The invention relates to a lighting module for a motor vehicle headlight, a module of the kind of those which comprise at least one light source and optical means for forming a light pattern, or pixel, comprising a zone illuminated along a vertical light strip delimited by two vertical edges.
EP2278217 discloses a lighting module for a motor vehicle ensuring such a function which makes it possible to ensure, in the motor vehicle domain, a “partial main beam mode”. The headlight of the vehicle is equipped with a number of modules which give a light beam, notably a main beam, made up of a number of adjacent and contiguous vertical strips. By switching off one or more of these vertical strips, it becomes possible to generate, in a main beam, one or more dark bands corresponding to points where there are oncoming vehicles or vehicles moving in front of the vehicle concerned, so as to avoid dazzling the other drivers while illuminating the road on either side of the vehicles which are passing by or which are in front. Such a function is called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) or GFHB (Glare Free High Beam).
A headlight equipped with such modules makes it possible to retain a lighting over a large road surface area, which is favorable to the driving.
The light beam made up of a number of vertical strips is generally called “matrix beam”. The pattern formed by the lighting strip is often called “pixel”.
When passing an oncoming vehicle, in particular one substantially at the same height as the vehicle concerned, the switching off of one or more strips of the light beam generally leads to a loss of light above the oncoming vehicle, which is a nuisance for the driving.
In the context of a hilly road, the switching off of at least one strip of the beam, to avoid dazzling oncoming vehicles or vehicles being followed, can lead to a loss of light nearby and to inadequate lighting on the nearby part of the road, which is also a nuisance for the driving.
Lighting assemblies are, moreover, known that have a left headlight and a right headlight, with a matrix of light sources, notably of LEDs, the beam of which is broken down into a matrix of a large number of zones which are illuminated independently (more than a hundred usually), the illumination of each zone being generated by at least one light source, generally two, one for each headlight. The large number of sources necessary and the complexity of the associated driving of the switching on of these sources makes such assemblies extremely costly to produce.
The aim of the invention is, above all, to provide a lighting module which makes it possible, simply and economically, to construct motor vehicle headlights and lighting assemblies suitable for retaining, in most cases, a lighting above and/or below an oncoming vehicle, or a vehicle being followed, regardless of the context of the road where the vehicles are moving.
According to the invention, a lighting module for a motor vehicle headlight, of the kind concerned, is characterized in that the optical means are provided or arranged to also form at least one light strip transversal to the vertical light strip, with at least two transverse edges, such that the light pattern comprises at least one vertical strip and at least one transverse strip which are contiguous.
Preferably, the transverse light strip is substantially at right angles to the vertical light strip.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the transverse light strip is the point of origin for at least one of the ends of the vertical strip.
The transverse light strip is advantageously situated at the top end of the vertical light strip and extends on the right side or on the left side of the vertical strip, to form an inverted L turned to the right or to the left.
According to another possibility, the light pattern is made up of a vertical light strip with, at each end of the vertical light strip, a transverse light strip which extends in opposite directions, that is to say one to the left and the other to the right.
According to another possibility, the light pattern comprises a vertical light strip, and on both sides of the top end of the vertical light strip, a horizontal light strip.
The light pattern can comprise a vertical light strip with, at its top end, a transverse light strip, of which the end remote from the vertical light strip joins another, upwardly directed, vertical light strip. In such a case, the light pattern comprises, for example, two vertical light strips and at least one transverse light strip, notably horizontal.
Advantageously, the transverse light strip extends over a distance equal to the width of the vertical light strip.
The optical means for forming a pattern with at least one vertical light strip and at least one transverse light strip can comprise a reflector which receives the light emitted by the source and reflects the light toward a projection device, notably a lens, situated in front of the reflector, a bottom reflecting portion being arranged in the bottom part of the reflector, the profile of this reflecting portion being modified to exhibit, on one edge, an area that is concave toward the front and curved toward the optical axis of the lighting module, the reflecting surface of this portion, turned toward the lens, being determined to create the transverse light strip of the light pattern. The reflector can be of cylindrical or parabolic type.
According to another possibility, the optical means for forming a pattern with at least one vertical light strip and at least one transverse light strip comprise an elliptical reflector which receives the light emitted by the source arranged at a first focal point of the reflector, which returns the light forward toward a second focal point where a mask is arranged in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis of the lighting module, this mask comprising an aperture whose form corresponds to that of the light pattern that the lighting module must generate, and a focusing lens whose focal point is merged with the second focal point of the reflector.
Preferably, the light source is a light-emitting diode. It can also be a laser source combined with a substrate carrying a luminophore.
