

'of IIIIS I GRAHAM TRIPPE, OF

DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

HEADLIGHT.

To all whom t may concern: 'Y n Be it known that I, GRAHAM TRIPPE, a cit1- zen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have l.invented certain new and useful Improvements inl Headlights, of

i cle.

which the following is a'specification.

The present invention relates to headlights such as are used on motor vehicles and consists in an attachment of novel construction, which is readil applicable to existing forms of such headlights. 'Such attachment includes a supplementary reflector shaped to lie in .p

front of` and cover the lower half of the regular'reflector of the headlight, and having for its object to focus a portion of theI light so as to provide a depressed beam for distant illumination, and to diffuse other portions of the reflected light so as to illuminate the roadway between such beam and the vehi- The result aimed at is the proper illumination of the roadway, both near .and far, without glare or concentration of light in the Y line of vision of occupants of an approaching vehicle, as is the case when the ordinary reflector 1s used alone, to secure such effects by properly directing the light ratherthan by diminishing the degree of illumination afforded by the headlight. I

This supplementary reflector comprises a` plate a'ording twodifferently shaped reflecting surfaces merging into each other, one being parabolic and the'other conical, the effect of which is to direct the light rays, which strike the supplementary arabolic reflector, in a downwardlyinclinedp beam and to diffuse those which strike the conical surface in divergi'ng directions with respect to the axis of the headlight. The arrangement'of tlie device is such that the lamp filament is located infront of the focus of the regular parabolic reflector of the headlight, while'. it lies behind the focus'of the. parabolic portion -of the supplementary reflector and therefore behind t e conical portion thereof.

In other words, 'the two parabolic reflect-fr ing surfaces are odset from one another and the lamp lament is located between the fociv of the same, the effect being that the rays from both said surfaces are directed slightly downwardly from the axis of the lamp.

The rays reflected from the surfaces of each.'

of the parabolic reflectors Vare directed, of course, parallel to each other, and the bundles of' rays from the two parabolic reflecting surfaces merge 1nto a beam directed Specification of Letters Patent.

vthe arrangement vof the lam Patented Apr. 25,

Application filed October 20, 1920. Serial No. 418,172.

vto be effective below the horizontalaxis. The

rays reflected from the conical portion of the supplementary reflector are directed at varylng vand divergent angles, whereby a diffused and non-glare illumination is availble for the roadway and objects in the vicinlty of the vehicle. Therefore, all the concentrated reflected rays will be directed into the area below the axis of the headlight, and will be most 'effective on the roadway at a point considerable'in advance yof the vehicle, while the-.area belowl andto the sides ofthe path of the concentrated rays' will-be lighted by a non-glaring diffused light.

One of the features of` my invention is the ready adaptability ofthe supplementary reflector. to the ordinary or existing types of parabolic headlights in use, without the necessity of modifyin the structure of the latter in any way. ther objects and adwantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawing. The embodiment of the invention therein shown and the representation of the ordinary headlight to which'the invention is applied, are by way of example only, and

vention or its application to the exact forms shown.

In the drawing 4referred to Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofan automobile headlight equipped with my reflector attachment, shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same;

Fig.' 3 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 4 is la front view of the supplevmetary reflector and its attaching means 5 Fig. 5 1s a. side viewof thesame, and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating A filament' in relation to the foci of the o' reflectors.

' In thesewviews I have illustrated. my at: tachment as shaped supporting bracket 1, the casing 2, detachable rim 3,' lamp support 4f, the lamp 5, front glass 6, The focusing-socket 11 is axially adjustable by the usualA focusing screw s, so that the lampiilament can be properly located with respect to the foci of the reectors, as hereinafter fully Set forth.

redector 8 covers the lower hal only of the set parabolic y and parabolic reflecton 7.,

y applied to a conventional type ofautomobile headlight comprising the U- 1'10 The suplementary reflector 7i its upper edge lies in the plane of the horizontal axis of the headlight and is provided with a semi-circular recess 10 adapted to lit loosely around the lower half of the focusing socketvll; lt is heldin place thereon by a 'spring clip or collar 12, v

the longitudinal plane of the headlight sufliciently to adapt itselitto slight varia'- tions in the shape of the ixed redectors oi? different types of headlights. Normally,- however, the spring clip 4integral, with the reflector, in which case, of

course, the latter is not exibly supported and the two are held in iixed relationshipa l As stated above, the supplementary re ecto'r, which constitutes my invention, comprises two distinct reflecting surfaces or portions, asmaller central parabolic portion 16 indicated. by the lines A. in Fig and a larger outerv conical portion 17, ythe two surfaces merging into eachother -at the line 18,

l have mentioned that the iilament of the lamp 5 is located slightly in advance of the locus of the parabolic reector 7, whereby rays ol light from the lamp striking the upper partei said redector are directed lorwardly at ya slightly depressed angle, as l 2, and that said filament lies slightly behind the locus of the parabolic portion 1.6 oil the supplementary reector 8, so that the rays reectcd from it are also-directed downwardly as indicated by the lines B in said ligure. This is graphically shown in Fig. 6 wherein the rilament of the lamp'is designated iF; the locus of the arabolic reector 7 is designated f, and .t e vfocus of the lparabolic portion 16 oi? the supplementary redactor 8'is designated fp; U

rllhe rays striking the conical portion 17 ol the supplementary redector are likewise directed somewhat downwardly, as indicated by the lines C and D in Fig. 2 and, at the same time are -didused or diverted laterally as well as vertically, that is to say the rays redected from said conical vportionv are not directed parallel to each other but v at angles constantly varying from the inner edge to the outer edge of said conical surface so that the light redected therefrom is didused and ofa non-.glaring character.

