US1496529A - Reflector element - Google Patents

Description

June 3 1924- J. P. CROASDALE REFLECTOR ELEMENT Filed June 4, 1921 Patented .lune 3,

JETS iiD-Ai :sie

itErn-nc'ron ELEMENT.

Application led June 4,

ToaZZ 'whom' t may concer/n:

.Be it known that I, dorm P. CRoAsDALE, a citizen of the United States, residing- :at Berwyn, in the countyfo-f Chester and State rof Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Reflector Element, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to y'non-glare headlights or devices for overcoming the Vblinding .glare of .an automobile headlight, .and .at the Sametime for increasing its lighting efficiency.

'As is well known, the yusual `automobile headlight comprises a parabolic reflector. With the light source in front of the focus, part of the light reflected from the lowerhalf lof the reflector-is thrown forwardly :and upwardly and the 'light reflected yfrom the upper half is thrownforwardly .and downwardly. .With the light source be- .hind the focus, part of the light from the upper 'half of the reflector is thrown upwardly, `and from the lower Ahalf downwardly. Eliminate ,the reflected rays that are reflected upwardly, and no rays will be .projected above the height of the lamp. This can be accomplished by destroying the reflecting .character of the portion that tends to freflect upwardly, but lthelighting efiiciency of the headlight is -thereby greatly reduced. Various lenses have-been .employed for deflecting or modifying the vrays reflecte'd upwardly, but these usually impair the lighting efficiency to .about the saine .ex- .tent as they modify vthe glare.

The present invention, applied forV example to a .headlight having the lamp in 'front of the focus, comprises improved means for dellecting, to the upper half of the reflector, the rays that would normally strike the lowerhalf, whereby these rays are also reflected forwardly a-ndfdownwardly.

VThus we have all the rays from the lamp .directed to the upper half of the reflector and thence .reflected forwardly and downwardly. No rays are vdirected .above the height of the headlight, 'and-so there yis no blinding yglare `to the .passing traveler. Practically no rays are dissipated into the upper spaces; all the rays arejutilized vand concentrated on .the road .in front of ithe car and .so the efficiency .is substantially vin- 1921. Serial No. 474,998.

creased while the objectionable glare is eliminated. l

It is the object of the present invention to provide means for accomplishing lthe yresult s above proposed, which shall be simple in construction, readily and cheaply Vproduced .on a commercial scale. and which -shall be so proportioned and arranged, that the rays which would normally be directed upwardly, shall beso reflected as will result in the precise andellicient reflection of all the rays yfrom t-he source vof light, below a required horizontal lplane and to and upon such spaces and surfaces as shall be most desirable in navigating the car at night, so that the light, instead of being impaired will be intensified .and so :that all .glare above said horizontal plane will be eliminated. By the means herein described, this Vresult is secured, notwithstanding a substantial variationin theposition of the lamp `flector element `removed lfrom vthe headlight.

Fig. 4l isza similar Vview of a modi'cation. Figs. 5, .rand 7 are plan views of `sepa- `rate .strips .or blanks vfrom which the completed deflector element-:may be constructed. Fig. 18 is .a plan View of an integralblank ffrom which the completed deldector felement may be formed.

f Similar numerals .refer vto similar `parts throughout the several views.

, Asan einbodimentof my inventionsby way of example, I provide a plurality ofistrips,

lsuch vas 8, 9Ain Figs. l and .3, or 8,9 and 16, asin Fig. 1l, forming reectingsurfaces Aor areas. These strips 'are so bent that their longitudinal margins will vlie in arcs having an approximately common axis which corresponds to the axis of ythe'parabolic Vreflector of the headlight or the horizontal .axis-of the lamp. The rea.r1marginsof said :strips are in close proximity 'to the headlight reflector surface as shown, `that is in contour with said headlight reflector vsurface. One or more of these strips, due to their original shape, as in Fig. 6, are .arA ranged or formed so that, in the direction of their crosssection their reflecting surfaces are inclined to the horizontal axis of the lamp, and the several .strips are relatively at different inclinations. In other words, a flat strip such as shown in Fig. 6, when bent or curved as just described, forms a segment theoretically cut from a cylinder, in planes inclined to the axis of the cylinder.

All of the strips are so disposed and arranged that the reflecting surface of each will reflect or deflect all of the rays, incident to said surface from the source of light, to the upper surface of the headlight reflector.

