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US 6,659,631 B2Granted
Vehicle headlamp with shape memory adjusting means
AssigneeC.R.F. Societa Consortile per Azioni
InventorsFrancesco Butera, Bartolomeo Pairetti, Alessandro Zanella
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle headlamp having two glass panes carrying an array of micro-lenses that can be moved relative to each other both along the optical axis of the headlamp and along a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. These movements are controlled via a number of shape memory actuators.
Claims7
A vehicle headlamp, comprising:
- a fixed support structure;
- a light source mounted on the support structure,
- a thin transparent pane placed in a fixed position in front of the light source, and on which a number of micro-lenses are integrated with a matrix-like layout,
- a second thin transparent pane facing the first pane and separated from the first pane, on which a number of micro-lenses are also integrated in a matrix-like fashion, such that for each micro-lens of the first pane there are one or more corresponding micro-lenses on the second pane, forming a subgroup of the matrix of the second pane,
- the second pane being mobile in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the headlamp, and also in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis,
- the headlamp also including a first actuator means for controlling the movement of the second pane in the direction parallel to the optical axis of the headlamp and second actuator means for controlling the movement of the second pane in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis,
- wherein the first and second actuator means include shape memory actuator means.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.