Lighting device for a motor vehicle

US6290378A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Donnelly Hohe GmbH & Co. KG · DE

Inventors

• Harald Buchalla · Amorbach, DE
• Peter Furst · Burgstädt, DE
• Herwig Polzer · Miltenberg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 23, 1999
• Grant date: Sep 18, 2001
• Expiry date: Jul 23, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B60R1/1207
• WIPO field: Transport
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A lighting device (26) for arrangement on the external or internal rear view mirror of a motor vehicle is provided with a light source (27), the light rays of which emerge at a mirror housing opening and are deflected at a transparent light refraction element (33) arranged in the beam path. The plate-like light refraction element (33) has, at least on one side, a surface structure (36) by means of which the light refraction element is divided into several light refraction zones. To achieve a deflection of the light into a preferred direction the light refraction element (33) is designed in the manner of a Fresnel prism (33), the light refraction zones corresponding to prism zones of a prism body which are pushed together in stepwise manner. To intensify the deflection of the light beam into the preferred direction a decentralized condenser lens (31) may be arranged in front of the Fresnel prism (33).