Vehicular lamp

• US 20040179366A1
• Filed: 03/12/2004
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Ito, Masayasu, Takeda, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,173,375 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/464
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/04 the devices being headlights
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/143 combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/2603 Attenuation of the light according to ambient luminiosity, e.g. for braking or direction indicating lamps
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/486 for indicating that vehicle is in a parked state
• 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 2300/146 Abnormalities, e.g. fail-safe
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2300/314 Ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/00 Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/12 using optical feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/18 using temperature feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/3725 Switched mode power supply [SMPS]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/46 having LEDs disposed in parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Abstract

A vehicular lamp used for a vehicle, includes a semiconductor light emitting element for generating light to be emitted by the vehicular lamp and a current controlling unit for changing a current supplied to the semiconductor light emitting element based on the speed of the vehicle. The current controlling unit may reduce the current, if the speed of the vehicle is lower than a predetermined speed. The current controlling unit may reduce the current, if the vehicle is stopped.

Claims

1. A vehicular lamp used for a vehicle, comprising:

a semiconductor light emitting element for generating light used for a vehicular headlamp to emit said light forward from said vehicle; and

a current controlling unit for allowing said semiconductor light emitting element to generate light used for a position lamp to indicate a position of said vehicle, in place of said light used for said vehicular headlamp, by reducing a current supplied to said semiconductor light emitting element based on an instruction of a driver of said vehicle.

2. A vehicular lamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein said current controlling unit reduces said current, if said vehicle is stopped.

3. A vehicular lamp as claimed in claim 1 comprising:

a plurality of said semiconductor light emitting elements coupled in parallel,

wherein said current controlling unit comprises;

a selecting unit for selecting all or a part of said plurality of semiconductor light emitting elements based on an instruction of said driver of said vehicle; and

a current supplying unit for allowing a part of said plurality of semiconductor light emitting elements to emit said light used for said position lamp by reducing currents supplied to said semiconductor light emitting elements, if said selecting unit selects said part of semiconductor light emitting elements by supplying currents to said selected semiconductor light emitting elements.