Safety Improvements to Headlamps

• US 20110210665A1
• Filed: 06/15/2010
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sandra Mcniell Asquith
• Original Assignee: Sandra Mcniell Asquith
• Inventors: Asquith, Julian Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,353,610 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/82
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/1415 Dimming circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/46 for giving flashing caution signals during drive, other than signalling change of direction, e.g. flashing the headlights or hazard lights
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/054 Variable non-standard intensity, i.e. emission of various beam intensities different from standard intensities, e.g. continuous or stepped transitions of intensity

Abstract

A headlamp system for a vehicle comprises:

• • at least one headlamp which is switchable between at least a high beam mode and a low beam mode, in which the headlamp emits a high beam and a low beam respectively, and wherein said high beam is of higher intensity than said low beam;
  • a biased actuator which is movable by a driver of the vehicle between a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position to said off position; and
  • a headlamp which is arranged to emit a safety flash when said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position;
  • wherein the overall duration of the safety flash is automatically limited to a value which is less than 2 seconds.

Claims

1. A headlamp system for a vehicle comprising:

at least one headlamp which is switchable between at least a high beam mode and a low beam mode, in which the headlamp emits a high beam and a low beam respectively, and wherein said high beam is of higher intensity than said low beam;

a biased actuator which is movable by a driver of the vehicle between a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position to said off position; and

a headlamp which is arranged to emit a safety flash when said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position;

wherein the overall duration of the safety flash is automatically limited to a value which is less than 2 seconds; and

wherein a first force applied by said driver to said biased actuator is sufficient to initiate said safety flash, and wherein a second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force is sufficient to initiate a high beam flash, being a flash which is not automatically limited to a duration of less than 2 seconds.

2. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said safety flash comprises only a single flash.

3. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the overall duration of the safety flash is automatically limited to a value which is less than any one of:

1.5 seconds, 1 second, 0.5 seconds, 0.25 seconds or 0.1 seconds.

4. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said system further comprises a duration control which when adjusted by a driver varies said automatically limited overall duration of the safety flash.

5. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said safety flash is of lower intensity than said high beam.

6. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said safety flash is of higher intensity than said low beam.

7. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said headlamp system further comprises a light sensitive device responsive to the ambient light level, and a control device for controlling, in response to a signal from said light sensitive device, the duration of the safety flash to be shorter, or the intensity of said safety flash to be lower, for lower ambient light levels than for higher ambient light levels.

8. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the duration of the safety flash is shorter, or the intensity of said safety flash is lower, if said at least one headlamp is in said low beam mode at the time said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position, than if said at least one headlamp is off at the time said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position.

9. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said biased actuator is a headlamp stalk, and wherein said headlamp stalk has an off position in which said high beam is off, and a temporary-on position, and wherein said headlamp stalk is provided with a stalk biasing device which biases said stalk from said temporary-on position to said off position, so that when in said temporary-on position and released by a driver the stalk automatically returns to said off position.

12. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said biased actuator is a button, referred to hereinafter as a biased actuator button;

wherein the headlamp system further comprises a headlamp stalk for switching said at least one headlamp between said high and low beam modes; and

wherein said biased actuator button is mounted on said headlamp stalk.

13. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said headlamp stalk has a temporary-on position in which said at least one headlamp emits said high beam for as long as the headlamp stalk remains in its temporary-on position, and wherein said first force applied by a driver to said biased actuator button is sufficient to move said biased actuator button from its off position to its temporary-on position, thus initiating said safety flash, but not sufficient to move said headlamp stalk to its temporary-on position, and wherein said second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force is sufficient to move said headlamp stalk to its temporary-on position, thus initiating said high beam flash.

14. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 12, wherein movement of said headlamp stalk to its temporary-on position immediately initiates a high beam flash, regardless of the position of said biased actuator button.

15. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said biased actuator is a headlamp stalk, and wherein said headlamp stalk has first and second temporary-on positions arranged so that movement of the headlamp stalk to said first temporary-on position produces said safety flash, and movement of said headlamp stalk to said second temporary-on position produces said high beam flash.

16. A headlamp system as claimed in claim 15, wherein said first force applied by a driver to said headlamp stalk is sufficient to move said headlamp stalk to its first temporary-on position, thus initiating said safety flash, but not sufficient to move said headlamp stalk to its second temporary-on position, and wherein said second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force is sufficient to move said headlamp stalk to its second temporary-on position, thus initiating said high beam flash.

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

17. A method of producing a safety flash of at least one headlamp of a vehicle having a driver, said method including:

providing a biased actuator having a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position towards said off position;

in response to a first force applied by said driver to said biased actuator,

initiating a safety flash of said at least one headlamp; and

automatically ending said safety flash at the end of a limited duration, if the safety flash has not ended earlier, so that the overall duration of said safety flash is limited to said limited duration;

wherein said limited duration is a value which is less than 2 seconds; and

in response to a second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force initiating a high beam flash, being a flash which is not automatically limited to said limited duration.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said limited duration is less than any one of:

1.5 seconds, 1 second, 0.5 seconds, 0.25 seconds or 0.1 seconds.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17, which further comprises:

initiating said safety flash in response to movement of said biased actuator to said temporary-on position; and

ending said safety flash before the end of said limited duration if said biased actuator moves to said off position before the end of said limited duration.

20. A method as claimed in claim 17, which further comprises:

initiating said safety flash in response to movement of said biased actuator to said temporary-on position; and

automatically ending said safety flash at the end of said limited duration regardless of whether said biased actuator moves to said off position before the end of said limited duration.