Lighting and/or indicating device equipped with a device for regulating the luminous flux for a halogen bulb

• US 20050169005A1
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Flandre, Loic, Richard, Stephane
• Granted Patent: US 8,760,070 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/514
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0094 Arrangement of electronic circuits separated from the light source, e.g. mounting of housings for starter circuits for discharge lamps arrangements being part of the light source holder F21V17/06, F21S43/195
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/143 combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/172 High-intensity discharge light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 39/047 with pulse width modulation from a DC power source
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/00 Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lighting and/or indicating device, such as a vehicle headlamp, equipped with at least one halogen bulb, wherein it comprises a switch-mode power supply device for supplying power to the halogen bulb, said switch-mode power supply device comprising means for regulating the luminous flux provided by the halogen bulb and being installed close to the halogen bulb so as to minimize electromagnetic interference and dispersion of the supply voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb.

Claims

1. Lighting and/or indicating device, such as a vehicle headlamp, equipped with at least one halogen bulb, comprising a switch-mode power supply device for supplying power to the halogen bulb, said switch-mode power supply device comprising means for regulating the luminous flux provided by the halogen bulb and being installed close to the halogen bulb so as to minimize electromagnetic interference and dispersion of the supply voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said switch-mode power supply device is integrated in the cap of the halogen bulb.

3. Device according to claim 1, wherein said switch-mode power supply device is integrated in a connector of the lighting and/or indicating device on which the halogen bulb is mounted.

4. Device according to claim 1, wherein said switch-mode power supply device is integrated in a connector of the lighting and/or indicating device to which there is connected a standard cable for supplying power to the lighting and/or indicating device.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein said lighting and/or indicating device is integrated in a connector of a standard cable for supplying power to the lighting and/or indicating device at its connection to the lighting and/or indicating device.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting and/or indicating device is integrated in a standard cable for supplying power to the lighting and/or indicating device by being installed on an insulating sheath of the cable.

7. Device according to claim 1, wherein the switch-mode power supply device comprises a voltage regulator which supplies power to a fixed-frequency oscillator connected to a first input of a circuit which generates a pulse width modulation signal PWM, the duty factor of which depends on a setpoint applied to a second input of the generator circuit by a reference circuit which generates such a setpoint as a function of an image of an electrical quantity representative of the luminous flux of the halogen bulb produced by a circuit for generating an image of an electrical quantity representative of the luminous flux of the halogen bulb.

8. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit for generating a reference voltage Vref which is a given function of the instantaneous supply voltage Val measured as close to the halogen bulb as possible.

9. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit which generates a reference voltage for implementing at least one secondary function.

10. Device according to claim 9, wherein the secondary functions carried out are determined from the “

AFS”

functions for adapting the front lighting of the vehicle.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein the functions for adapting the front lighting of the vehicle are selected from one of the following functions:

control of the dynamic dipped beam lighting mode during a turn;

control of the fixed dipped beam lighting mode during a turn;

control of the sidelights lighting mode;

control of the full beam lighting mode;

control of the high-mount light lighting mode;

control of the bad weather lighting mode.

12. Device according to claim 9, wherein the secondary functions carried out are based on a second mode of operation of the halogen bulb which is implemented by applying to the bulb a regulated and predetermined voltage, current and/or current ripple.

13. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the instantaneous speed of the vehicle.

14. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the temperature of the bulb.

15. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the degree of ageing of the bulb.

16. Device according to claim 7, wherein the flux-regulating means, which generate a setpoint for regulating an electrical quantity such as the voltage at the terminals of the halogen bulb, comprise a circuit for generating a reference voltage which serves as a setpoint for the circuit which generates a pulse width modulation signal PWM which implements a function f1( ), of the form Vref=f1(Val, Vsortie), which depends on the parameters produced by at least one of the circuits for measuring the supply voltage (Val), circuit which generates a reference voltage for a secondary function, circuit which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the instantaneous speed of the vehicle, which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the temperature of the bulb, and which generates a reference voltage so as to take account of the degree of ageing of the bulb.

17. Device according to claim 16, wherein the wave produced by the circuit which generates a pulse width modulation signal PWM is transmitted to the control input of a switch-mode transistor circuit which is moreover connected to a power supply source, the voltage of which will be switched in synchronism with the wave PWM applied to the first input of the switch-mode transistor circuit.

18. Vehicle lighting and/or indicating system, wherein it comprises at least one device according to claim 1

19. System according to claim 18, comprising means for activating a second lighting and/or indicating function for the same single-filament halogen bulb.