Vehicle headlight comprising a light tunnel, a bend and a light passage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9719647-B2
Application number	US-201314652706-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2013
Priority date	Jan 23, 2013
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A vehicle headlamp comprising first second light sources and first and second lens. Each lens comprising a precision-molded, one-piece, element of a transparent material. Each one-piece element comprising a light tunnel and a light-conducting part having an optically effective light exit surface. The first lens light tunnel comprises an optically effective, light inlet surface and transitions into a light-conducting part while making a first bend for imaging the first bend as a light-shadow line by means of light coupled in or irradiated onto the light inlet surface. The second lens light tunnel comprises a second optically active, light inlet surface and transitions into a second light-conducting part while making a second bend for imaging the second bend by means of light coupled in or irradiated onto the light inlet surface, the second bend (substantially) being a variant of the first bend mirrored on a straight line.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle headlight, the vehicle headlight comprising:
a first light source,
at least one second light source,
a first headlight lens comprising a first body of transparent material, the first body of transparent material comprising:
a first light tunnel comprising at least one first light entry face, and
a first light passage section including at least one first optically effective light exit face, wherein the first light tunnel, via a first bend, forms transition into the first light passage section for imaging the first bend as a bright-dark boundary by means of light irradiated from the first light source into the first light entry face, and

at least one second headlight lens comprising a second body of transparent material, the second body of transparent material comprising:
at least one second light tunnel comprising at least one second light entry face, and
a second light passage section including at least one second optically effective light exit face, wherein the second light tunnel, via a second bend, forms transition into the second light passage section for imaging the second bend by means of light irradiated from the second light source into the second light entry face,

wherein the second bend is essentially configured as a mirror image variant of the first bend, and
wherein the vehicle headlight is configured such that, a low-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source being switched on and a high-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source and the second light source being switched on.

2. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 1 , the first bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

3. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 2 , the second bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

4. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 1 , the first bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of at least 0.05 mm.

5. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 4 , the second bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of at least 0.05 mm.

6. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 1 , the first light exit face being segmented.

7. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 6 , the second light exit face being segmented.

8. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 1 being configured such that light made to enter the second light tunnel via the second light entry face is directed onto an area above the bright-dark boundary.

9. A vehicle headlight, the vehicle headlight comprising:
a first light source,
at least one second light source,
a headlight lens comprising a monolithic body of transparent material, the monolithic body of transparent material comprising:
a first light tunnel comprising at least one first light entry face,
a light passage section including a first optically effective light exit face and at least one second optically effective light exit face, wherein the first light tunnel, via a first bend, forms transition into the first light passage section for imaging the first bend as a bright-dark boundary by means of light irradiated from the first light source into the first light entry face, and
a second light tunnel, which comprises at least one second light entry face and, via a second bend, forms transition into the light passage section for imaging the second bend by means of light from the second light source irradiated into the second light entry face, and wherein the second bend is essentially configured as a mirror image variant of the first bend, and

wherein the vehicle headlight is configured such that, a low-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source being switched on and a high-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source and the second light source being switched on.

10. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 9 , the first bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

11. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 10 , the second bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

12. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 9 , the first light exit face being segmented.

13. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 12 , the second light exit face being segmented.

14. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 9 being configured such that light made to enter the second light tunnel via the second light entry face is directed onto an area above the bright-dark boundary.

15. A vehicle headlight, the vehicle headlight comprising:
a first light source,
at least one second light source,
a headlight lens comprising a body of transparent material, the body of transparent material comprising:
a first light tunnel comprising at least one first light entry face,
a light passage section including a first optically effective light exit face and at least one second optically effective light exit face, wherein the first light tunnel, via a first bend, forms transition into the first light passage section for imaging the first bend as a bright-dark boundary by means of light irradiated from the first light source into the first light entry face, and
a second light tunnel, which comprises at least one second light entry face and, via a second bend, forms transition into the light passage section for imaging the second bend by means of light from the second light source irradiated into the second light entry face, wherein the second bend is essentially configured as a mirror image variant of the first bend, and wherein the transparent body is configured that
light entering the transparent body through the first light entry face and entering the passage section from the first light tunnel in the region of the first bend exits from the first light exit face an angle of between −30° and 30° with respect to an optical axis, and
light entering the transparent body through the second light entry face and entering the passage section from the second light tunnel in the region of the second bend exits from the second light exit face an angle of between −30° and 30° with respect to the optical axis,

wherein the vehicle headlight is configured such that, a low-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source being switched on and a high-beam headlight is implemented by means of the first light source and the second light source being switched on.

16. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 15 , the first bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

17. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 16 , the second bend being a curved transition having a radius of curvature of no less than 50 nm and no more than 0.25 mm.

18. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 17 , the first light exit face being segmented.

19. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 18 , the second light exit face being segmented.

20. The headlight lens as claimed in claim 15 being configured such that light made to enter the second light tunnel via the second light entry face is directed onto an area above the bright-dark boundary.

Assignees

• Docter Optics Se

Inventors

• Wintzer Wolfram
• Scheibner Hans
• Mozaffari Mohsen

Classifications

• G02B19/0066

  in the form of an LED array · CPC title

• F21S41/27

  Thick lenses · CPC title

• F21Y2115/10

  Light-emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title

• G02B19/0061

  the light source comprising a LED · CPC title

• F21S41/265

  Composite lenses; Lenses with a patch-like shape · CPC title