US1417053A - Focusing device - Google Patents

Description

C. E. GODLEY'.

FOCUSING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, 1921.

1P altented Ma ENTOg,

CRILES E. GODJLEY, 01E DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FOCUSING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, I922.

Application filed May 23, 1921. Serial No. 471,615. I

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, C ARLES E. Goonnx, a citizen of the United States, and residlng at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Focusing Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for supporting electric light bulbs in proper position in the reflectors of electric headlights, and its object is to provide a supporting device of this character which may be adjusted to bring the point of light of the bulb to the focal center of the reflector:

As the electric headlight art has progressed, the necessity of having the point of brightest light of the light bulb at the focal center of the reflector has steadily become more evident and numerous devices more or less complicated have been suggested to meet this demand. I have found that the number of light bulbs which are used in an ordinary automobile headlight is quite limited as a rule, as the average life of a motor vehicle is only a few years. It is therefore very desirable that the adjustable support for the light bulb be of the simplest and most inexpensive character, especially in view of the fact that it is to be used so seldom and so few times.

The present invention consists in a flexible thimble attached to the reflector of the headlight and adapted to receive any of the well known focusing connectors now on the market and which are generally interchangeable.

It further consists in the details of construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of a reflector provided with my improved light bulb supporting device, the point of illumination of the light bulb being in alinement with its base and at the focus of the reflector. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a light bulb with its point of illumination at one side of the axis of its base. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section of this improved supporting device.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Headlights for automobiles and launches are at present usually provided with parabolic reflectors which are quite accurate and if the illuminating filament of the light bulb were concentrated at substantially a point located at the focus of from the reflector would be concentrated in a beam of limited size. But the illuminating filament is necessarilyofsome area so that a portion of the projected light is diffused which condition is greatly increased when this filament is at one side or another of the focal axis of the reflector.

In the drawing, 1 indicates any of the usual reflectors designed for headlights for automobiles, launches and other uses, and 2 is a thimble attached to the central part of the reflector. This thimble is formed of soft metal, preferably mild steel, and has circumferential heads 3, 4 and 5 and a flange 6 which together with the head 5 secures the thimble to the reflector. The thimble 2 is adapted to receive a connector sleeve 7 of any desired type, the present drawing illustrating one of well known design embodying a retaining spring 8.

A conductor 9 extends into the rear end of the connector sleeve while the base 10 of the light bulb 11 extends into the front end. In Fig. 1 I have shown a bulb 11 with its filament 12 in central alinement with its base, which permits the thimble 2 to remain in its original shape. But in Fig. 2 the filament 12 is at one side of the central line of the bulb 11 and of its base 10*, and to bring this filament to the focus of the reflector, the thimble has been bent at the heads 3 and 4: and perhaps 5 so as to move the connector sleeve to a position at an angle to the axis of the reflector, but which carries the filament 12 to the focal axis of the reflector, the connector being moved longitudinally as required to focus the bulb. Such bending is possible many dozen times when the thimble is of proper material without breaking it.

The details of this thimble and the manner of securing it in position may all be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. The combination of areflector, a flexible thimble mounted thereon, a connector sleeve in the thimble, and a light bulb mounted in the sleeve and adapted to be moved transversely to the focal axis of the reflector by bending the thimble.

2. The combination of a reflector, a flexible thimble mounted thereon, a connector sleeve in the thimble, and a light bulb the reflector, the rays bulb therefor, and a flexible thimble extendlng outwardly from the center of the reflector and supporting" the light bulb and adapted to be bent to position the illuminating filament of the bulb at the focus of the reflector.

CHARLES E. GODLEY.

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