Wide-angle headlighting and sidelighting assembly

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to vehicle lighting systems and more particularly to a headlighting and sidelighting assembly for an off-road vehicle.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Headlights for vehicles are known in various configurations. The conventional headlights typically include a housing, as well as a reflector, a lens, and a light source located between the reflector and the lens. Vehicles of various types, including automobiles and some conventional lawn tractors, have headlamps for producing light forward of the vehicle at night. The direction of illumination of the headlamps is typically fixed so that the main beam of light is applied directly forward of the vehicle. However, when the vehicle is traveling along a curve, the headlamps may not be able to sufficiently illuminate objects ahead of the vehicle. In other words, during travel along curves and in cornering, hazardous objects located in the path of the vehicle may not sufficiently be illuminated by the headlamps.

[0006] In addition, the need for cornering illumination may be amplified in the case of vehicles which do not have the cornering characteristics of a conventional automobile. For instance, where the vehicle is capable about a spin turn about its rear axle, even greater need exists for extending a beam of light to the side or rear of the vehicle to provide sufficient illumination. Vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors carrying vegetation cutting decks present a further dilemma in that the deck often extends beyond sides of tractor so that illuminating the path of the deck may require a wider and more rearwardly directed beam than required for illumination of the tractor path.

[0007] In an attempt to provide better lighting for operating a vehicle along curves and in cornering, vehicle cornering headlamp systems (such as that taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,323 issued to Shibata et al.) have been developed in which the direction of illumination of the headlights is varied in association with a steering wheel turning operation so that objects located in the actual path of the vehicle are illuminated. In addition, sidelighting arrangements, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,512 issued to Mouzas, are known to provide auxiliary lighting to the side of a vehicle under certain conditions. Also, some off-road vehicles, such as combines, have been provided with lighting systems for nighttime operation which include multiple floodlights disposed about the front and sides of vehicle. Each of these conventional lighting arrangements, however, represents substantial additional expense and is unduly taxing on the vehicle's electrical system.

[0008] The present invention is an improved headlight assembly for projecting illumination to the front and sides of an off-road vehicle. The headlight assembly takes the form of a pair of light housings at opposite sides of the front of a vehicle, each open toward the side and front of the vehicle. Each housing holds a light-emitting element and a reflector. The reflector forms divergent inner walls of the light housing, a first wall extending forwardly and inwardly (toward the longitudinal centerline of the tractor) and a second wall extending rearwardly and outwardly. The elements and reflectors on each side cooperate produce beams which overlap at the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle and extend rearward to effectively illuminate an area greater than 180° about the front of the vehicle.

[0009] FIG. 1 is an elevated front left perspective view of a lawn and garden tractor having headlight and sidelight assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lawn and garden tractor of FIG. 1 wherein the details of the headlight and sidelight assembly are shown in hidden lines; and

[0011] FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view taken through the front enclosure of the lawn and garden tractor showing in greater detail the headlight and sidelight assembly of FIG. 2.

[0012] Referring now to the drawings, there is shown the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a lawn and garden tractor vehicle 10 having a frame 12 beneath which is positioned a mower deck 14. A power source or engine (not shown) is carried beneath a hood formed as a unitary front enclosure 16 at the front of the vehicle 10. The front enclosure 16 includes a grille surface 18 which extends across a front end face of the enclosure and wraps around to the side faces of the enclosure. The engine is operatively coupled with the mower deck 14 for transmitting rotational power to mower blades within the mower deck 14. The mower blades rotate within the mower deck 14 to cut grass as the vehicle 10 travels across the ground. The vehicle 10 includes a front pair of caster wheels 20 that engage the ground and pivot as the vehicle 10 executes a turn. The vehicle 10 includes a rear pair of ground engaging wheels 22 that are operatively driven by the engine 16 for propelling the vehicle 10 across the ground. The operator can manipulate a steering wheel 24 to cause the rear wheels 22 to rotate at different speeds to thereby cause the vehicle 10 to execute turns of varying degree, including a spin turn wherein the wheels 22 are driven at equal speeds in opposite directions so that the vehicle 10 spins about its rear axle.

[0013] An operator station 26 is provided which includes a seat 28 upon which an operator sits during vehicle travel. A plurality of controls are positioned in the operator station 26 and are engageable by the operator for controlling the operation of the vehicle 10, including the steering wheel 24 which can be manipulated by the operator for causing the vehicle 10 to execute turns. In addition, foot pedals 29 are provided (shown in FIG. 2) and can be depressed by the operator for driving the vehicle 10 forwardly and rearwardly at varying speeds.

