AU593700B2

AU593700B2 - Headlight for motor vehicles

Info

Publication number: AU593700B2
Application number: AU82104/87A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Berthold Doring; Heinz Schulte
Original assignee: Hella KGaA Huek and Co
Current assignee: Hella GmbH and Co KGaA
Priority date: 1987-02-03
Filing date: 1987-12-04
Publication date: 1990-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-04
Also published as: EP0277349A2; EP0277349B1; AU8210487A; EP0277349A3; ES2040738T3; DE3703129A1; DE3786009D1

Description

h AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 59 3Fo 1O 0

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: ThIS doumnt contains the amnn4~cs vwa tt~m Smbloa 49.

and I oear~n tar prdadg.

I I <t Related Art: r StI f TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: HELLA KG HUECK CO.

Address of Applicant: POSTFACH 2840 LIPPSTADT 4780

GERMANY

Actual Inventor: Address for Service: CLEMENT HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: HEADLIGHT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- *w e 1 :r ;9 r~ ;nii 2 The present invention relates to a headlight unit for vehicles, consisting of a high beam headlight and a dimming headlight both mounted in a common housing and adjustable about at least one axis, the reflectors of said headlights being combined into a single unit and disposed behind a common cover panel, where the dimming headlight has an elliptical reflector, a condensing lens, a diaphragm disposed in the path of the light beam behind the lens at its iocal point all being in a fixed assembly mounted on a framework and a diffusion screen disposed in the path of the light beam in front of the lens. With this type of headlight, the difficulty arises as to how the diffusion screen disposed between the lens and the cover panel is to be firmly attached to the system consisting of the reflector, the lens and the diaphragm. Such a fixed attachment must be established so that, when the width of ~trr rr illumination is being adjusted, the angle of incidence of the light on the diffusion screen will not be altered.

r Furthermore, there is the problem of shielding to prevent seeing into the interior of the dimming headlight.

These problems are solved in accordance with the present r invention by the provision of a tube moulded onto the reflector for the high beam headlight, the central axis of said tube being disposed parallel to the optical axis of the high beam 'headlight, where said tube surrounds the lens and a alt the framework disposed between the lens and the reflector of I- *4 a a ~the dimming headlight and said tube carries the diffusion screen at its front free end.

S. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tube on the side facing away from the high beam headlight reflector a. passes over into a sight-blocking screen. This screen is a get prevent seeing into the space between the dimming headlight, a the reflector and the wall of the housing. This space is Snecessary for the installation of the position adjustment device.

In addition, it is expedient for the tube to have an opening at the top so that the air which is heated by the incandescent lamp globe, by the lens and by the framework 1 t IA14

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3 which carries said lens is able to circulate better. It is also expedient for the tube and the sight-blocking screen to be coated to have a silver appearance on the side facing outward, preferably applied by the metal-vapour deposition process at the same time as the coating on the inside surface of the high beam headlight reflector.

The drawings illustrate an expedient embodiment of the invention, there being depicted in #e Fig. 1 a horizontal cross-section along the plane through the centre of the headlight unit and r Fig. 2 a vertical cross-section through the dimming headlight.

E9 The housing 1 which is fastened into the body-work of the vehicle is closed at the front by a cover panel 2. The S reflector 3 for the high bea:. headlight and the reflector 4 e e I for the dimming headlight are fastened together by means of .4 a screw fitting 5. This unit consisting of reflector 3 and reflector 4 is mounted in an adjustable position within the housing 1. To allow for this adjustment, the reflector 3 is C O' attached to the wall of the housing 1 by means of an elastic rrf bolt 6, whereas the reflector 4 is attached to the rear wall of the housing by way of the screw-threaded adjustment device 7. The reflector 4 of the dimming headlight carries a framework 8 to which the diaphragm 9 is affixed. The lens is set into the front end of the framework 8. The reflector 4, the framework 8, the diaphragm 9 and the lens 10 form a structural module. The diffusion screen 11 is disposed in front of the lens 10 and said screen must be mounted in such a manner that it is constrained to move correspondingly when the position of reflector 4 is being adjusted, for example to adjust the width of illumination by the headlight. This is accomplished by having the diffusion screen mounted in the front end of tube 12 which is directly moulded onto the side of the high beam reflector 3. Because the high beam headlight reflector 3 and the dimming headlight reflector 4 r 4 r il 4 are rigidly connected to one another, and because the diffusion screen 11 and the dimming headlight reflector 4 are also fixed component parts of the combined headlight, their position can only be adjusted as an integrated unit.

The tube 12 is configured in such a manner that its peripheral wall 13, directed to the rear away from the diffusion screen, surrounds the framework 8 so that the view of the framework 8 and the reflector 4 from outside the headlight is effectively obstructed.

ITro At the same time, in order to prevent the view into the Sspace between the reflector 4 and the side wall of the S housing 1, the side of the tube 12 at the rear end passes a over into a sight-blocking screen 14. This screen 14 which is bent forward at an angle in the lateral region prevents the view of the adjustment device 7.

i .Even if lenses or prisms were mounted in the cover Ir r, panel 2 in the region in front of the adjustment device 7, to prevent seeing into this region of the headlight housing, they would cause this zone of the cover panel to appear S 20 darker in comparison with the other areas of the cover panel if the sight-blocking screen were not disposed where it is shown in Fig. 1. This stylistic improvement is still further *enhanced if the tube 12 and also the sight-blocking screen 14, together with the inside surface of the reflector 3 are all coated at the same time to have a silver appearance by metal-vapour deposition in the one operation.

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Claims

1. Headlight unit for vehicles, consisting of a high beam headlight and a dimming headlight both mounted in a common housing and adjustable about at least one axis, the reflectors of said headlights being combined into a single unit and disposed behind a common cover panel, where the dimming headlight has an elliptical reflector, a condensing lens, a diaphragm disposed in the path of the light beam behind the lens at its focal point, all being in a fixed assembly mounted on a framework, and a diffusion screen disposed in the path of the light beam in front of the lens, wherein a tube is moulded onto the side of the reflector for the high beam headlight, the central axis of said tube being disposed parallel to the optical axis of said high beam headlight, where said tube surrounds the lens and the framework disposed between said lens and the reflector of the dimming headlight and said tube carries the diffusion screen at its front free end.

2. The headlight unit in accordance with Claim i, wherein the tube on the side facing away from the high beam headlight reflector passes over into a sight-blocking screen which is approximately at the same distance in front of the dimming headlight reflector as the neighboring part of said high beam headlight reflector.

3. The headlight unit in accordance with Claim 1 or $oe Claim 2, wherein the tube has an opening at the top. 440000 o

4. The headlight unit in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the outside surface of the tube and of the front surface of the sight-blocking screen are coated i to have a silver appearance. DATED THIS 27th DAY OF NOVEMBER 1989 HELLA KG HUECK CO. -IA By Its Patent Attorneys: k4 h0 3)3\ GRIFFITH HACK CO. U. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys A 0, of Australia Ii