System for self-aligning vehicle headlamps
First Claim
1. A system for self-aligning a headlamp of a vehicle, the system comprising:
- at least one actuator which modifies an alignment of the headlamp in response to a control signal;
an infrared light source mounted to the headlamp to emit an infrared light beam toward a ground surface;
an optical sensor system oriented to sense a reflection of the infrared light beam from the ground surface, the optical sensor system having a plurality of optical sensors to sense a plurality of infrared light intensities from the reflection; and
a control circuit operatively responsive to the optical sensor system to form the control signal for the at least one actuator, wherein the control signal acts to modify the alignment of the headlamp so that the infrared light intensities satisfy at least one predetermined condition consistent with a desired alignment of the headlamp to thereby automatically align the headlamp to the desired alignment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for self-aligning a headlamp of a vehicle, the system comprises at least one actuator which modifies an alignment of the headlamp in response to a control signal. An infrared light source is mounted to the headlamp to emit an infrared light beam toward a ground surface. An optical sensor system is oriented to sense a reflection of the infrared light beam from the ground surface. The optical sensor system has a plurality of optical sensors to sense a plurality of infrared light intensities from the reflection. A control circuit is operatively responsive to the optical sensor system to form the control signal for the at least one actuator. The control signal acts to modify the alignment of the headlamp so that the infrared light intensities satisfy at least one predetermined condition consistent with a desired alignment of the headlamp to thereby automatically align the headlamp to the desired alignment.
71 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for self-aligning a headlamp of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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at least one actuator which modifies an alignment of the headlamp in response to a control signal; an infrared light source mounted to the headlamp to emit an infrared light beam toward a ground surface; an optical sensor system oriented to sense a reflection of the infrared light beam from the ground surface, the optical sensor system having a plurality of optical sensors to sense a plurality of infrared light intensities from the reflection; and a control circuit operatively responsive to the optical sensor system to form the control signal for the at least one actuator, wherein the control signal acts to modify the alignment of the headlamp so that the infrared light intensities satisfy at least one predetermined condition consistent with a desired alignment of the headlamp to thereby automatically align the headlamp to the desired alignment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for self-aligning a headlamp of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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at least one control motor which modifies an alignment of the headlamp in response to a control signal; an infrared light emitting diode mounted on a surface of a reflector of the headlamp, the infrared light emitting diode emitting an infrared light beam toward a top portion of the reflector for redirection down toward a ground surface, the infrared light beam being modulated in accordance with a vehicle-specific signature; an optical sensor system having a plurality of optical sensors oriented to sense a plurality of infrared light intensities from a reflection of the infrared light beam from the ground surface, the plurality of optical sensors including a first optical sensor, a second optical sensor, a third optical sensor, and a fourth optical sensor equally spaced around a fifth optical sensor; and a control circuit operatively responsive to the optical sensor system to form the control signal for the at least one control motor, wherein the control signal acts to modify the alignment of the headlamp so that the infrared light intensities satisfy a plurality of predetermined conditions consistent with a desired alignment of the headlamp, the plurality of predetermined conditions including a first condition that the light intensity sensed by the first optical sensor be substantially equal to the light intensity sensed by the third optical sensor, a second condition that the light intensity sensed by the second optical sensor be less than or equal to the light intensity sensed by the fourth optical sensor, and a third condition that the light intensity sensed by the fifth optical sensor be greater than the light intensities sensed by the first optical sensor, the second optical sensor, the third optical sensor, and the fourth optical sensor.
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14. A system for self-aligning a right headlamp and a left headlamp of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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a first control motor which modifies a pitch of the right headlamp in response to a first control signal; a second control motor which modifies a heading of the right headlamp in response to a second control signal; a third control motor which modifies a pitch of the left headlamp in response to a third control signal; a fourth control motor which modifies a heading of the left headlamp in response to a fourth control signal; a first infrared light source mounted to the right headlamp to emit a first infrared light beam toward a ground surface; a second infrared light source mounted to the left headlamp to emit a second infrared light beam toward the ground surface, wherein the first infrared light beam and the second infrared light beam intersect the ground surface at substantially the same location for a desired alignment of the right headlamp and the left headlamp; a first optical sensor system oriented to sense a reflection of the first infrared light beam from the ground surface, the optical sensor system having a first plurality of optical sensors to sense a first plurality of infrared light intensities from the reflection; a second optical sensor system oriented to sense a reflection of the first infrared light beam from the ground surface, the optical sensor system having a second plurality of optical sensors to sense a second plurality of infrared light intensities from the reflection; and a control circuit operatively responsive to the first and second optical sensor systems to form the first, second, third, and fourth control signals for the first, second, third, and fourth control motors, wherein the control signals acts to modify the alignment of the headlamps so that the infrared light intensities satisfy at least one predetermined condition consistent with the desired alignment of the headlamp to thereby automatically align the headlamps to the desired alignment. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification