HEADLAMP SYSTEM WITH SELECTABLE BEAM PATTERN
First Claim
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1. A headlamp system comprising:
- a light source;
at least one headlamp coupled to said light source;
a digital micromirror device positioned to reflect light in a predefined beam pattern from said at least one headlamp; and
a lens system for projecting said predefined beam pattern produced by said digital micromirror device.
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Abstract
A headlamp system stores a plurality of beam patterns on a microprocessor 32 that selects a predetermined beam pattern based on driving conditions and sends the predetermined beam pattern to a digital micromirror device (DMD) 18 that is capable of generating the desired beam pattern by adjusting the position of individual pixels on the DMD 18. Several vehicle parameters are inputs 36, 37, 38, 29, 70 to the microcontroller 32 and are used to determine the appropriate beam pattern to be produced by the DMD 18 and projected by the headlamp system of the present invention.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A headlamp system comprising:
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a light source;
at least one headlamp coupled to said light source;
a digital micromirror device positioned to reflect light in a predefined beam pattern from said at least one headlamp; and
a lens system for projecting said predefined beam pattern produced by said digital micromirror device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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13. A headlamp system comprising:
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a light source;
at least one headlamp coupled to said light source;
a digital micromirror device positioned to reflect light in a predefined beam pattern from said at least one headlamp;
optics positioned in a predetermined location with respect to said light source and said digital micromirror device;
a lens system for projecting said predefined beam pattern produced by said digital micromirror device;
a microcontroller in communication with said digital micromirror device;
a plurality of beam patterns stored on said microcontroller; and
wherein said microcontroller selects a desired beam pattern from said plurality of beam patterns and communicates said desired beam pattern to said digital micromirror device.
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21. A method for projecting a headlamp beam pattern from a headlamp system having a light source, at least one headlamp coupled to said light source;
- a digital micromirror device positioned to reflect light in a predefined beam pattern from said at least one headlamp;
a lens system for projecting said predefined beam pattern produced by said digital micromirror device;
a microcontroller in communication with said digital micromirror device; and
a plurality of beam patterns stored on said microcontroller, said method comprising the steps of;
sensing at least one driving condition;
inputting said at least one driving condition to said microcontroller;
selecting a predetermined beam pattern from said plurality of beam patterns stored on said microcontroller depending upon said at least one driving condition;
communicating said predetermined beam pattern to said digital micromirror device;
adjusting said digital micromirror device to create a desired beam pattern;
projecting said desired beam pattern from said lens system. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
- a digital micromirror device positioned to reflect light in a predefined beam pattern from said at least one headlamp;
Specification