US1704117A - Headlight - Google Patents

Description

March .5, 1929.

J. A. ANDERSON HEADLIGHT Filed 001:.24, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet man March 5, 1929. J. A. ANDERSON I 1,704,117

HEADLIGHT Filed Oct.24. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwumtoc Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

u a i 're airfares JQSEPH A.. ANDERSON, yOF DENVER, COLRAVDQKS ronrmninn erin-HUN- DREDTIES T JOSEPH D. 006K, F' BENVER, vC@l/OlrellDO'.

HEADLGET.

" Application iled Octobcrl, 192'?. Serial No. 228,224.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of headlights 'for automo-v biles.

lt well recognized that many of the fatal accidents that are continually yoccurri ng are due to the blinding effect ot glaring headlights which .make it impossible for the drivers oiI autmnobiles to seo the road.

lt is the object oiithis invention to produce a headlight that shall be so constructed that .it will give good road illumination and at the same time make it possible to divert the light towards the right of the road when meeting an applteaching` automobile at night and which will also make it possible to tlnow the light downwardly directly in front of the car so as to get `good illumination of the road for slow driving without danger oit drivers.

It is thc further object of this invention to produce a headlight which shall 'function in the manner indicated and Which. shall lbe of a simple and substantial construction with the parts so arranged that there will be no danger or' vibration or the production ofa noisy rattling effect. f

My invention, briefly described, consists in mounting an ordinary parabolic reflector oii the type now in general use so that it can rotate about an axis that makes an angle with the optical axis of the reflector. Means is provided 'for supporting an incandescent lamp at a point close to the focus of the reflector. When such a reiector is rotated aboutrits axis of rotation, thc optical axis will describe the surface of a cone and there iore by rotating the refiector the direction oil the rays of light can be altered. The rota# tion can be readily effected and therefore when a headlight is provided with a reflector mounted in the manner describedaud willi means tor rotating it through any desired angle, the direction of the light rays can be changed almost instantly to the position desired. l

The reflector in its normal position is lo*- cal'ed in such a Way that the rays of light will be thrown forwardly so as to illuminate the road at the proper distance 'li'or high speed driving. By rotating the reliector ninety degrees, the direction of the rays oi' light can be changed so as to illuminate the right .Jde of the road ata sufficient distance fonce oit the car to enable the dri causing any blinding eiiect on approaching' to proceed at the same speed. WYhen the driving iste be done .oucity streets or in parks or other places where there is a great deal or trailic. the reflector can be rotated through another ninety degrees so as to throwthe rays of light downwardly directly in front oi' the car, but ata greater angle than normal, so as to illuminate `the roadl only a .short distance inadvance of the car. r l

lhis distance, however, being suincient for the moderate speed at which the driving in srch congested parts should be done.

`When Vthe rays arey directed downwardly, the optical axis oi the reflector has such a downward and 'lorwariil inclination that rthere will be no glare to interfere with the vdriversof approaching gfnitomobilcs.

ythe reflector being shown rotated into the position that it occupies when passing an autoH mobile at high speed; Y

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2?- Fig. l; and shows the manner in which the spring is attached to the parts so as to produce a `force tendingjto return the reflector to nor mal position;

Fig. 3 a section similar to the section showninllig. 2 and'shows in a diagrammatic way an electrical `means tor rotating the reflector;

, Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the outline of the illuminated space when the reliectors are arranged for fast driving;

Fig. 5 isa' plan view similar 'to that sl'lown in Fig. 4l, which illustratesI the location of the illmnin'ated space w'lien'ihev reectors have been rotated through an yangle et ninety de grecs;

Fig. G .is a view .showing the downward inclination of the light rays wheifl arranged for tast and ior slow driving; and Y Fig. 7 is a sectiontaken on a horizontal plane through a relector and shows'- the angular relationship between the axis oi rotation and the optical airis. f-

in the drawings reference nlnneral l. represents a housing which may any air proved vcons-ruetion and "which has been shown as a drum type housing, having an inturned tlange 2. A 'telt strip 3 is attached to the outer sui-face of flange 2 in the manner indicated. The base 4l of the housing is provided With a central opening 5. A reilector G is secured within the housing; in a inanner which will hereinatter be described in dey tail. rllhis reflector is provided with a circular flange 'i' that projects over the teltring Sec .red in the opening` 5 is a tubular member 8 whose 'trent end is provided with an outwardly erdendine` tlange 9. rlhe interior ot the opening` in member 8 is threaded near the rear end in the manner indicated by reference immoral l0. A threaded plug il has operative engagement with the threads l0 and is provided with a head i2 whose diameter is larger than that of the oilzening il washer 13 is located between the inner surface oit head l2 and the oute surface ot the base Ll and when plug ll is put into place, in the manner shown, and. tightened. the tubular member 8 will be rigidly secured to the housing. A pulley le is provided with an elongated hub 15 and has a cylindrical opening` ot the proper size to receive the member 8. Pulley lis rotatably secured to the member S and held against longitudinal movement by means ot the flange 9 and the ring` 1G. Ring 1G preferably lits quite tightly on the reduced end portion l? of member S so that after it is in place, it Will not rotate with respect to thisV member. A spiral spring 18 has one end secured to the ringl?) at l5) by means of a screw or rivet and the other end` ot the springi is secured to the pulley le by means ot al pin 20. lt is apparent from Fig. 2 that il the ring 1G is held against rotation and the pulley il rotated in the direction ot the arrow 'that the spring will be tensioned and will therefore exert a torce tending` to ret-urn the pulley to its normal position. The normal position is determined by a stop 2l vthat is secured to the housing and al radial stop 22 that is secured to pulley let. Spring' i8 is normally tensioned to such an extent that when it is not subjected to any external torce., the stop 22 will be held against the stop 2l and therefore the normal position ot the reflector will be determined by the locan tion et these stops. Secured to the reflector (S is a tube 22% which is provided with a plurality ot lingers 2e that are soldered to the rear surface ot the reflector. The tube 23 has an interior diameter ot suon size that the hub l5 or the pulley can be pressed into the interior oit this tube so as to hold the tivo against relative movement by the triction thus produced. ln addition to this, tube 23 may be secured to the pulley by means ot solder, or in any other suitable Way. lt is apparent that Whenever pulley -lis rotatedl` the reflector will also be rotated.

