Automotive headlight having optics in the reflector
US4481563A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 10, 1982 |
| Grant date | Nov 6, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 10, 2002 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF21S41/335
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An automotive headlight has a clear unfluted front cover and a reflector which directs light from a source through the front cover in a desired pattern. The reflective surface is smooth and continuous formed of two edge ellipsoids and a center ellipsoid joined in smooth continuous junctions. The center ellipsoid is modified to include a smooth vertical bump and the ellipsoids are tilted off the axis of the headlight. The headlight is formed by a digital computer aided process which includes tracing the paths of a plurality of light rays emanating from a digitally modeled light source, intersecting a reflector modeled by digital shape functions and projected onto a sphere surrounding the reflector. The light intensity across a part of the sphere is compared with the prescribed automotive headlight specifications. The parameters of the shape functions are changed and the process is performed iteratively to produce a light intensity best matching the specifications.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.