[0014] At the front of the vehicle 10, a headlight and sidelight assembly 30 is provided which includes a light housing 32, a reflector 34 and a light emitting element such as an incandescent bulb 36. A light housing 32 is molded as part of the front enclosure 16 at each side of the grille surface 18. The light housings 32 are mirror images of each other about a longitudinal centerline 38 of the vehicle 10. Each housing 32 is open to the front and rear of the vehicle 10 and includes a mounting surface 40 from which divergent inner walls 42,44 extend. The laterally outboard wall 42 of each housing 32 extends forwardly and inwardly (toward the longitudinal centerline 38 of the vehicle 10) and the laterally inboard wall 44 extends rearwardly and outwardly. Translucent lenses 46 are provided at the openings of the housing 32 so that the lenses 46 also wrap around from the front end face of the vehicle 10 to the sides. Although the lenses 46 may be constructed with various light diffusion characteristics, the lenses 46 are not critical to achieving desirable dispersion of light in the preferred embodiment. They are, however, useful for protecting the bulb 36.

[0015] The mounting surface 40 of each of the light housings 32 is shown in FIG. 3 as a generally planar vertical portion of the housing 32 having a hole 48 for receiving a light socket 50. The socket 50 receives the bulb 36 so that the bulb 36 may be positioned in front of (distally with respect to) the reflector 34, between the reflector 34 and the translucent lens 46. The socket 50 includes a wiring harness 52 for connecting the bulb 36 to a power supply and, for example, an on/off switch, if desired. The mounting surface 40 is shown perpendicular to a line 45° from the longitudinal centerline 38 of the vehicle so that the bulb 36, when mounted, will be directed along the 45° line. The bulb 36 is shown including a single filament 56. Although a single-filament bulb is shown in FIG. 2, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many conventional light-emitting elements may be used, including bulbs with multiple filaments. If a bulb 36 having a single filament 56 is used as shown in FIGS. 2-3, the filament 56 is preferably oriented vertically (into the page as viewed in FIG. 3) for optimal direct and reflected light distribution as light will radiate outwardly from the filament 56.

[0016] In the preferred embodiment, the inner walls 42, 44 are formed as part of the light housings 32 integrally with the grille surface 18 of the front enclosure 16 and the reflector 34 effectively covers the inner walls 42, 44 of each of the housings 32 to determine the pattern of light reflected from the bulb 36. The reflector 34 may take the form of a film such as a reflective mylar which is fixed to the walls (by adhesive, for example) to form a reflective surface on the inner walls 42, 44 to the exterior of the housing 32. Alternatively, the reflector 34 could be fashioned of a more rigid material so that inner walls of the housing 32 might consist solely of a reflector and the geometry of an inner surface of the reflector could be constructed according to the geometry of the inner walls 42, 44 herein described. In the preferred embodiment shown, the reflector 34 will substantially assume the geometry of the inner walls 42, 44 to which it is affixed.

[0017] The inner walls 42, 44 diverge from the mounting surface 40 and include curved portions 54 proximal to the mounting surface 40. The curved portions 54 may be used to direct a greater portion of reflected light to a targeted area (e.g., directly in front of the tractor), than would be achieved by an even dispersal of light by the reflector 34. If such a curved portion 54 is used, it may be desirable to make such portion parabolic in plan or paraboloidal with the filament 56 of the bulb 36 placed at the focus so that light from the filament 56 is reflected off of the particular portion of the inner walls 42, 44 in parallel rays toward a targeted area. Moving further from the mounting surface 40, the inner walls 42, 44 transition to flat portion 58 and then to a further outwardly turned portion 60 which may be utilized, for example, if available space within the front enclosure 16 constrains ability to create a greater angle of divergence along the entire extent of inner walls 42, 44 so that a wider beam of light may be provided. In addition, where the lenses 46 extend beyond the point where the flat portions 58, if extended, would intersect the lenses 46, the outwardly turned portions 60 provide an aesthetically pleasing, muted light rather than a harsh line of light indicating the extents of the housing 32 behind the lens 46.

[0018] Looking to FIG. 2, the beam pattern of light produced by the headlight and sidelight assembly 30 is shown. The left-side portion of the assembly (the left headlight) produces a beam of light in arc of angle w extending from reference line a (a line from the filament 56 of the bulb 36 toward the centerline 38 of the vehicle 10 in the most direct line achievable without interference from the inner wall 44 of the housing 32) to reference line b (a line from the filament 56 of the bulb 36 toward the side and rear of the vehicle 10 in the most direct line achievable without interference from the inner wall 42 of the housing 32), and the right-side portion (the right headlight) of the assembly 30 produces a beam of light which is a mirror image of the beam projected by the left-side portion about the longitudinal centerline 38 of the vehicle 10, in arc of angle x extending from reference line c (a line from the filament 56 of the bulb 36 toward the centerline 38 of the vehicle 10 in the most direct line achievable without interference from the inner wall 44 of the housing 32) to reference line d (a line from the filament 56 of the bulb 36 toward the side and rear of the vehicle 10 in the most direct line achievable without interference from the inner wall 42 of the housing 32). The respective beams of the left and right-side headlights overlap at the centerline 38 of the vehicle 10, so that together the headlight assembly 30 effectively illuminates an arc around the front of the vehicle 10 from reference line a to reference line d in an arc of angle y. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the angle y is approximately 270°, providing light around the front of the vehicle 10 to the front edges of the vegetation cutting deck 14.

[0019] One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation, and the present invention should be limited only by the claims that follow.