Distributed lighting system with fiber optic controls
First Claim
1. A lighting system for a vehicle that includes a plurality of headlight assemblies, comprising:
- a light source,a plurality of optical loads,an optical fiber network extending from said light source to provide illumination for said optical loads, andat least one optical switch within said optical fiber network, each of said switches including a respective input fiber from said light source and a respective output fiber to a respective optical load, said switches operating by selectively enabling or disabling an optical connection between their respective input and output fibers,each of said headlight assemblies including;
at least one headlight lens for transmitting a headlight beam,a respective optical fiber of said optical fiber network aligned with each lens to illuminate the lens for transmitting a headlight beam, andmeans for adjusting the positions of said fibers relative to their respective lenses to adjust the nature of the headlight beam.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle lighting system includes one or more central light sources, a plurality of optical loads including headlight lenses, an optical fiber network that extends from the light sources to illuminate the headlight lenses and other optical loads, and optical switches and oscillators that include respective input fibers illuminated from the light source and output fibers to respective optical loads, and operate by enabling and disabling optical connections between their input and output fibers. The headlight assemblies switch between high and low beams by moving their fibers vertically, and control beam diffusion by moving the fibers parallel to the lens axes, including an automatic diffusion adjustment for a headlight reflection from a vehicle in front. The switches include various mechanisms for moving the input and output fibers into and out of alignment with each other, including a shaped resilient sleeve, a hinge pivotally joining the fibers, an opaque shutter with a transmissive section movable between the fibers, and also a liquid-based switch that relies upon total internal reflection. A feedback mechanism for some of the switches dims the source lamp when the switch is OFF to conserve energy. The oscillators operate by normally urging an input fiber towards an OFF position, at which it actuates a mechanism that shifts it to an ON position at which the mechanism is deactivated. A failsafe system employs multiple light sources, with each source sharing its light output with the load for another source that has failed.
69 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A lighting system for a vehicle that includes a plurality of headlight assemblies, comprising:
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a light source, a plurality of optical loads, an optical fiber network extending from said light source to provide illumination for said optical loads, and at least one optical switch within said optical fiber network, each of said switches including a respective input fiber from said light source and a respective output fiber to a respective optical load, said switches operating by selectively enabling or disabling an optical connection between their respective input and output fibers, each of said headlight assemblies including; at least one headlight lens for transmitting a headlight beam, a respective optical fiber of said optical fiber network aligned with each lens to illuminate the lens for transmitting a headlight beam, and means for adjusting the positions of said fibers relative to their respective lenses to adjust the nature of the headlight beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A lighting system comprising:
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a light source, a plurality of optical loads, an optical fiber network extending from said light source to provide illumination for said optical loads, and at least one optical switch within said optical fiber network, each of said switches including a respective input fiber from said light source and a respective output fiber to a respective optical load, said switches operating by selectively enabling or disabling an optical connection between their respective input and output fibers, at least one of said optical switches, comprising; a housing having a pair of intersecting fiber and shutter bores extending through the housing, a pair of fiber pistons positionable in said fiber bore on opposite sides of said intersection, said fiber pistons including means for holding respective input and output fibers in optical alignment with each other, an opaque shutter that is positionable within said shutter bore to block the transmission of light between said input and output fibers in a switch OFF position, said shutter including a generally transmissive section that enables the transmission of light between said input and output fibers when the transmissive section is positioned between said fibers in a switch ON position, and a pair of shutter pistons mounting said shutter between them and movable through said shutter bore as a unit with said shutter between said switch OFF and switch ON positions. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A vehicle headlight assembly, comprising:
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at least one optical lens for transmitting a headlight beam, a respective optical fiber aligned with each lens to illuminate the lens for transmitting a headlight beam, and means for adjusting the positions of said fibers relative to their respective lenses to adjust the nature of the headlight beam. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An optical switch, comprising:
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input and output optical fibers having aligned but mutually spaced ends, an opaque shutter between said fiber ends, said shutter including a generally transmissive section, means for moving said shutter between a switch OFF position with the shutter blocking the transmission of light between said fibers, and a switch ON position with the shutter'"'"'s generally transmissive section aligned with said fibers and enabling the transmission of light therebetween, and first and second gradient index rod lenses respectively between said input fiber and shutter, and between said shutter and output fiber, said lenses expanding a light beam from the input fiber and contracting the beam back into said output fiber after transmission through said generally transmissive shutter section with said switch in an ON position, said lenses reducing light losses that would otherwise occur from fanning of a light beam emitted from said input fiber. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. An optical switch, comprising:
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a housing having a pair of intersecting fiber and shutter bores extending through the housing, a pair of fiber pistons positionable in said fiber bore on opposite sides of said intersection, said fiber pistons including means for holding respective input and output fibers in optical alignment with each other, an opaque shutter that is positionable within said shutter bore to block the transmission of light between said input and output fibers in a switch OFF position, said shutter including a generally transmissive section that enables the transmission of light between said input and output fibers when the transmissive section is positioned between said fibers in a switch ON position, and a pair of shutter pistons mounting said shutter between them and movable through said shutter bore as a unit with said shutter between said switch OFF and switch ON positions. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A failsafe lighting system for multiple optical loads, comprising:
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at least two light sources connected by optical fibers to respective optical loads, respective optical beam splitters associated with each of said light sources for diverting a portion of the light from its respective light source to the optical load for another light source while continuing to supply a portion of the light from its respective light source to its own optical loads, so that both sets of loads are supplied by the same light source, and actuating means responsive to the failure of one light source for actuating the beam splitter for the other light source. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification