Patent Application
20170023200
The present invention generally relates to vehicle headlamp assemblies, and more particularly to vehicle headlamp assemblies employing multi-beam headlamps.
Headlamps that satisfactorily illuminate the road ahead of a vehicle without causing glare have long been sought to provide safety benefits during low light operation of a vehicle. It is therefore desired to implement headlamps that include advantageous features for better illuminating the area proximate the front of a vehicle.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle headlamp assembly is disclosed. The vehicle headlamp assembly includes a housing defining an interior cavity. The housing includes a light transmissive portion and a reflector. The housing also defines an interior cavity. A first light source is disposed within the cavity and configured to emit a first, lower intensity wavelength of light and a second, higher intensity wavelength of light. A second light source is also disposed within the cavity and configured to emit the first and the second wavelengths of light disposed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a headlamp system for a vehicle is disclosed. The headlamp system includes a first headlamp housing defining a first cavity therein. A plurality of multiple-beam light sources is disposed within the first cavity. The headlamp system also includes a second headlamp housing defining a second cavity therein. A plurality of multiple-beam light sources is disposed within the second cavity. The second housing is disposed on an opposing side of a vehicle centerline to the first housing. A pair of reflectors is disposed within each of the first and second housings and configured to direct the light emitted from each light source in a desired beam pattern.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a headlamp assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes a housing defining first and second cavities. The first cavity is disposed above the second cavity. A first light source configured to emit first and second intensities of light is disposed within the first cavity. A second light source configured to emit first and second intensities of light is disposed within the second cavity. An electrical connector is electrically coupled to a controller disposed within the vehicle for controlling an activation state of each light source in response to at least one vehicle-related condition.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to a detailed design and some schematics may be exaggerated or minimized to show function overview. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.
The following disclosure describes a headlamp assembly configured to illuminate an area forwardly of a vehicle. The headlamp assembly may advantageously employ a plurality of multi-beam headlamps on each left and right side of the front of the vehicle to illuminate a targeted area in response to pre-defined events. The plurality of multi-beam headlamps may be configured to cooperate so as to form uniform high and low-beam patterns 44, 46.
Referring to
The headlamp assembly 10 includes a housing 24 defining at least one cavity 26. The housing 24 includes an outer surface 28 and a reflector 30. The outer surface 28 substantially encompasses the components of the headlamp assembly 10 and provides appropriate fixation members for fixing the headlamp assembly 10 to a desired location on the vehicle 14. The outer surface 28 may also protect the headlamp assembly 10 from physical and chemical damage arising from environmental exposure.
The reflector 30 may extend along at least part of a contoured inner surface of the housing 24. The reflector 30 may be formed from a polymeric material or any other suitable material known in the art. The reflector 30 may include low and high-beam reflector surfaces 32, 34. The low-beam reflector surfaces 32 are shaped to generate a low-beam lighting pattern 44 (
The headlamp assembly 10, as shown, includes first and second multi-beam light sources 36, 38, and a third light source (e.g., a turn signal) therein. It should be appreciated, however, that any other illumination device may be disposed within the headlamp assembly 10 positioned on any portion of the vehicle 14 (e.g., the front portion 12 of the vehicle 14). It should be appreciated that any and/or all of the light sources 36, 38, 40 disposed on the front portion 12 of the vehicle 14 may be in a single housing 24, or alternatively, may all be independently disposed in separate housings 24.
