Pixelated projection for automotive headlamp

• US 10,066,799 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2015
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Bhakta, Vikrant R., Farris, Jeffrey Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Sawhney, Hargobind S
• Application Number:
  US14/752,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20150377442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/153 arranged in a matrix
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/25 Projection lenses
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/675 by moving reflectors

Abstract

An automotive headlamp is provided that includes a digital micromirror device (DMD) headlight module, the DMD headlight module including a DMD, a white light module to provide a white light beam to illuminate the DMD, illumination optics optically coupled between the DMD and the white light module to prepare the white light beam for illuminating the DMD, and projection optics optically coupled to the DMD to receive pixelated light reflected by the DMD and project a pixelated light beam on road, in which at least one of the DMD, the white light module, and the illumination optics shape a beam profile of the white light beam such that the light reflected by the DMD has a pixelated non-uniform beam profile suitable for projecting a white light beam that forms a portion of a white light beam of the headlamp.

Claims

1. A headlamp comprising:

a digital micromirror device (DMD);

a light source module to provide light to illuminate the DMD;

illumination optics optically coupled between the DMD and the light source module to prepare the light for illuminating the DMD; and

projection optics optically coupled to the DMD to receive pixelated light reflected by the DMD and to project a pixelated light beam that forms at least a portion of a projected light beam from the headlamp;

wherein at least the DMD and the illumination optics are optically coupled to shape the pixelated light beam to have a non-uniform beam profile, wherein a field of view and an intensity of the projected light beam from the headlamp are controllable by the DMD and the light source module, wherein the non-uniform beam profile is a mid-range beam profile, wherein the portion includes a mid-beam light portion, and wherein the headlamp includes a high beam booster module to provide light with a high beam profile to boost the projected light beam from the headlamp.

2. The headlamp of claim 1,

wherein the headlamp includes a low beam module to provide light for a low beam light portion of the projected light beam from the headlamp.

3. The headlamp of claim 1, wherein the portion includes a low beam light portion.

4. The headlamp of claim 3, wherein the portion includes a high beam light portion.

5. The headlamp of claim 1, wherein the light source module includes a phosphor, additional illumination optics, and one or more blue laser diodes, the light from the one or more blue laser diodes formed by the additional illumination optics to create a high intensity Gaussian spot on the phosphor.

6. The headlamp of claim 1, wherein the pixelated light beam is a white light beam.