Patent Application
20150184819
The present invention relates to a device for emitting a light beam and a light, especially for an automotive vehicle, comprising said device.
Lights are known allowing a light beam that is bounded by a cut-off line at a certain level above ground level to be produced. Said cut-off line is produced using masks and/or reflectors.
In order to ensure that the beam is neither too high nor too low, it is necessary for adjustment of the vertical position of said cut-off line to be possible. To make this adjustment, devices are employed that allow the masks or reflectors, movable by design, to be moved.
This being so, the use of hinged masks or reflectors has certain drawbacks and it is advantageous to provide solutions employing other movable members.
The invention therefore provides a device for emitting a light beam, comprising a lens and means for producing a cut-off line in the beam, said device being configured to allow a position of said cut-off line to be adjusted in a given direction, especially vertically, depending on an angular position of said lens about a hinge axis, said lens comprising what is called an optical part for transmission of the beam and a part that hinges in rotation about said hinge axis.
Thus, a beam-emitting device is obtained that does not depend on hinged masks or reflectors to position the cut-off line of the beam.
Said optical part and said hinge part are advantageously made of the same material.
Advantageously, said hinge part and said optical part are made of an integral piece of material. The lens may thus be a single moulded part. This also improves the precision with which the emitting device can be mounted.
In various embodiments of the invention, which may be taken together or separately:
The invention also relates to a light, especially for an automotive vehicle, comprising the emitting device described above. Said light for example comprises a casing taking the form of a substantially cylindrical jacket.
Said casing comprises an internal face that may be equipped with ribs for guiding said hinge arms of the holder.
Said internal face of the casing advantageously comprises ribs for snap-fastening said hinge part of the lens.
According to one aspect of the invention, said casing is configured to allow said holder to be rear-mounted. In one variant, said casing is configured to allow said casing to be front-mounted, especially along the orientation of said guiding and/or snap-fastening ribs provided on said casing.
Said light may be a fog light, emitting a beam with a linear cut-off, intended to be an upper horizontal cut-off line when the light is in operation, although this application must in no way be considered as limiting.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the following detailed description which will be better understood with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
As illustrated in
According to the invention, said device is configured to allow a position of said beam cut-off to be adjusted in a given direction, especially the vertical direction, depending on an angular position of said lens 1 about a hinge axis 3 intended to be oriented along the Y-Y axis of the vehicle equipped with said device. Still according to the invention, to allow this adjustment to be carried out, said lens 1 comprises what is called an optical part 4 for transmission of the beam and a part 5 that hinges in rotation about said hinge axis 3.
A solution is thus obtained by virtue of which adjustment of the cut-off line is carried out by actuating a member, namely the lens 1, serving for transmission of the beam.
Said optical part 4 and said hinge part 5 are advantageously made of the same material. Advantageously, said hinge part 5 and said optical part 4 are made of an integral piece of material. The lens may thus be a single moulded part.
Said device furthermore comprises a light source 6 especially a light-emitting diode, placed upstream of said lens 1 along an optical axis of said device.
Said cut-off line is obtained here by a mutual arrangement of said lens 1 and of said light source 6, as is known in particular from documents EP 1 762 776, especially the embodiments corresponding to
Advantageously, said hinge axis 3 substantially passes through said light source 6. Said lens 1 will furthermore have a focal point at said light source 6. A beam is thus obtained the characteristics of which do not vary as a function of the angular position of the lens 1 and which therefore do not depend on the position of the cut-off line.
Said optical part 4 extends, for example, from arms 7 of said hinge part 5 while getting radially further away from said hinge axis 3. In other words, said lens 1 comprises sides extending towards said hinge axis 3 from a frontal zone 8 of said lens 1, said frontal zone 8 being the part of said lens 1 located furthest from said hinge axis 3. Said optical part 4 of the lens 1 in particular extends to said frontal zone 8.
Said arms 7 are located on either side of said optical part 4, along the direction of said hinge axis 3. They for example comprise swivels 9 for hinging the lens 1 about said hinge axis 3. Said swivels 9 are cylindrical in shape and are oriented along said hinge axis 3. Said device is configured to allow said swivels 9 to rotate on themselves about said hinge axis 3 and, therefore, the entire lens 1 to rotate about the same axis.
Between said swivels 9 said lens 1 leaves a free space where said light source 6 can be housed level with said hinge axis 3, as described above.
Said hinge part 4 furthermore here comprises means for driving said lens 1 in rotation. Said driving means for example comprise at least one fork 11 comprising ribs intended to interact with an adjusting screw 12 that is oriented transversely and especially orthogonally to said rotation axis 3 and/or to said ribs. Said adjusting screw 12 will be described in more detail below.