It is noted that the headlamp assembly 10 described herein is adapted to be coupled to the front portion 12 of the vehicle 14 on either the left-hand or right-hand sides of the vehicle centerline 22. The left-hand and right-hand headlamp assemblies 10 will function in a similar manner having nearly identical componentry. The headlamp assemblies 10 may be mirror images of each other as disposed on opposing sides of the vehicle 14. However, it should also be appreciated that the headlamp assemblies 10 on opposing sides of the vehicle 14 may not be mirror images of each other so as to form a desired beam pattern 42 (
Referring to
A low-beam pattern 44 is intended to illuminate the area forwardly of the vehicle 14 when meeting or closely following another vehicle. As illustrated in
A high-beam is intended primarily for distance illumination and for use when not meeting or closely following other vehicles. High-beam headlamps allow center-weighted light distribution without any control over light directed toward any other highway users. For high-beam, FMVSS 108 currently specifies the intersection of the vertical and horizontal reference lines as the point of maximum intensity of the beam pattern 42. It is important to note that FMVSS 108 does not require the two beam patterns 44, 46 to have respective maximum intensities at these two locations, here called the specified hot points; it requires only that the two beam patterns 44, 46 have at least some specified respective intensities at those specified hot points. Thus it is possible to satisfy FMVSS 108 by providing beams that have the required intensities at the specified hot points, but actually have higher intensities elsewhere. According to one embodiment, the headlamp assembly 10 is configured to match the beam patterns 44, 46 illustrated in
Referring to
As illustrated in
According to one embodiment, the first and second light sources 36, 38 may be configured such that each light source 36 may produce high and low-beam patterns 44, 46. One such method of implementing both the high-beam and low-beam into a single light source 36 is by providing a bulb 62 with two filaments; a high-beam filament 64 (
Accordingly, the vehicle 14 may include four light sources 36, 38, each independently capable of providing a high-beam and a low-beam for illumination forwardly of the vehicle 14. It should be appreciated, however, that the vehicle 14 may include additional light sources 40 that illuminate an area forwardly of the vehicle 14. The additional light sources 40 may be configured as single beam or multi-beam light sources. Alternatively, the first and second light sources 36, 38 may be configured such that low and high-beam reflector surfaces 32, 34 cooperate to provide the full low beam 44 and/or high beam 46 pattern when first and second light sources 36, 38 are simultaneously illuminated.
Still referring to
The light sources 36, 38 produce light rays 92, 94 (
A pair of light shields 68, 70 may be disposed in front of the respective first and second light sources 36, 38. The light shields 68, 70 are configured to block incident light from the light source(s) 36, 38 from projecting forwardly of the vehicle 14. The light shields may be additional components of the headlamp assembly 10, may be integrally formed with the housing 24, or may be disposed on each light source 36 depending on the specific componentry of the headlamp assembly 10 utilized.
According to one embodiment, the first and second light sources 36, 38 simultaneously illuminate in cooperation to form a combined, uniform beam pattern 42. Moreover, the simultaneous illumination of the first and second light sources 36, 38 may also provide an appearance of symmetrical illumination projecting from the headlamp housing 24 while the light sources 36, 38 form a low-beam or high-beam pattern 44, 46 by illuminating a substantial portion of the housing 24.
The rear portion 58 of the housing 24 may include at least one electrical connector 50 which provides electrical connection to an associated light source 36 that shines light forwardly of the vehicle 14. Each light source 36, 38 disposed in the headlamp assembly 10 may also be positioned in any orientation such that a desired beam pattern 42 may be formed. As illustrated, the first and second light sources 36, 38 are laterally outboard in respect to the center point of each respective cavity 26, 48 with each light source 36, 38 positioned upwardly.
Referring to
The housing 24 may include a plurality of cavities 26, 48, each having at least one light source 36 therein. As illustrated, the housing 24 includes two cavities 26, 48 containing a first and second light source 36, 38. The cavities 26, 48 may be substantially symmetrical. Alternatively, the first and second cavities 26, 48 may vary in shape for design purposes or to create a desired beam pattern 42. As illustrated, the first cavity 26 has an asymmetrical reflector 72 along a vertical centerline to project light downwardly in respect to the center line of the reflector 72. The second cavity 48, conversely, is configured with a more symmetrical reflector 74 such that the light may project along a vertical center line of the second reflector 74.
As discussed above, the first and second light sources 36, 38 may be dual filament bulbs 62, wherein each filament 64, 66 is carried in a fixed special relationship to the other. In such a configuration, each light source 36, 38 may produce both at least a high-beam 46 and a low-beam 44. Further, the first and second light sources 36, 38 have a substantially similar shape, power output, and power input requirements. It is contemplated, however, that each light source 36, 38 may vary in specifications from any other light source 36, 38 in the housing 24 to create any desired beam pattern 42.