Referring new particularly to Fig. 7, it will be observed that the surface oi' reilector (3 is symmetrical with respect to an axis which has been indicated by dot and dash lines 25. This is the optical anis ot the paraboloidal reliector. rlhe axis ot' rot-ation has been indicated by` a dash and dot line 2G, which also repre ents the anis ot the hub member l5 and coincides with the axis ot the tubular journal 8. lt will be observed that this axis ot rotation maires an angle w with the optical axis and preferably lies in the same plane as the latter. ln actual construction, it is preferred to so arrange 'these 'two axes that 'they intersect each other at the focal point of the reflector. lt is new evident that whenever the rel'lector is rotated aboutaxis 26 the optical axis will describe the surface et a cone in the nimmer indicat ed by the dotted line 27. rl`he lamp 28, which is held in place in member S by means t an ordinary socket 29, has its lament 30 located approximately at the focus of the reflector. lt is well understood that a sourceot' light is located at the tocus ol' a paraboloidal rerlector7 all the rays el light will be reflected parallel to the optical axis, which has been indicated by line 25. lt is therefore evident that by rotatingv the rel'lector7 the beam ol light Will also be rotated so that every light ray describe. the surt ce oit a cone. ln actual operation the source ot light is located 'eitherto the front or to the rear o the 'focal pointot the re'tlector so as to secure proper distribution 'of `the light. rThe adjustment ot the light effected by means oit a screw 3l Whose threaded end is operatively connected with the inne' end or the socket 29. it spring` 232 surrounds the screw and has one end abutlingl the end ot the soc ret and the other the end ot tno plug ll and is under compression so that 'it will move thesocltct 'towards the lett Fig. l) whenever the screw 3l is rotated so as te unscrew it from the Socket. lllhen the screw is rotated' in the opposite direction7 the socket is moved towards the right. For the purpose oit ena-bling)` the driver ol an automobile to rotate the reflector to the desired extent, a {iexible Wire 33 has been secured to the pulley lelandl Wrapped one or more times around the bottom ot the groove 311-. This Wire extermsthrough a tlexible tubo 35 to the dash board 36 Yand terminates in a handle having a ring-lil e part Si', which can be grasped by the linger ot the driver. Handle 37 has a straight shank portion 38 that is provided with a plurality ot' ratchet teeth 3) which cooperate with a suitable stop in the member 4.0. lli/Then the driver grasps the handle 37 and pulls it towards himself, he will unwind the flexible member 'from the pulley ll and rotate the reflector. Alter the reflector has been rotated to the extent desireih the handle moved lll() lltl A IG

so that the notches will engage the stop in member ll0 and hold the rellector, in ad justed position. l

The rotating means which has just been described is merely an example ot a means for this purpose as it is evident that many other specilic means for rotating the reflector may bc substituted and as an example of such an equivalent means, have shown a step by step mechanism which is illustrated in Fig. 3. In this embodiment the pulloj,7 lLl, instead. of havin@` a groove. 34, is provided with a` plurality oit ratchet teeth ell, which are zulapted,tol be engaged by the pawl l2 which is pivotally attached at. i3 to apivoted armature Llei. An'electromagnet l5 is located with its pole i6 in close proximi ty to the armature l/l, so that when the magnet is energized, the armature will be attracted andr will rotate about the pivot l? through a smah angle. is the armature attracted the pawl 45E willrotae the pullej7 lll through the angle represented by rone of the ratchet teeth. The winding of theelectromagnet terminates in a contact llwhich is adapted to come into electrical contact with the spring 49 that projects from the end of the armature. 'lfhevspring 50 ten ds to hold the armature in the position shown in Fig. 3. The electromagnet is connected with one pole'otthe battery 5l by means of a` conductor 52, the other pole of this battery is connected to the armature by means of a conductor' 53 which is provided with a pushbutton 541-. Vlien the push-button 54 is closed, the armature will vibrate and rotate the reflector step by step to any extent required. In this modification the spring Vlll is dispensed with as the reflector is rotated in the same direction all the time.