The onlyl rays which are directed horizontally forward are those from the lamp itseli, there being no horizontal' redected rays. 'llhe paralled rays reflected from the parabolic surfaces 7 and 16 are directed 12 may be made miseri downwardly as shown and described and the rays reected from the conical surilace 17 are divergent and spread tan shaped, so to speak, so that a headlight equipped with my attachment sends forth no blindingglare to annoy and confuse pedestrians or other motorists.

The attachment or Asupple]inentary redector can easily and quickly be applied to existing headlights by simply removing the rim 3 and glass 6, taking out the bulb 5 and clamping the ring 12 on to the lamp socket; it can, ol course, be as quickly andeasily removed.. i

lt must be understood that the location of the lamp filament relatively to the lociof the parabolic. reflectors has a very imortant bearing upon the proper functioning of the headlight. The, extent oi' the collar 12 to the rear ol the retlector 8 establishes the minimum axial distance by which the redectors 7 and 8 will be oilset,

which distance willJ establish the distance between the respective loci. The collar 12 constitutes ya guide for determining the,

proper adjustment oit' the ilocusin socket 11, said collar being of such' wi th that when thel forward end ol the socketll is liush with its liront edge, the' lilament of a predetermined form oil lamp will ol necessity be in front or the ilocal point of the redector 7. This will assure the proper deyression el the rays from the redector 7. he extent of the collar forwardly lfrom the 'reflector' 8 determines in the same manner the position of the lamp lilament relative to the locus or that redector, so

that the proper relationship oi the two is established by the mounting of the redector 7 upon the locusing socket. @nce the device is secured in place, no adjustment oit the focusing socket lcan be i eidective to raise the concentrated beam abdve the horizontal axis, movement ofthe lamp hlament.

back of the locus or the upper redector being preventedl b abutment oil the collar against said re ector,l .while the relation ship.' oie the lamp hlament tothe locus of` the @lower parabolic redector as well as to the conical reilector l?, .is hired. lily provision oil a collar .of the proper width, moreover, a dehnite guide is provided tor accomplishing location or the dlament' l?" or `a given lamp 5 between the foci oithe redectors 'i' and 16 at a point where the resultant redectionswill coincide in a beam oit maximum intensity.` Experience has shown 'what these distanres should be and the collars are made accor ingly. ln applying my attachment to' an ordinary headlight the adjustable socket 'has to be move forwardly suhicient to give space enough to mount the collar 12 thereon, in the intended manner-which, when the collar is of the proper width, brings the" hlament Mld lltl

lill

iat

in front of the focus of the regular reflector, and in rear of the focus of the parabolic portion -16 of the supplementary reflector. This insures proper focusing of the lamp in an installation for which the reflector is designed, and unless the lamp vis so' focused the attachment cannot be properlyapplied. Therefore, before installation can .be effected the necessary adjustment of the parts must be made which automatically will establish proper focusing of the lamp, without the necessity of having to make an actual test of the adjustments or subsequent corrective adjustments. l l

Havingthus described my invention what I claim is:

1. The combination with a headlight having a reflector and an axially disposed lamp mounting, of a supplementary reflector shaped to overlje substantially the lower half of the primary reflector, said supplementary reflector having the portion of its reflecting surface adjacent its axis of parabolic contour and the balance of its reflecting surface of conic contour, and means for supporting said supplementary reflector upon the lamp mounting in such fashion that the focus of its parabolic portion is in front of the focus of the primary reflector exposed to the light from the lamp.

2. The combination with a headlight having a parabolic reflector and an adjustable mounting for supporting a luminant, of a supplementary reflector adapted for insertion within the headlight and shaped to cover substantially the lower half of the` vent retraction of the adjustable mounting' to a position where the luminant-may occupy a position at or behind the focal point.

of the headlight reflector. l

3. The combinaion with a headlight having a reflector and an `-adjustable lamp support, of a supplementary reflector insertable into the ,headlight to occupy a position in covering relationship to the lower portion of the headlight reflector, and means for\ mounting said supplementary reflector upon the lamp support, said means bein arranged for cooperation with the hea light to limit rearward movement of the lamp therein, said means cooperating with the lamp support to prevent forward movement yof the lamp relative to said supplementary reflector.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GRAHAM TRIPPE. Witnesses: x

. THOMAS' A. CoNLo'N, MAUDE BUCHANAN.

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