Patent Abstract:
A multi-chamber lamp has a lamp housing with a plurality of reflectors. A closure pane is provided on the lamp housing. An intermediate pane, located between the reflectors and the closure pane extends over an entire light emergence plane of at least one reflector. The closure pane as well as the intermediate pane are at least partially free of optical function. The intermediate pane supports a shield device for the light source associated with the at least one reflector, which is surrounded by an optics-free area. A cover apparatus completely encompasses the at least one reflector provided with the intermediate pane and covers also a peripheral rim of the intermediate pane as well as shields an interior of the lamp housing from view from the outside.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention concerns a multi-chamber lamp for vehicles, with a lamp housing thereof having a plurality of reflectors, there being a common closure pane for the reflectors, and there being at least one intermediate pane extending over an entire light-emergence plane of at least one of the reflectors. 
     Such a multi-chamber lamp for vehicles is disclosed by German patent document DE 90 01 659 U1. The multi-chamber lamp has a lamp housing of plastic, a forward opening of which is enclosed by a plastic, light-transmissive, closure pane. A back wall of the lamp housing forms a plurality of bowl shaped reflectors, in each of which respectively, is an opening for receiving a light, as a light source, installed therein. The reflectors border on one another, up to partitions which extend between them. The partitions are molded on the back wall of the lamp housing. Some of the reflectors are commonly covered by an intermediate pane, which extends adjacent to free ends of the partitions, and spaced from the common closure pane. The closure pane and the intermediate pane have optical elements. The common closure pane has arranged on its inside, rectilinearly-shaped retroreflectors, between which light dispersing cylindrical lenses are arranged. The optical elements of the intermediate pane collect parallel-reflected light from the reflectors in such a manner, that the light is directed, bundled, between the rectilinearly arranged retroreflectors and is dispersed by the cylindrical lenses between the retroreflectors. The lights and the light receiver openings are concealed by the optical elements of the closure pane and intermediate pane, and, thus, are not regarded as disturbing when viewed from a forward side of the lamp. A disadvantage of this is, that the optical elements of the closure and intermediate panes have a matte, or dull, surface and thus illumination losses arise through the closure and intermediate pane, and the lamp, when not turned on, appears dull and lacks brilliance. The optical elements can only be produced with a matte surface, since half dies for molding optical elements would lose their exact surface shapes if they were polished. 
     DE 197 37 55 0 A1 discloses a tail light for vehicles, a housing of which has a single reflector. The lamp housing, on its forward side, is enclosed by a light-transmissive closure pane. This closure pane is made to be optics-free and permits a clear view of a reflecting surface of the reflector. The reflecting surface of the reflector has a facet-like structured surface. A light is in a central opening of the bowl shaped reflector, serving as a light source. The facet-like surface of the reflector diverts light from the light source in a desired direction and past a lamp cover arranged directly in front of the light source. The lamp cover is made of transparent plastic and is constructed from a retroreflector. The retroreflector is secured on the lamp housing by two laterally protruding clips. The clips, which serve as holders for the retroreflector, when looking into the interior of the light, extend inside in front of the reflecting surface of the reflector and are thus disturbing for a harmonic total impression of the tail light. 
     Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a multi-chamber lamp for vehicles, of a type described in the opening paragraph above, in which light losses through closure and intermediate panes become as small as possible and light emergence planes of reflectors can be made optionally independent of one another in their shapes; and, even with an uncomplicated structure for the lamp, areas surrounding the reflectors and one of the light sources neighboring the intermediate pane are blocked to the greatest extent from outside viewing, without a holding means serving for this blocking disturbing a harmonic appearance of the lights. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to principles of this invention, not only a closure pane, but also an intermediate pane, at least in partial areas thereof, are made to be optics-free, with the intermediate pane supporting a center shield device for a light source corresponding to its reflector, with the center shield device being encompassed by an optics-free area and at least the reflector corresponding to the intermediate pane being completely surrounded by a cover apparatus, which blocks off an interior of the lamp housing and an outer, peripherally-extending rim of the intermediate pane against being viewed from outside. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is described and explained in more detail below using an embodiment shown in the drawings. The described and drawn figures can be used individually or in preferred combinations in other embodiments of the invention. The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the invention in a clear manner. In this respect: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a multi-chamber lamp of this invention for vehicles particularly designed to be installed on a rear of a vehicle, 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line II—II in FIG. 1, and 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line III—III in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A multi-chamber lamp for vehicles has a lamp housing  1 , a forward opening of which is closed by a light-transmissive closure pane  6 . This closure pane  6  is sealingly welded to a peripheral outer rim of the lamp housing  1 . A back wall of the lamp housing  1  forms bowl shaped reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22  which are provided with a facet-like structured reflective areas  12 . The reflective areas  12  are provided with a reflecting surface. Light sources  4 ,  5 ,  14 ,  24 ,  25 , in the form of lights, are respectively arranged within the bowl shaped reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22  by being inserted through reflector openings and are secured in receptacles  26  at a rear side of the lamp housing  1 . 