The invention also relates to a motor vehicle headlight comprising a first lighting module for forming, advantageously only, a vertical central light strip, and at least one second lighting module comprising any one of the preceding features, for forming, on one side of this central light strip formed by the first lighting module, a light pattern with at least one transverse light strip which extends in one direction, and at least one third lighting module provided to form, on the other side of the central light strip formed by the first lighting module, a light pattern symmetrical to the pattern formed by the second lighting module relative to the central light strip formed by the first lighting module.
Preferably, the headlight comprises at least five modules, namely a first lighting module for a central and vertical light strip and, on each side of this first so-called central module, two modules of which at least one supplies light patterns with at least one transverse light strip. More preferentially, the headlight comprises at least seven modules, namely a first lighting module for a central and vertical light strip and, on each side of this first so-called central module, three modules, of which at least two provide light patterns with at least one transverse light strip.
Advantageously, the headlight comprises nine modules, namely a first lighting module for a central and vertical light strip and, on each side of this first so-called central module, four modules, of which at least three provide light patterns with at least one transverse light strip.
The invention also relates to the assembly of a right headlight and a left headlight of a motor vehicle as defined previously, characterized in that the right headlight and the left headlight are combined for their beams to be combined and/or be overlaid so as to form a lighting beam projected onto the road taken by the vehicle.
Advantageously, and as is illustrated later, the orientation of the light patterns with at least one transverse strip relative to the central light strip is in opposite directions between the left and right headlights. The number of zones which can be illuminated independently is thus greatly improved compared to a configuration in which the left and right headlights have the same distribution of light patterns.
The invention described here makes it possible to retain a lighting above and/or below an oncoming vehicle or a vehicle being followed and obtain a motor vehicle lighting assembly of matrix type with a reduced number or content of light sources.
The invention consists, apart from the provisions explained hereinabove, of a certain number of other arrangements that will be more explicitly involved hereinbelow with regard to exemplary embodiments described with reference to the attached drawings, but which are in no way limiting.
In the drawings:
Referring to
The beam E1 is obtained using a number of lighting modules, an exemplary embodiment of which will be described with respect to
Each lighting module comprises at least one light source S (
The optical means are provided to also form at least one transverse light strip 2, 3 according to
The beam E1 is obtained using nine modules. A central module gives a light strip M1 made up of the vertical rectangular strip 1. This central module, also called first lighting module, can be arranged to form only a vertical light strip. On the left side of the central module there are four modules each producing a light pattern A1.1-A1.4 which comprises a vertical rectangular light strip 1 and, at its top end, a transverse light strip 2 turned to the right toward the central pattern M1. The light pattern is continuous between the vertical light strip 1 and the transverse light strip 2 such that this pattern is in the form of an inverted L. Advantageously, the width w1 of the vertical light strip 1 is equal to the horizontal dimension w2 of the transverse light strip 2. Preferably, the height h1 of the vertical light strip 1 is equal to three times the height h2 of the transverse light strip 2 or 3.
The patterns A1.5-A1.8 situated on the right are symmetrical to the left hand patterns relative to the central pattern M1. The patterns A1.5-A1.8 thus have a horizontal light strip 3 turned to the left toward the central pattern M1.
The patterns of the nine modules are juxtaposed contiguously along the vertical edges of the vertical light strips 1, to give the beam E1.
The beam is thus made up of strips that include a bend.
The optical means that make it possible to establish the light pattern produced by each module are arranged and positioned in such a way that the pattern M1 is situated at the center of the beam E1 on the optical axis of the lighting module; the adjacent pattern on the left A1.1 is positioned, by the right edge of its vertical light strip, against the vertical left edge of the pattern M1, without leaving any space. The transverse light strip 2 of the pattern A1.1 covers the corresponding top zone of the vertical light strip 1, preferably without extending beyond this strip.
Similarly, the left pattern A1.5 is adjacent, without space, by the left edge of its vertical light strip, with the right edge of the pattern M1. The transverse light strip 3 of the pattern A1.5 covers the top end of the pattern M1, which may already be covered by the transverse light strip 2 of the pattern A1.1.
The other light patterns are arranged similarly such that their vertical light strips are contiguous with the vertical light strips of the patterns on either side of them. The transverse light strip of a pattern covers the top end of the vertical light strip of the neighboring pattern closer to the central pattern M1.
Each module is controlled individually by means that are not represented and that are sensitive to the presence of one or more vehicles which may be oncoming to the vehicle concerned, or of one or more vehicles traveling in the same direction but in front of the vehicle concerned. These sensitive means are designed to switch off the respective module or modules whose light patterns may be a nuisance to the oncoming drivers or drivers traveling in front of the vehicle concerned.
