Patent Application
20080068853
The above and other aspects and features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.
Referring to
The first and second LED light source units 105 and 110 provide a light source for the lamp unit 100 by using one or more LED light sources. The amount of light produced by a lamp unit using an LED light source is generally less than the amount of light produced by a lamp unit using a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp or using a halogen light source. In order to address this, the lamp unit 100 may use a plurality of LED light sources. Referring to
Each of the first and second LED light source units 105 and 110 may also include a power supply unit (not shown) which turns on or off the LED light sources 210 or 220. The first LED light source unit 105 may include an upper row of LED light sources 210, and the second LED light source unit 110 may include a lower row of LED light sources 220. The power supply units of the first and second LED light source units 105 and 110 may generate a low beam or a high beam by turning on or off the first and second LED light source units 105 and 110. For example, when the first LED light source unit 105 is turned off and the second LED light source unit 110 is turned on, light emitted from the upper row of LED lights sources 210 is reflected downward by the reflection plate 120, thereby generating a low beam.
LEDs are light emitting devices with a luminous flux higher than a predetermined Lumen level, and may be used as light sources for a lamp unit. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a light source may include an LED module which has a plurality of LEDs with a luminous flux of 10-250 lumen. In this case, the total luminous flux of the LED may account for 600-1000 lumen, thereby satisfying a required luminous flux for standard LEDs.
The reflection plate 120 comprises a reflection surface 130 that reflects light emitted from the first or second LED light source unit 105 or 106 forward. The reflection surface 130 can divided into one or more cells with different curvature radiuses or focal points. In this case, it is possible to control the direction and the dispersion of light emitted from the first or second LED light source unit 105 or 110 in units of cells of the reflection plate 120 and thus to generally control the patterns of beams.
The reflection surface 130 is opposite to the first or second LED light source unit 105 or 110, not surrounding the first or second LED light source unit 105 or 110.
The reflection plate 120 may have various structures. For example, a parabolic reflection plate, a linear reflection plate, or an optical reflection plate may be used as the reflection plate 120. The main body of the reflection plate 120 may be formed of a metal such as steel or flame-resistant steel or a heat-resistant plastic material such as a heat-resistant polycarbonate (PC). The main body of the reflection plate 120 may include a coating layer obtained by depositing a highly-reflective material such as aluminum or silver powder in a vacuum or non-vacuum atmosphere.
The reflection surface 130 may have a predetermined angle so as to reflect light emitted from the first or second LED light source unit 105 or 110 forward, as illustrated in
An operation of the lamp unit 100 will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to
The first and second LED light units 105 and 110 may provide a light source for the lamp unit 100. The first and second LED light units 105 and 110 may respectively include two rows of LED light sources, and may be selectively turned on or off according to whether a beam to be generated is a high beam or a low beam.
For example, in order to generate a low beam, the first LED light source unit 105 may be turned on, and the second LED light source unit 110 may be turned off. In this case, light emitted from the first LED light source unit 105, which is located above the second LED light source unit 110, may be projected low as a low beam after being reflected by the reflection plate 120. Here, as the angle of incidence of light becomes large, the angle of reflection also becomes large.
On the other hand, a high beam may be generated by turning off the first LED light source unit 105 and turning on the second LED light source unit 110. The angle of incidence of light is less when the second LED light source unit 110 is turned on, as illustrated in
As another example, a high beam may be generated by turning on the first LED light source unit 105 and the second LED light source unit 110. The intensity by the first LED light source unit 105 and the second LED light source unit 110 could be increased more than the case of turning on only the second LED light source unit 110.
According to the present invention, it is possible to generate a low beam or a high beam by selectively turning on or off two rows of LED light sources, without requiring a mechanical manipulation.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to generate both a low beam and a high beam using a lamp unit or multiple lamp units while increasing the space efficiency.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2006-0089798 | Sep 2006 | KR | national |