As a concrete example, I have found that two reflector strips serve the purpose -well for many forms of standard parabolic headlights.

In accordance with the present invention,

i all of the light from the lamp is utilized,

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none is modified or obscured by prisms or lenses, or other light obscuring devices. This is made possible by having all the rays of light, emanating from the lamp, projected forwardly and downwardly. In this way the full illuminating power vof the lamp is utilized, by projecting the entire light derived therefrom, forwardly and downwardly upon the road or path of travel of the car, thus greatly increasing the light projected by the headlight and at the same time preventing any of the rays being projected above the level of the headlight, but without impairing the horizontal flare below said level, so that a person either walking, or

traveling in a car, in the opposite direction is totally unailected `by the glare therefrom.

Referring especially to Figs. 1 and 3, I show two reflector strips 8 and 9. These are formed in semi-circular arcs having a common axis corresponding to the horizontal axis of the lamp' 10, and also to the axis of the parabola of the headlight reflector 1l. The strip 8,' being just beneath the lamp is substantially cylindrical in form, and the line l2 indicates the general direction of the reflected rays from filament 13 of lamp 10, first striking the reflecting surface offstrip 8, thence deflected to the upper reflector por tion 11, and thence res-reflected forwardly and downwardly. Lines 14 and 15 indicate the general direction of the rays from filament 13 which, clearing reflector 8, reach reflector strip 9, thence reflected to upper reflector half 11, and thence re-reflected forwardly and downwardly as indicated. While I have shown only two reflecting strips 8 and 9 in Figs. 1 and 3, it will be obvious that different numbers of such strips Ymay be used, depending upon various conditions, such forexaniple as the size or dimensions of the headlight, or a desire to secure a wider distribution of the rays reflected or deflected from beneath the horizontal axis of the lamp to the upper reflector half. For example, in Fig. 4 three strips, 8, 9 and 16 are shown.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I show reector elements built up of strips suitably fastened together. The strips 8 and 9 in Fig. 3, and 8, 9 and 16 in Fig. l, are preferably connected together, in any suitable way, for example by the element 17 having the semi-circular front portion 17, adapted in operative lposition to be in a substantially vertical plane, and the wings 17 b in a substantially horizontal plane. rIhe strip 8 is secured to the ends of the wings 17b as indicated. The other strip or strips being secured between strips 8 and 9 as shown. From the rear middle part of strip 8 is provided the arm 18 with the forked formation 19 for engaging beneath the neck of the lamp. While at the lower middle portion of 17"l is provided the projection 2O adapted to engage a suitable recess, formed for the purpose, inthe lower portion of the headlight body, for securing and maintaining said deflector element in proper position.

In Fig. 6 is shown the blank or form of strip 901' 16, when cut from a flat sheet of metal. Upon bending this strip into a semicircular arc, its reflecting surface is inclined as to its cross-section, to the horizontal axis of the lamp as clearlyshown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 7 is shown the general formation of a blank suitable for forming the element 17, while Fig. 5 vshows a suitable blank for strip 8 and arm 18.

I have shown in Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive, suitable blanks and the method of bending and assembling same to form a deflector element embodying my invention. I have found this an extremely simple inexpensive and efficient method and means for effecting my invention.

In Fig. 8, I have shown an integral blank,A

which may bebent and secured together at its two free ends to form the structure shown in Fig. 3, except that the strip 17 is omitted, and the extensions 17b are integral with strip 9. The point or lug 20 being formed on an extension from the middle upper part of strip 9.

It will be understood however, that the above embodiments are given merely as examples, and that various other methods and means may be employed for securing the necessary reflecting surfaces properly associated, disposed and arranged relatively to the lamp filament which are the essentials of my invention as defined in the following claim.

What I claim is z- In combination with a headlight reflector, a plurality of separated reflector-surfaceforming strips curved as to their longitudiintercept rays that would normally be renal extensions in approximate arcs of circles flected upwardly from the Surface of the having their axes on the horizontal axis of headlight reflector, to the effect that ap- 10 the headlight reflector, and their several rear proximately all rays shall be projected below 5 edges in close proximity to and in contour a given elevation.

With the headlight reflector surface, and so f positioned that their reecting surfaces shall J NO. P. CROASDALE.

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