These means are generally sensitive to the light emitted by the headlights P1, P2 (
According to the example of
The “matrix beam” E2 is made up of nine patterns originating from nine lighting modules, with a central pattern M2 consisting of a vertical light strip 1, advantageously unique. To the left of the pattern M2, there are three patterns A2.1, A2-2, A2.3 having a bend formed by a transverse light strip 3 turned to the left, on the side opposite the central pattern M2. The pattern A2.4 situated to the extreme left of the beam E2 is made up of a vertical light strip 1.
The four light patterns situated to the right of the central pattern M2, and produced by four corresponding lighting modules, are symmetrical to the patterns situated on the left relative to the central module M2.
The right and left headlights of the vehicle are set such that the beam E2 is combined with and/or overlaid on the beam E1 of
If a vehicle arrives in the reverse direction and is detected as illustrated in
The result thereof is that the beam E1, as illustrated in
The dark strip 6 reduces the lighting of the road for the driver of the vehicle concerned.
The left headlight whose initial beam E2 is illustrated in
The combination or the overlaying of the beams of the right headlight and the left headlight, as illustrated in
According to
This form is particularly preferable.
Obviously, other patterns are possible, notably patterns that are symmetrical relative to a vertical or horizontal axis passing through the center of the patterns B or D. By way of example, the pattern can form an H or a cross “+”.
To the left of the central pattern M1, there are three successive patterns B1.1, B1.2, B1.3 similar to the pattern B of
The patterns B1.4-B1.6 and A1.8 situated to the right of the central pattern M1 are symmetrical to the patterns situated on the left, relative to this central pattern.
The optical means of each module are designed to juxtapose the vertical light strips of the different patterns and obtain the beam E3.
The two pixels L2.4-L2.8 at the left and right ends of
The vertical edges of the successive strips of
As illustrated in
When the two beams E3 and E4 are overlaid as illustrated in
For the right headlight, as illustrated by
The lighting of the zones situated respectively above and below the oncoming vehicle constitutes an improvement for the visibility of the driver.
For the left headlight, as illustrated in
The beam E5, obtained by making the vertical edges of the bottom part of the vertical light strips la contiguous, has a top part E5a narrower than its bottom part E5b. According to the embodiment of the patterns D, notably with a transverse light strip 2 whose height is equal to the height of the protruding vertical parts 1a, 1b, the height of the bottom zone E5b is equal to twice the height of the top part E5a of the beam.
As illustrated in
The light source S is notably formed by an LED (light-emitting diode). It can also be a laser source directed toward a substrate carrying a luminophore. The light rays are then formed by the activation of the luminophore by the laser source.
The light emitted by the source S is directed toward a reflector 16, notably parabolic or cylindrical, inclined from bottom to top toward the front. In the bottom part of the reflector 16, there is a reflecting portion which, over a part 17 of its extent, from a longitudinal edge of the reflector 16, substantially extends the surface area of this reflector. Toward its other end, the part 17 is concavely curved toward the front according to a section 18. The reflecting surface of this section 18, turned toward the front, is determined to obtain the transverse branch 3 of the pixel of
A focusing device consisting of a lens 19 having a convex front face and rear face that is substantially planar or slightly convex toward the rear is arranged in front of the reflector 16. The focal point of the lens 19 is in the vicinity of a mask 20. The beam of rays outgoing from the lens 19, as illustrated in
To obtain a light pattern whose transverse light strip would be turned to the right instead of being turned to the left according to
These optical means O1 comprise an elliptical reflector 16.1 open toward the front where there is a lens 19.1 for focusing the light beam. The light source S is situated at a first focal point F1 of the reflector 16.1. In the plane orthogonal to the optical axis and passing through the second focal point F2 of the reflector 16.1, there is a mask 20 in which an aperture 21 is provided with a form corresponding to that of the pattern or pixel that the lighting module must generate. According to the example of
It will be well understood that the exemplary configurations given with nine modules make it possible to generate, from 18 light sources (1 source per module and per headlight) a lighting beam with, notably, 15 zones which can be illuminated independently (configuration of
The invention makes it possible to produce a beam of matrix type with overlaying of the beams of the right headlight and of the left headlight according to which, in most cases, light is maintained above or below the vehicle being passed or followed, which greatly improves the driving conditions compared to a vehicle equipped with matrix beam headlights with juxtaposed vertical strips, while still of a contained design cost.
The qualifiers top, bottom, high, low, left and right described above apply relative to a vertical direction and either side thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1354909 | May 2013 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2014/061193 | 5/28/2014 | WO | 00 |