Here, said forks 11 emerge from said swivels 9. They comprise lateral sides 13 radially oriented relative to the rotation axis. Said lateral sides 13 of the forks 11 are equipped with ribs 14 located mutually facing on each of said lateral sides 13. Said ribs 14 thus define a counterpart to a thread 15 located on said adjusting screw 12. Said ribs 14 advantageously extend radially and/or lie parallel to one another.
Said forks 11 will furthermore advantageously comprise a tab 16 (
Said driving means are advantageously positioned on either side of said optical part 4 of the lens 1, along said hinge axis 3. In other words, here a fork 11 such as described above is provided for each swivel 9. In this way an emitting device that can be used in lights intended to be located either on the right-hand side or the left-hand side of a vehicle is obtained via symmetrical placement of the adjusting screw.
Said device may furthermore comprise a fixed holder 17 for holding said lens 1. Said fixed holder 17 here comprising arms 18 enabling the rotational hinging of said lens 1. Said arms 18 are intended to interact with said hinge part 5 of the lens 1, in particular said swivels 9, in order to provide said lens 1 with a degree of rotational freedom about said hinge axis 3 under the action of the adjusting screw 12. Said arms 18 emerge radially from a base part 19 of said fixed holder 17 and they have a forked distal end 20 oriented radially so as to receive said swivels 9 while leaving them free to rotate about said hinge axis 3.
Said fixed holder 17 here furthermore comprises an electronic control board 21 located facing said base part 19 of said holder 17. Said board 21 especially serves to control said light source 6. Said hinge arms 18 of the fixed holder 17 lie on either side of said board 21, along said hinge axis 3.
Said control board 21 is advantageously radially offset along the rotation axis, i.e. here, along the longitudinal overall emission axis OA of the light source, relative to said light source 6. In other words, said light source 6 is a raised relative to said control board 21. It is thus easier to make said hinge axis 3 pass through said light source 6.
More precisely, here said light source 6 is located on a specific electronic board 22 of said device and said board 22 is raised relative to said control board 21, along said hinge axis 3. Said specific board 22 is, for example, an IMS board whereas said control board 21 is, for example, a board such as an FR4 board. Said specific board 22 is borne by said control board 21.
Said emitting device will furthermore possibly comprise a heat sink 23 provided behind said base part 19 of said fixed holder 17 and/or a sheet of adhesive material 40 allowing said control board 21 to be fastened to said base part 19 of said holder. Said heat sink 23 is more particularly in heat exchange relationship with said specific board 22.
This being so, the invention also relates to a light comprising said emitting device.
Said light comprises a casing 50 defining a housing 52 for said emitting device. Conventionally, said light may furthermore comprise a front glass 54 and optionally a style part or mask 56 located between said front glass 54 and said lens 1, along the optical axis of said emitting device.
Here said light furthermore comprises an annular seal 58 intended to seal said fixed holder 17 and said casing 50. It may also comprise an aerating device 57 allowing the housing 52 to be brought into communication with the exterior.
Said light also comprises said adjusting screw 12. Here the latter comprises a head 60 allowing it to be handled, a rod 62 extending axially from said head 60 and, along said rod 62, said thread 15 that is intended to interact with said ribs 14 of the lens 1. Said thread 15 is configured to allow said lens 1 to be rotated in an angular range, for example of +/−5°.
In one possible embodiment, said fixed holder 17 may comprise an open or closed outline, namely it may respectively comprise an indent 90, as for example illustrated in
The fork 11 of the hinge part may be made to extend sufficiently through the indent 90 or through-hole 92 for the adjusting screw 62 to hinge with the fork 11 of the hinge part behind said fixed holder. Thus, compactness is increased, which is particularly advantageous in the case of a fog light.
It is possible to produce the indent 90 or through-hole 92 in the fixed holder 17 between the hinge arms 18 of the fixed holder 17. This possibility is not limited to the illustrated examples.
Said casing 50 comprises at least one well 64 for the passage of said adjusting screw 12, here two so that said light can be used in either a right-hand or left-hand position, as described above. Said adjusting screw 12 comprises means 66, known to those skilled in the art, allowing it to hinge via a pivot connection in said wells 64.
Said casing 50 for example takes the form of a substantially cylindrical jacket. The said one or more wells 64 for the passage of the adjusting screws 12 are substantially oriented along two parallel chords inside said jacket.
Said casing 50 comprises an internal face 59 equipped with ribs 70 for guiding said hinge arms 18 of the fixed holder 17. Said guiding ribs 70 contribute to the fastening of said fixed holder 17 in said casing 50, via said hinge arms 18 of the fixed holder 17.
Said internal face 59 of the casing 50 may furthermore comprise ribs 72 (not shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1256966 | Jul 2012 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2013/064882 | 7/15/2013 | WO | 00 |
