Vehicle headlamp for projecting driving information

• US 10,114,279 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2016
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Lim, Jung Wook, Shin, Jik Soo, Jin, Keon Soon, Lee, Ki Hong, Ahn, Byoung Suk
• Primary Examiner(s): Chowdhury, Sultan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cruz, Magda
• Application Number:
  US15/370,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20180095355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/04 the devices being headlights
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/125 Coloured light
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/285 Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S41/24-F21S41/28
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/30 characterised by reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/675 by moving reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2102/13 for high-beam region or low-beam region
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2103/60 Projection of signs from lighting devices, e.g. symbols or information being projected onto the road
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/08 Anamorphotic objectives
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/16 for use in conjunction with image converters or intensifiers , or for use with projectors, e.g. objectives for projection TV
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0014 at least one surface having optical power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0047 for use with a light source G02B19/009, G02B19/0095 take precedence; details of lighting devices in general F21V; non-semiconductor lasers having optical devices external to the laser cavity H01S3/005
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0025 for optical correction, e.g. distorsion, aberration
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/201 in the form of arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/26 Projecting separately subsidiary matter simultaneously with main image
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/28 Reflectors in projection beam in illumination beam G03B21/2066
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 29/00 Combinations of cameras, projectors or photographic printing apparatus with non-photographic non-optical apparatus, e.g. clocks or weapons; Cameras having the shape of other objects combinations with flash apparatus G03B15/03

Abstract

A vehicle headlamp device is disclosed that is capable of projecting driving information onto the road using a high beam and of improving visibility of an image containing the driving information projected onto the road. Specifically, as the result of adjusting the color of the image suitable for the driving information projected onto the road, the driver is capable of more easily perceiving the driving information due to the image having a specific color corresponding to the driving information. In addition, as the result of correcting an anamorphically-enlarged image using an anamorphic lens, the image containing the driving information is projected onto the road more clearly.

Claims

1. A vehicle headlamp device comprising:

a light source;

a reflection unit that reflects the light emitted from the light source having a plurality of light reflection sections for changing a path of the light;

a primary optical system that receives the light reflected by the reflection unit along a first path and emits the light as a high beam; and

an auxiliary optical system having a plurality of color patterns for changing a color of the light incident thereto that receives the light reflected by the reflection unit along a second path and projects the light onto a road.

2. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 1, wherein the first path is different from the second path.

3. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 1, wherein the reflection unit comprises a digital micro-mirror device having a plurality of micro mirrors that can be changed in angle to change the path of the light incident thereto.

4. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 1, wherein the reflection unit is divided into a primary section that reflects the light from the light source toward the primary optical system and a secondary section that reflects the light toward the auxiliary optical system.

5. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 4, wherein the secondary section of the reflection unit comprises a plurality of sub-sections corresponding to a set of color patterns of the auxiliary optical system.

6. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 1, wherein the primary optical system comprises a plurality of lenses, and wherein the auxiliary optical system is mounted to one of the plurality of lenses of the primary optical system.

7. The vehicle headlamp of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary optical system is mounted to the one of the plurality of lenses comprising the primary optical system that is the first lens to which the light reflected by the reflection unit is first incident.

8. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of lenses in the primary optical system includes a dual lens, a first lens, a second lens, and an aspherical lens.

9. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary optical system comprises a multi-colored lens unit having a plurality of color patterns, to which the light reflected by the reflection unit is incident, and a light collection unit disposed adjacent to the multi-colored lens unit and that collects the light and emits the light.

10. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 9, wherein the multi-colored lens unit is divided into a green-colored section, a red-colored section and a blue-colored section, and each of the colored sections is mounted to the primary optical system using a bracket.

11. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 9, wherein the auxiliary optical system further comprises an anamorphic lens that compresses and corrects an anamorphically-enlarged image created by the reflection of light emitted from the light source through the reflection unit.

12. The vehicle headlamp device of claim 11, wherein the multi-colored lens unit, the light collection unit and the anamorphic lens are sequentially arranged in the auxiliary optical system.