VEHICLE HEADLIGHT SYSTEM

• US 20160339833A1
• Filed: 04/27/2016
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Uchida, Mitsuhiro, Nakazato, Yoshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 9,849,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/085 due to special conditions, e.g. adverse weather, type of road, badly illuminated road signs or potential dangers B60Q1/10, B60Q1/12, B60Q1/1423 take precedence
• 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: B60Q 1/1438 Actuating means for dimming masks or screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/056 Special anti-blinding beams, e.g. a standard beam is chopped or moved in order not to blind
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/112 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/122 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/42 oncoming vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/45 Special conditions, e.g. pedestrians, road signs or potential dangers
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2400/50 Projected symbol or information, e.g. onto the road or car body
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/16 Laser light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/176 Light sources where the light is generated by photoluminescent material spaced from a primary light generating element
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/25 Projection lenses
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/321 the reflector being a surface of revolution or a planar surface, e.g. truncated
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/338 the reflector having surface portions added to its general concavity
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/36 Combinations of two or more separate reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/43 characterised by the shape thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/657 by moving light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/686 Blades, i.e. screens moving in a vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/692 Shields, i.e. screens not creating an image meant to be projected
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 45/43 using gas
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2101/00 : Point-like light sources

Abstract

A vehicle headlight system can include a headlight controller and a lamp unit incorporating a high beam module, which can emit favorable marking lights while the headlight controller associates each of a shading driver and a swivel structure with a shading width setter and a swivel setter, respectively. When a forward vehicle does not exist in a forward direction, the headlight systems can provide favorable light distribution patterns by overlapping the light distribution pattern projected from the high beam module with each of light distribution patterns for a high and low beam. When the forward vehicle exists, the headlight system can prevent the lamp unit from emitting a glare type light to the forward vehicle. Thus, the disclosed subject matter can provide vehicle headlight systems, which can emit favorable light patterns toward a pedestrian as a marking light, and which can provide favorable light distribution patterns to drive at night.

Claims

1. A vehicle headlight system, comprising:

a lamp unit including a high beam module, and configured to be attached to a right and left front of a subject vehicle, and the high beam module of the lamp unit including

a projector lens having an optical axis, an incident surface and a first focus located on substantially the optical axis of the projector lens,

a light source configured to emit light, and located on substantially the optical axis (AX) of the projector lens, wherein the first focus of the projector lens is located between the light source and the incident surface of the projector lens,

a first reflector configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source toward the first focus of the projector lens,

a movable shade extending from substantially the first focus of the projector lens in a direction of the first reflector at a substantially right angle with respect to the optical axis of the projector lens, and including a first shading plate, a second shading plate and a shading width located the first shading plate and the second shading plate, and configured to vary the shading width,

a first supporter connecting the projector lens, the light source, the first reflector and the movable shade, and

a rotary shaft included in the first supporter, and an extension of the rotary shaft intersecting with the optical axis of the projector lens at a substantially right angle;

a camera having an optical axis being located adjacent the subject vehicle, configured to photograph at least one pedestrian and at least one forward vehicle located in a frontward direction of the subject vehicle, and the camera being configured to output the at least one pedestrian and the at least one forward vehicle photographed by the camera as image data;

an image processing circuit configured to detect the at least one pedestrian and the at least one forward vehicle in accordance with the image data output from the camera, configured to generate human locating data of the at least one pedestrian and vehicle locating data of the at least one forward vehicle with respect to the optical axis of the camera, and being configured to output the human locating data and the vehicle locating data vehicle as human data and vehicle data, respectively;

a system controller including a pedestrian detector, a forward vehicle detector, a swivel setter, a shading width setter and a light-emitting controller,

the pedestrian detector configured to input the human data output from the image processing circuit, and configured to determine whether the at least one pedestrian exists or not in accordance with the human data,

the forward vehicle detector configured to input the vehicle data output from the image processing circuit, and configured to determine whether the at least one forward vehicle exists or not in accordance with the vehicle data,

the swivel setter configured to configured to input the human data output from the image processing circuit, and configured to determine a turning angle of the rotary shaft of the high beam module as swivel data in accordance with the human data, and configured to output the swivel data,

the shading width setter configured to configured to input the human data output from the image processing circuit, and configured to determine the shading width of the movable shade as shading data in accordance with the human data, and configured to output the shading data, and

the light-emitting controller configured to input a rudder signal, a speed signal and a switching signal output from the subject vehicle, configured to generate a light-emitting driving signal in accordance with the rudder, the speed signal and the switching signal, and configured to output a light-emitting driving signal to the lamp unit;

a swivel structure configured to input the swivel data output from the swivel setter of the system controller, and configured to rotate the rotary shaft of the high beam module of the lamp unit in accordance with the swivel data; and

a shading driver configured to input the shading data output from the shading width setter, and configured to set up the shading width of the movable shade of the high beam module of the lamp unit.

2. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second reflector included in the high beam module, formed in a substantially reflective elliptical surface having a first focus and a second focus, configured to gather the light emitted from the light source at substantially the first focus of the projector lens by locating the first focuses of the second reflector at substantially the light source and by locating the second focus of the second reflector at substantially the first focus of the projector, and located outer side of the first reflector of the high beam module so as to surround the first reflector.

3. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a low beam lamp included in the lamp unit; and

a high beam lamp included in the lamp unit.

4. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, wherein the shading width setter narrows the shading width of the movable shade of the high beam module with an increasing relative distance of a pedestrian with respect to the subject vehicle output from the image processing circuit.

5. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, wherein the camera is a color camera, which photographs color image data.

6. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, wherein the light source of the high beam module includes at least one of a laser chip and at least one light-emitting diode and a wavelength converting material.

7. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis of the camera is located in a substantially parallel direction with each of the optical axes of the projector lenses of the high beam modules attached to the right and left front of the subject vehicle.

8. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 3, wherein when the system controller detects that the pedestrian and the forward vehicle do not exist in the forward direction of the subject vehicle, the lamp unit overlaps a light distribution pattern projected from the high beam module with light emitted from either the high beam lamp or the low beam lamp.

9. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 8, wherein when the system controller detects that a vehicle speed of the subject vehicle is slower than a predetermined speed, the lamp unit stops the high beam module from emitting.

10. The vehicle headlight system according to claim 3, wherein when the system controller detects that the forward vehicle exist in the forward direction of the subject vehicle, the lamp unit stops the high beam module from emitting.