The headlamp assembly 10 further includes electrical connectors 76, 78, 80 connecting each light source 36, 38, 40 to a central electrical connector 50. In alternate embodiments, however, a central electrical connector 50 need not be utilized. The central electrical connector 50 is electrically coupled to a controller 82 and a power source 84 via conductive leads 86. In this manner, the first and second light sources 36, 38 may be selectively activated using the controller 82 to cause each light sources 36, 38 to illuminate at a desired intensity. For example, the controller 82 may activate the first and second light sources 36, 38 at a first intensity to create a low-beam pattern 44. Alternatively, the controller 82 may activate the first and second light sources 36, 38 at a second intensity resulting in a high-beam pattern 46. Alternatively still, the controller 82 may activate the first and second light sources 36, 38 independently to create a plurality of additional beam patterns 42. The intensities of light emitted from each light source 36, 38 may also be proportionally varied to one another such that additional variations may be obtained.
A vehicle 14 may use a plurality of multi-beam light sources 36, 38 on either side of the vehicle 14 to obtain advantageous lighting conditions. According to one embodiment, the headlamp assembly 10 described herein may produce a low-beam light collection of approximately 730-750 lumens compared to the 500 lumens of a traditional lighting system. The headlamp system described herein may also produce a high-beam light collection of approximately 1000-1100 lumens compared to the 700 lumens of a traditional lighting system. Moreover, the headlamp assembly 10 may produce a low-beam range and width of approximately 105-115 meters and 25-28 meters, respectively, versus to 102 meters and 23 meters of a traditional lighting system. Similarly, the headlamp assembly 10 described herein may produce a high-beam range of approximately 180-190 meters versus 179 meters for a traditional lighting system.
The advantageous lighting characteristics of the headlamp assembly 10 may cause a driver, or occupant, of a vehicle 14 employing the headlamp assembly 10 described herein to see more light forwardly of the vehicle 14 when utilizing low and high-beams. The occupants may also see a wider and longer area illuminate forwardly of the vehicle 14 when the light sources 36, 38 are illuminated.
Referring to
At one end, the bulb 62 may have a curved surface that may include a point 88 for focusing light emitted therefrom. The opposing end of the bulb 62 includes a sealing portion that includes connectors 76 and any additional components of the bulb 62. The electrical connectors 76 provide power to and may support the filaments 64, 66 disposed within the bulb 62. A portion of the electrical connectors 76 extend through the sealing portion and couple to the central electrical connector 50. The bulb 62 may further include a screen 90. According to one embodiment, the screen 90 may be configured as a material within the bulb 62 that prevents light from reflecting off undesired portions of the reflector 72. Alternatively, the screen 90 may be configured in the form of a layer of paint on a surface of the bulb 62.
Exemplary light rays 92, 94 are illustrated for indicating the cooperation between the first light source 36 and the reflector 72. It should be appreciated that the second light source, which may be disposed within the same housing 24 may operate in a similar manner, as could the headlamp assembly 10 disposed on any other portion of the vehicle 14. The rays 94 emitting from the first filament 66 are emitted by the headlamp assembly 10 subsequent to reflection in a horizontal direction. A beam 92 from the second filament 64 may leave the headlamp in a downward direction due to the front position of the second filament 64. According to one embodiment, the rays 94 emanating from the second filament 64 lying beyond the range determined by the angle may not reflect off of the lower half of the reflector 72. This may be prevented by the screens 90.
According to one embodiment, the reflector 72 may have a substantially parabolic shape. However, it is contemplated that the reflectors 72 may have any practicable shape. For example, a complex-shaped nonparabolic reflector 72 may allow for the distribution of light for high and low-beam without the need for lens 56 and/or optics. This is accomplished by creating reflectors 72 with individual segments of specifically calculated, complex contours. Design and production of such reflectors 72 may require tight tolerances to maintain a desired beam pattern 42.