The two means for rotating the reflector which have just been described are merely examples as other equivalent means may be employed for this purpose, and applicant does not want to be limited to any specific means for producing rotation, but considers his invention broad enough to cover any arrangement ot parts in the optical aXis ot' the retlectorean be moved so as to describe the surface oli a cone by Whatever means this is accomplished.

In Fig. l I have shown the housing closed bymeaiis ot a lens 55 which is held in place by means ot a suitable lens ring 56. As `this is merely a well known construction no attempt will be made to describe this lensholding ring in detail, as it is evident that as iar as the projection olf the light isl concerned, the presence or the absence of the lens and lens-holding` ring is immaterial.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4l, 5 and 6, the operation of the device will be described. llhen the reflector is in normal position with the stops 2l and 2Q in engagement, the position of the headlights are .adjusted so that the lightwill be projected 'forwardly from the headlights a suliicient distance to properlyk illuminate the road tor fast driving. rlhe illuminated area willthcn appear somewhat like the one indicated by dottedlines inFig. Ll. In this ligure and in Figs. 5 and 6, the paved portion `of the road "has been indicated by numeral 57j. ldhon the lights are in the position shown in Fig. 4, they will cause Vannoyance to the driver of an approaching automobile. When the driver is about to pass another automo-r bile, he rotates the r'etlectm's through an .angle ol. ninety degrees. This throws the light towards the right of the road into the posi-` tion indicated by dotted lines inFig. 5. The

approaching automobile cannow pass Vith-A out any interierence` Jfrom the lights` and at thesame time the driver will have the right side the road brightly .illuminated 'for a sutlicient distance ahead to permit sate driving at high speed. I want to calllattention at this; point to the great advantage oit this arrangement, over the ordinarydimming .oit the headlights. lVhen they headlights `are dimmed to a suliicient extent to prevent glare, the illumination isreduced to a corre-A sponding extent and the road is therefore not suliiciently well illuminated to permit the driver to observe dangerpoints along the road and he is therefore in grave danger of encountering some obstruction that would cause an accident. W ith the illumination obtained by my device, the right hand side of the road is illuminated as well or even better than when the lights are adjusted as shown in Fig. 4t, and the driver has therefore a clear view of the road and at the same time the assinance of not annoying `approaching drivers. Where tra-flic is. heavy, the light can be maintained in the position shown in Fig. 5 as long as may be desired, as this gives excellent illumination.

In city driving and in driving through city parks aswell as other places where the trailic is heavy and where a moderate speed must be maintained, the reflectors are ro tated through an angle of one hundred eighty degrees from normal. This throws the upper rays of light from the line 58 which indicates the normal position to the dot and dash line 59. By this change the distance that the road is illuminated to the lront of the car is shortened, but maintained sulieient to enable driving at a moderate speed. lVith the` lights in the position designated in Fig. I6, the road is very well illuminated but the rays are directed downwardly at such an angle that none of them interfere with approaching trailic.k It will be understood from Fig. 6 that when the headlights have their reflectors in normal position, the optical axes will be down-` wardly inclined and that these axes never point in an upward and forward direction.

The showings in Figs. 1 and 7 are taken on a horizontal plane with the rel'lectors adjusted in a manner corresponding to diagram 5, 'and this accounts for the apparent upward direction ot the optical axes.-

F rom the above explanation taken in connection with the drawings, itwill be apparent that I have provided a headlight of a simple construction by means ot which the direction ot the rays ot' light can be quickly and easily changed. The mechanism by means ci" which my invention carried out is simple and the parts are so arranged that they will not become loose and noisy.

The objects of the above invention, as above intimated, 'are obtained by the simple expedient of mount-ing thc paraboloidal reflectors so that they can be rotated about axes that lie in the plane ot the optical axes but which intersectthe latter.

Haring thus described my invention what is claimed as new is:

l. A headlight ot the character described comprising a substantially cylindrical shaped housing, a tubular journal secured to the housing and 'ext-ending inwardly thereinto, a lamp socket secured in the tubular journal, a parabolic light reflector having a tubular caring secured thereto and mounted for rotation on the tubular journal, said bearing having its axis at an angle to the optical axis ol the reflector and intersecting the late ter substantially at the focal point and means tor rotating 'the retlector whereby the optical axis will generate the surface ot a cone whose apex coincides with the focal point.

2. A headlight of ythe character described comprising a substantially cylindrical shaped housing, a tubular journal secured to the housing and extending inwardly thereinto, a lamp socket secured in the tubular journal, a parabolic light'reilector having atubular bearing secured thereto and mounted for rotation on the tubular journal, said bearing having its axis at an angle to the optical axis of the reflector and intersecting the latter substantially at the focal point, a stop tor limiting the rotation of the reflector, means comprising a spring for normally holding the` reflect-or in position against the stop and means for rotating the reflector against the tension of the spring.

n testimony whereof I aix my signature.

JOSEPH A. ANDERSON.

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