Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for characterizing the luminous intensity of a lamp using a curved mirror and curved screen

US5729336A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
5References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 6, 1996
Grant dateMar 17, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 6, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01J1/4257
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Apparatus for determining the luminous intensity distribution of an automotive head light employs a curved mirror and a curved screen. A solid state camera is used to obtain a pattern of the head light output from the screen. The system requires a relatively small black box into which the head light output is directed. A beam splitter may be employed to relax the constraints on the positioning of the various components within the box. The setting of the test lamp to first and to second preset lateral angular positions at each of which a pattern is captured and the combining of the two patterns permits the use of components which are practical. The use of a linear CCD array permits economies to be obtained by rotating the test lamp or the linear array over a sequence of angular positions and by constructing a composite pattern from the patterns so generated.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.