Apparatus for automatically adjusting direction of light axis of vehicle headlight
First Claim
1. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
- a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle;
a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and
a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle,wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and at least one of conditions that said turn indication signal is in an on state, and that said steering angle is outside a predetermined angular range is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control when said turn-indication signal is changed into an off state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight of the invention has a configuration in which the swivel control unit determines that the vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts the swivel control on the light axis of a vehicle headlight, if the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and at least one of the conditions that the turn indication signal is in the on state, and that the steering angle is outside a predetermined angular range is satisfied. The swivel control unit resumes the swivel control when the turn indication signal is changed into the off state.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and at least one of conditions that said turn indication signal is in an on state, and that said steering angle is outside a predetermined angular range is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control when said turn-indication signal is changed into an off state.
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2. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed, and a condition that said turn indication signal is in an on state is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control when said turn indication signal is changed into an off state.
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3. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and at least one of conditions that said turn indication signal is in an on state, and that said steering angle is outside a predetermined angular range, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control when said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor exceeds said predetermined threshold speed, and wherein said swivel control unit subjects said swiveling angle to a strong filtering for a predetermined time period when said swivel control is resumed, and subsequently to a weak filtering in order to avoid abrupt change in said direction of said light axis during said predetermined time period.
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4. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed, and a condition that said turn indication signal is in an on state is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control when said vehicle speed exceeds said predetermined threshold speed, and wherein said swivel control unit subjects said swiveling angle to a filtering for a predetermined time period when said swivel control is resumed in order to avoid abrupt change in said direction of said light axis during said predetermined time period.
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5. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and at least one of conditions that said turn indication signal is in an on state, and that said steering angle is outside a predetermined angular range is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control upon detecting a change larger than a predetermined value in at least one of signals outputted from sensors mounted on said vehicle to detect an attitude of said vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. An apparatus for automatically adjusting a direction of a light axis of a vehicle headlight comprising:
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a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle; a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; and a swivel control unit for performing a swivel control by which said direction of said light axis of said vehicle headlight is swiveled horizontally by a swiveling angle depending on said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor, said steering angle detected by said steering angle sensor, and a turn indication signal produced by a turn indicator of said vehicle, wherein said swivel control unit determines that said vehicle is making a left or right turn and halts said swivel control, if said vehicle speed detected by said vehicle speed sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold speed and a condition that said turn indication signal is in an on state is satisfied, said swivel control unit resuming said swivel control upon detecting a change larger than a predetermined value in at least one of signals outputted from sensors mounted on said vehicle to detect an attitude of said vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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Specification