Lighting control apparatus for vehicle lamp

• US 20070030138A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 02/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Namba, Takanori, Ito, Masayasu
• Granted Patent: US 7,714,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/467
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/1415 Dimming circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/3725 Switched mode power supply [SMPS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Abstract

When the level at an input terminal goes low upon the reception of a signal to dim an LED, a PNP transistor is rendered on and a voltage at the positive input terminal of an operational amplifier is raised, in accordance with a time constant that is defined by a resistor and a capacitor. In accordance with the increase in this voltage, a source current is supplied from the operational amplifier to a current detection terminal, and as the value of the source current is gradually increased, a current flowing across the shunt resistor of the switching regulator is gradually reduced. Further, the light emission level of the LED is gradually lowered from the fully lighted state to the 70% lighted state, and there is, for the LED, a light quantity change of about 30% in ten seconds.

Claims

1. A lighting control apparatus for a vehicle lamp, comprising:

a light quantity instruction value setup unit that receives information related to a lighting of a light source and sets a light quantity instruction value based on the information;

an energy supply unit that supplies a voltage received from a power source to a low beam semiconductor light source in accordance with the light quantity instruction value,

when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives information for instructing a dimming the low beam semiconductor light source, the light quantity value instruction setup unit sets a first light quantity instruction value, so that a light quantity of the low beam semiconductor light source is gradually reduced to a first light emission level for the reduced lighting of the low beam semiconductor light source,

when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives information indicating that a high beam light source is switched on, the light quantity instruction value setup unit sets a second light quantity instruction value, so that the light quantity of the low beam semiconductor light source is reduced to a second light emission level lower than the first light emission level, and

when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives information indicating that the high beam light source is switched off after the second light quantity instruction value is set, the light quantity instruction value setup unit cancels the second light quantity instruction value and sets a third light quantity instruction value, so that the low beam semiconductor light source is immediately switched on at the first light emission level.

2. The lighting control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light quantity instruction value setup unit includes:

a charging circuit that accumulates charges in a capacitor in accordance with a charging time constant, by regarding a voltage corresponding to the first light emission level as a voltage in a fully-charged state, when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives the information for instructing of the dimming of the low beam semiconductor light source;

a discharging circuit that discharges the charges accumulated in the capacitor in accordance with a discharging time constant, when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives information for instructing to cancel the reduced lighting of the low beam semiconductor light source;

a charging/discharging control circuit, that blocks the charging circuit and generates a high beam voltage higher than the voltage in the fully-charged state, as a voltage for the ON state of the high beam light source, when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives the information indicating that the high beam light source is switched on, and releases the blocking of the charging circuit when the light quantity instruction value setup unit receives the information indicating that the high beam light source is switched off; and

a light quantity instruction value generation circuit that generates the first light quantity instruction value or the third light quantity instruction value in response to charges accumulated in the capacitor, and generates the second light quantity instruction value in response to the high beam voltage.