Pixelated Projection for Automotive Headlamp

• US 20150377442A1
• Filed: 06/26/2015
• Published: 12/31/2015
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 10,066,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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. An automotive headlamp comprising 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, the white light beam of the headlamp including low beam light, mid-beam light, and high beam light portions.

2. The headlamp of claim 1, in which the pixelated non-uniform beam profile is a mid-range beam profile and the portion of the white light beam of the headlamp is the mid-beam light portion.

3. The headlamp of claim 2, in which the headlamp includes a high beam booster module that provides white light with a high beam profile to boost light from the DMD headlight module.

4. The headlamp of claim 2, in which the headlamp includes a low beam module that provides white light for the low beam light portion.

5. The headlamp of claim 1, in which the portion of a white light beam is the low beam light portion, the mid-beam light portion, and the high beam light portion.

6. The headlamp of claim 1, in which the portion of a white light beam is the low beam light portion and the mid-beam light portion.

7. The headlamp of claim 1, in which the white light module shapes the beam profile, the white beam module including a phosphor, illumination optics, and one or more blue laser diodes, the light from the one or more blue laser diodes formed by the illumination optics to create a high intensity Gaussian spot on the phosphor.