Head lamp for cornering operation

• US 5,113,319 A
• Filed: 11/27/1990
• Issued: 05/12/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Satoru, Nagano, Koichi, Sekiguchi, Tsuneo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, Y MY QUACH
• Application Number:
  US07/618,409
• Time in Patent Office: 532 Days
• Field of Search: 362/61, 362/72, 362/277, 362/321
• US Class Current: 362/466
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/076 by electrical means including means to transmit the movements, e.g. shafts or joints
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/122 with electrical actuating means details of the electric drive components, e.g. motors, shafts, ball joints B60Q1/076
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/132 Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/136 Roll
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/331 characterised by the driving side, e.g. on the left or right hand side
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 6/023 responsive to the lean angle of the cycle, e.g. changing intensity or switching sub-lights when cornering
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/645 by electro-optic means, e.g. liquid crystal or electrochromic devices

Abstract

To correct variation of a property of light orientation induced by inclination of a vehicle body during a cornering operation, a projector type cornering head lamp including an inclination sensor further includes correcting means. When the correcting means is mechanically constructed, it comprises a pair of opening portions formed on a light shielding plate, shutters for closing the opening portions therewith and solenoids for pulling the shutter downwardly in response to an output from the inclination sensor. When the correcting means is electrically constructed, it is constituted by a circular liquid crystal element preferably comprising a supertwistnematic liquid crystal and serving also as a light shielding plate. The liquid crystal element is constructed such that four sector-shaped ranges radially expanding from the center of a circle with an angle of 45 degrees above and below a reference line are divided into fifteen radially extending segments each of which radially expands in the small sector-shaped configuration with an angle of 3 degrees. Alternatively, the liquid crystal element may be constructed by a plurality of horizontal stripe-shaped segments. A half of the segments above the reference line is normally held in a light permeable state, while another half of the segments below the reference line is normally held in a light impermeable state.

Claims

1. A projector type headlamp for a cornering operation including inclination detecting means for detecting inclination of a vehicle body relative to the road surface and correcting means for correcting variation of a property of light orientation induced by said inclination of said vehicle body relative to said road surface, wherein said correcting means is constructed such that a pair of opening portions each having a substantially rectangular shape of which upper and lower long sides extend in the substantially horizontal direction are formed adjacent to a boundary edge of a light shielding plate disposed in said head lamp and said opening portions are opened or closed by actuating opening/closing means in response to an output from said inclination detecting means, wherein said opening/closing means comprises a pair of shutters and a pair of solenoids for opening or closing said shutters in response to said output from said inclination detecting means.

2. The head lamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein said opening portions are normally closed with said shutters.

3. The head lamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein said opening/closing means is operated such that when the vehicle body is downwardly inclined in the rightward direction and this is detected by said inclination detecting means, the left-hand solenoid is actuated to pull the left-hand shutter downwardly so as to allow the left-hand opening portion to be opened thereby to correct rightward variation of the property of light orientation and when the vehicle body is downwardly inclined in the leftward direction and this is detected by said inclination detecting means, the right-hand solenoid is actuated to pull the right-hand solenoid downwardly so as to allow the right-hand opening portion to be opened thereby to correct leftward variation of the property of light orientation.