Vehicle headlamp system

• US 6,919,820 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2001
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Kimura, Takeshi, Makita, Hiroyuki, Kusagaya, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie Bichngoc
• Application Number:
  US09/897,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20020003473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 340/436, 340/469, 340/457.2, 362/459, 362/460, 362/464, 362/465, 362/467, 362/573, 315/52, 307/10.8, 250/214.D
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0023 the element being a sensor, e.g. distance sensor, camera
• 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 1/18 being additional front lights bracket mounted headlights B60Q1/0483
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/112 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/122 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/142 Turn signal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/312 Adverse weather
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/41 preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/683 by moving screens

Abstract

A vehicle headlamp system with headlamps, each of which contains a lamp unit for emitting beams forward with a predetermined luminous intensity distribution. The system carries out beam emission with a luminous intensity distribution corresponding to the travel conditions of a vehicle. In an implementation, when the speed of one'"'"'s own vehicle exceeds 25 km/h, a low-beam luminous intensity distribution P(L) is varied according to a vehicle-to-vehicle distance in relation to a preceding vehicle. Remote visibility is increased by positioning a cut-off line slightly upward when the vehicle-to-vehicle distance L is long, whereas when the vehicle-to-vehicle distance L is short the cut-off line is lowered slightly in order not to give a glare to the driver of the preceding vehicle. But when the vehicle speed V is 25 km/h or lower, the low-beam luminous intensity distribution P(L) is fixed at a downward position which prevents glare and prevents an unpleasant feeling that something is wrong from being given to the driver of the preceding vehicle resulting from the change of the low-beam luminous intensity distribution P(L).

Claims

1. A vehicle headlamp system with headlamps, each of which contains a lamp unit within a lamp body for emitting beams forward with a predetermined luminous intensity distribution, comprising;

vehicle-to-vehicle distance measuring means for measuring the vehicle-to-vehicle distance between a first vehicle and a second preceding vehicle, and

variable luminous intensity control means for varying said luminous intensity distribution according to said vehicle-to-vehicle distance when the speed of the first vehicle exceeds a predetermined value,

wherein headlamps are provided on the left and right sides of a vehicle, thus forming a pair of headlamps and wherein said vehicle-to-vehicle distance measuring means is contained in the lamp body of a first of the headlamps, and

wherein a second of the headlamps includes an auxiliary lamp in a position that corresponds to the position of the vehicle-to-vehicle distance measuring means in the lamp body of the first headlamp.

2. A vehicle headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said variable luminous intensity control means fixes said luminous intensity distribution when the speed of the first vehicle stays at said predetermined value or lower.

3. A vehicle headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said luminous intensity distribution is a luminous intensity distribution having a cut-off line at an upper end, and wherein

said variable luminous intensity control means varies said luminous intensity distribution by vertically moving the position of said cut-off line.

4. A vehicle headlamp system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said variable luminous intensity control means fixes said cut-off line at a lowermost position while the speed of the first vehicle is kept at said predetermined value or lower.

5. A vehicle headlamp system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second headlamp is located on the road shoulder side, and the auxiliary lamp irradiates the road shoulder portion of a road surface ahead of a vehicle.

6. A method for operating a vehicle headlamp system comprising:

measuring the distance between a first vehicle and a second preceding vehicle with a distance measuring means associated with a headlamp of the first vehicle;

varying a luminous intensity distribution of each headlamp of the headlamp system according to the distance between the first and second vehicles when the speed of the first vehicle exceeds a predetermined value; and

illuminating a shoulder of a road with an auxiliary lamp associated with a second headlamp of the headlamp system.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising stabilizing the luminous intensity distribution when the speed of the first vehicle remains at or below the predetermined value.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the luminous intensity distribution is varied by moving the position of a cut-off line.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the luminous intensity distribution is fixed at a lowermost position when the speed of the first vehicle is kept at the predetermined value or lower.