     The reflectors  2 ,  3  are circularly structured at their light-emergent areas, or planes  11 , and are surrounded in a direction of emerging light, by a forward rim  17  of the lamp housing  1 . The reflectors  2 ,  3  are each covered by a circular, light-transmissive, intermediate pane  7 ,  8 . The intermediate panes  7 ,  8  respectively have in their central areas center shield devices  9 . Each center shield device  9  is formed as a retroreflector. The retroreflector is comprised of a bowl-shaped, circular plate, whose circumferential rim lies on a base of a recess  27  corresponding thereto, which is impressed in a side of the intermediate pane  7 ,  8  facing the closure pane  6 . The plate with the optics system of the retroreflector  9  is sealingly welded to the intermediate pane  7 ,  8 . Each of the intermediate panes  7  and  8  has a circular optics-free area  23  disposed circumferentially about the center shield device  9 . Outer circumferential rims of these circular areas border the forward rim  17  of the lamp housing  1  surrounding the reflectors  2 ,  3 . The closure pane  6  and the optics-free annular areas  23  of the intermediate panes  7 ,  8 , have smooth front and back sides. Because of this, the facet-like structured reflective surfaces  12  of the reflectors  2 ,  3  are clearly seen through the closure pane  6  and the annular areas  23  of the intermediate panes  7 ,  8 . Thus, these two reflectors  2 ,  3 , in a switched-off condition of the lights, present a brilliant appearance, and the lights  4 ,  5  are covered by the center shield devices  9 , without the optics-free areas  23 , which serve as retainers, disturbing operation of the intermediate panes  7 ,  8 . The reflectors  2 ,  3  provide tail light, while the reflector  3  additionally provides brake light. Above the two reflectors  2 ,  3 , the lamp housing  1  has the reflectors  20 ,  21 . The reflector  20  serves to provide back-up light and the reflector  21  for blinker light. The triangularly shaped reflector  22  is arranged laterally, beside the two reflectors  2 ,  3 , in an acute angle of the lamp housing  1 . The light source  14 , corresponding to the reflector  22 , is encapsulated in a light-transmissive light hood  15 . The light hood  15  has on its top surface a hood shield  16  formed of optical system elements. The optical elements of the hood shield  16  direct light emerging immediately out of the light source  14 . The reflector  22  and the optical elements of the light hood shield  16  provide a fog tail light. The light hood  15  is connected by a connection piece  13 , as one piece, with the intermediate pane  8 , while the intermediate panes  7 ,  8  are bound together as one piece by a connection piece  28 . A cover apparatus  10  is arranged between the closure pane  6  and the reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 , and the intermediate panes  7 ,  8 . The cover apparatus  10  is made as a frame-like cover which is of plastic and respectively forms circular openings for the reflectors  2  and  3 . One of two backward turned rims  18  of the frame-like cover apparatus  10  bordering the two openings extends beside the forward side of the optics-free area  23  of the intermediate pane  7  or  8 . The cover apparatus  10  extends, starting from the backward turned rim  18 , nearly to an inner side of the closure pane  6 . An outer side of the cover apparatus  10  has a reflecting surface. The cover apparatus  10  has, above the reflectors,  2 ,  3  a common opening for the immediately-adjacent reflectors  20 ,  21 . An outer rim of the cover apparatus  10  extends to the area of the reflector  22 , up to an outer rim of the lamp housing  1 , and thereby covers areas between the reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20 , and  21  and between the reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20  and  21  and the outer rim of the lamp housing. The cover apparatus  10  extends to the light hood  15  corresponding to the reflector  22  and thereby borders a side of the reflector  22 , while two other sides of the triangular reflector  22  are bordered by the outer rim of the lamp housing  1 . 
     The cover apparatus, together with the reflectors  2 ,  3 ,  20 ,  21 , at least in partial areas around the forward rim  17  of the lamp housing  1 , forms a separating apparatus between individual light chambers of the lamp. The closure pane  6  and the intermediate panes  7  and  8  are self secured by holding elements  19  onto the rear side of the lamp housing  1 . The intermediate panes  7 ,  8  and the light hood  15  and/or the closure pane  6  can serve as a filter. An incandescent light  25  for the blinker light has a yellow colored glass bulb. The closure pane  6  has, in the area of the reflectors  20 ,  21 , a window  29  without a filter function. The closure pane, up to the window  29 , is comprised of two layers  30 ,  31 . The layers  30 ,  31  are sprayed onto one another, with the layer  30  being an external coating, glass clear, and without a filter function, while the layer  31  is a substrate on the inside of the closure pane  6  and is colored red. 
     The closure pane and the intermediate pane over each reflector, at least in the area surrounding the shield device, can be finished on both the front and back sides with smooth surfacing. By this means, reflected light beams from the reflector suffer the least amount of loss upon passing through the intermediate and closure panes. Additionally, looking through the smooth intermediate and closure panes from the forward side of the lamp, the reflecting surface of the reflector is clearly visible. Such a light has, in its turned-off condition, a brilliant appearance. The optics-free area of the intermediate pane which surrounds the shield device serves to hold the shield device, which, in turn, serves to cover the light source and the light-receiving opening. In this regard, the shield device should be arranged directly in front of the light source. 
     Although the closure pane is designed to be optics-free, neither the outer rim of the intermediate pane, nor areas between the reflectors are disturbing to the eye, since these are blocked off by the cover apparatus. 
     The light source, corresponding to the shield device, is also well covered from an angled view into the interior of the light, if the optics-free area of the intermediate pane is apportioned in the most uniform way around the center shield device. This is achieved by arranging the shield device in a central area of the light pane and having its outer, peripheral edge correspond to the configuration of the backward-turned rim of the cover apparatus which borders on the intermediate pane. 
     The intermediate pane is securely held in the interior of the lamp housing, by having the rear side of the intermediate pane extend to a forward rim of the lamp housing, which encompasses the reflector and by having its forward side extend adjacent the backward-turned rim of the cover apparatus. In this way, the intermediate pane is held with the least possible play between the housing and the cover apparatus. 
     In the case of two neighboring intermediate panes, it is advantageous, for these to be constructed of one piece of material and to be respectively peripherally encompassed by the cover apparatus. In this manner, the intermediate panes are economical to produce and mounting is simple and quickly accomplished. In this regard, it is of further advantage for an intermediate pane to be formed as one piece with a light-source-receiving hood via a connection piece, with the connection piece being obscured by the cover apparatus and with at least a top surface of the light hood having a shield device. Use of a light hood is especially advantageous when the cover apparatus itself extends up to the light hood so that the connection piece is completely covered by the cover apparatus. 
     Furthermore, it is advantageous, for the hood shield of the light hood and the shield device of the intermediate pane to be constructed of optical elements. The optical elements can collect or disburse light emerging directly from the light source, or can form a retroreflector. 
     In the case of a facet-like structured reflecting surface of the reflectors, the lights serving as light sources cannot be recognized as mirror images in the reflecting surface. 
     In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the rim-like cover apparatus between the reflectors and the closure pane serves as the cover apparatus. The rim-like cover apparatus can be provided with a reflecting surface on its forward surface, similar to that of the reflectors. The surface of the cover apparatus can also be made to match a coloring of the vehicle. In this connection it is further practical that the intermediate pane as well as the cover apparatus are provided with holding elements which are self affixing, or snapping, to the lamp housing. The holding elements may be of spring-like detention arms which engage automatically with openings in the backside of the housing for the detention arms. When the closure pane is placed on the lamp housing and welded thereto, the cover part can be simultaneously welded to the lamp housing.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1