North American Lighting, Inc.

Hella Kg Hueck and Co.

Douglas F Kreysar

Ben Wang

Jianzhong Jiao

David R Jenkins

Gerhard Biermann

A reflector for a headlamp is divided into zones depending on the sizes of the light source images produced by the various parts of the reflector. Those parts of the reflector that provide smaller image sizes are used to supply light to the higher intensity parts of the road pattern. This allows greater control over glare and is particularly useful for headlamps having high intensity discharge as a light source. In one embodiment, a larger reflector is trimmed to be smaller and yet to retain portions that provide the small light source images.

Automotive headlamp reflector and method for its design

A headlamp for a vehicle includes a holder for a light-distribution optical fiber of the type that has an output end emanating light of known spatial-intensity distribution, an optical coupler that has an input end adjacent the holder and includes a plurality of elements, each of which is positioned to receive light from a selected area of the light of known spatial intensity distribution and to alter the intensity or spatial distribution of that light to provide a predetermined spatial intensity distribution at an output of said coupler, and a projection lens to project the predetermined spatial intensity distribution to a desired illumination pattern. The optical coupler may be in the form of a mask and one or more filters or may be a number of light-transmitting elements that carry light from one spatial part of the input to a different spatial part in the output. In general, the optical coupler alters the intensity or angular distribution of the light pattern at the input to produce a desired light pattern at the output for projection onto the road by the projection lens.

Optical coupler for distributive lighting system

A process for computer-assisted-design of an optical element allows for anticipation of errors that may arise in the actual manufacture of the element. A known optical design program is first operated to determine data representing the physical characteristics of the element that will provide a desired optical output. Then, the data representing the optimum physical characteristics are modified in accordance with a statistical distribution that represents the errors in the physical elements that are expected in the actual manufacture of the physical elements. The optical output is then determined for an optical element having the modified physical characteristics. This modified optical output is compared with the desired optical output to determine whether the designed optical element will produce the desired optical output when manufactured.

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West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Douglas F Kreysar