A light source 36 may be positioned at or near the focus of the reflector 72 (parabolic or of non-parabolic complex shape). Then a headlamp lens 56 with optics molded-in, is placed in front of the reflector 72, refracting (shifting) parts of the light vertically and laterally to produce the required pattern of light distribution, if a lens 56 is used in the headlamp assembly 10 being implemented. It should be appreciated that each light source 36 may have a unique lens 56, or all light sources 36, 38 may have a substantially similar lens 56 disposed proximately thereto.
Referring to
In operation, the controller 82 may prompt each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 to emit only a first, low intensity 112 wavelength of light to cause the plurality of multi-beam headlights to cooperate in forming a desired low-beam pattern 44. Alternatively, the controller 82 may prompt each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 to emit only a second, higher intensity 114 wavelength of light to cause the headlamps to cooperate in forming a high-beam pattern 46. Alternatively still, the controller 82 may prompt a first portion of the light sources 104, 106, 108, 110 to emit the first intensity and a second portion to emit the second, higher intensity wavelengths of light simultaneously to cause an alternate beam pattern.
In another embodiment, the headlamp assembly 10 may include a user interface 102. The user interface 102 may be configured such that a user may control the wavelength of light that is emitted by each light source 104, 106, 108, 110. The user interface 102 may be disposed within the vehicle 14 cabin or on any surface that is accessible to the user during utilization of the headlamp assembly 10 described herein. The user interface 102 may use any type of control known in the art for control the light source 104, 106, 108, 110, such as, but not limited to, proximity sensors or a user actuated member and/or switch extending outwardly from the steering column within the vehicle 14 cabin.
With respect to the above examples, the controller 82 may modify the intensity of the emitted first and second wavelengths of light by pulse-width modulation or current control. In some embodiments, the controller 82 may be configured to adjust the output of the emitted light by sending control signals to adjust an intensity or energy output level of the light sources 104, 106, 108, 110. The controller 82 may also modify the intensity output of each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 based on available power supply. For example, the vehicle 14 may reduce the intensity of light emitting from each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 when a vehicle engine, and hence the alternator coupled to the engine, is in the off state. The controller 82 may subsequently raise the intensity of each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 once the engine is placed in the running state. Alternatively, only a portion of the light sources 104, 106, 108, 110 may be illuminated when the engine is in the off state such that power consumption may be reduced.
According to one embodiment, a light sensor may dynamically monitor the headlamp assembly 10 and light sources 36 therein. As the headlamp assembly 10 described herein may illuminate a larger area, the sensor may monitor and dynamically alter the lighting characteristics of the headlamp assembly 10. For example, as an oncoming vehicle approaches vehicle approaches a vehicle 14 employing the headlamp assembly 10 described herein, the sensor may communicate with the controller 82 to vary the lighting characteristics of the vehicle 14. According to one implementation, the controller 82 may deactivate one of the light sources 36 within each housing 24 so that a smaller area is illuminated in front of the vehicle 14 until the oncoming vehicle passes, at which time the controller 82 may re-illuminate each light source 36 within each housing 24.
Though a low level and a high level of intensity are discussed in reference to the emitted light, it shall be understood that the intensity of the light may be varied among a variety of intensity levels to adjust the intensity corresponding to the emitted light from the headlamp assembly 10. By adjusting the range of intensities 112, 114 that may be emitted from each light source 104, 106, 108, 110; the plurality of multi-beam light sources 104, 106, 108, 110 described herein may be operable to generate a range of unique, aesthetic appearances and features for the headlamp assembly 10. It is also contemplated that the intensity of each light source 104, 106, 108, 110 may be varied simultaneously, or independently, from any number of other light sources 104, 106, 108, 110.
Accordingly, a headlamp assembly configured to illuminate an area forwardly of a vehicle has been advantageously provided herein. The headlamp assembly may advantageously employ a plurality of multi-beam headlamps on each side of the vehicle to illuminate a targeted area in response to pre-defined events. The plurality of multi-beam headlamps may be configured to cooperate so as to form a uniform beam pattern 42 having both functional and decorative characteristics.
For the purposes of describing and defining the present teachings, it is noted that the terms “substantially” and “approximately” are utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term “substantially” and “approximately” are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
