EP3205929B1 - Dispositif de balayage optique - Google Patents

Dispositif de balayage optique Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3205929B1
EP3205929B1 EP17152156.0A EP17152156A EP3205929B1 EP 3205929 B1 EP3205929 B1 EP 3205929B1 EP 17152156 A EP17152156 A EP 17152156A EP 3205929 B1 EP3205929 B1 EP 3205929B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
light
scanning
incident surface
optical spot
spot
Prior art date
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Active
Application number
EP17152156.0A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3205929A2 (fr
EP3205929A3 (fr
Inventor
Kiichi MATSUNO
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Stanley Electric Co Ltd
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Stanley Electric Co Ltd
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Priority to EP17191946.7A priority Critical patent/EP3287692A1/fr
Publication of EP3205929A2 publication Critical patent/EP3205929A2/fr
Publication of EP3205929A3 publication Critical patent/EP3205929A3/fr
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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
    • F21S41/60—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by a variable light distribution
    • F21S41/67—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by a variable light distribution by acting on reflectors
    • F21S41/675—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by a variable light distribution by acting on reflectors by moving reflectors
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
    • F21S41/10—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source
    • F21S41/14—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source characterised by the type of light source
    • F21S41/16—Laser light sources
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
    • F21S41/10—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source
    • F21S41/14—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source characterised by the type of light source
    • F21S41/176—Light sources where the light is generated by photoluminescent material spaced from a primary light generating element

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an optical scanning device including a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) light deflector.
  • MEMS Micro Electro Mechanical Systems
  • a vehicle headlight including an MEMS light deflector and a phosphor panel is known (e.g., JP 5577138 B ).
  • emitted light from the light deflector scans a light incident surface of the phosphor panel in which phosphors are housed, and is emitted from a light emitting surface on the side opposite to the light incident surface.
  • the light is changed to a desired frequency (color) by the phosphors inside the phosphor panel.
  • the fluorescence lifetime of the phosphors will be schematically described.
  • light such as laser light
  • the electrons of fluorescent molecules are excited, and the vibration level of electrons is moved immediately from the ground state to the excited state.
  • excess energy of electrons is dissipated and hence the vibration level of electrons drops to a vibration level as the lowest order of a first excited state
  • fluorescence is emitted from the phosphors in a process where the electrons return from the lowest-order vibration level to the level of the ground state.
  • the fluorescence lifetime is defined as a time period from the time of starting the excitation of the phosphors by the excitation light until the intensity of the fluorescence emitted by the phosphors becomes 1/e (where 1 is the fluorescence intensity at a peak, and e is the base of natural logarithm) after exceeding the peak.
  • the fluorescence lifetime can also be figured out as a time period from the time of starting the excitation of the phosphors, composed of sufficiently many, N fluorescent molecules, by the excitation light until the number of fluorescent molecules remaining in the excited state among the N fluorescent molecules becomes N/e.
  • the phosphors are not excited even when the excitation light is irradiated. In other words, in order to excite the phosphors, it is necessary to wait until the phosphors returns to the ground state. Therefore, the irradiation of excitation light to the phosphors in the excited state leads to the waste of energy of the excitation light.
  • the excitation light that enters the light incident surface of the phosphor panel from the light deflector is not managed and controlled in relationship to the fluorescence lifetime, the irradiation time of the phosphors inside the phosphor panel reaches several times the fluorescence lifetime or more. As a result, a considerable amount of light energy of the light source is wasted.
  • US 2009/046474 A1 discloses a vehicular headlamp which includes at least one a light source irradiating visible light and a lens allowing the visible light from the light source to pass through to forward of a vehicle.
  • the light source and the lens are mounted in a rotating element.
  • the vehicular headlamp includes at least one a light source irradiating visible light, and a mirror mounted on a rotating element and arranged to reflect the visible light from the at least one light source to forward of a vehicle.
  • the vehicular headlamp also includes a scanning actuator for reciprocatingly rotating the rotating element so as to form a light distribution pattern forward of the vehicle and a light distribution control portion for controlling the scanning actuator such that a portion of the light distribution pattern is relatively bright.
  • WO 2015/122482 A1 discloses a vehicle lamp, which is configured in a manner so as to form a predetermined light distribution pattern (for example, a high-beam light distribution pattern) at which a plurality of illumination patterns at which non-illuminated regions are formed are superposed. Even if the non-illuminated regions formed in each of the plurality of illumination patterns become offset from each other, a reduction in the area of the non-illuminated region in common is prevented (as a result, the occurrence of glare light with respect to a subject for which illumination is prohibited is prevented).
  • a predetermined light distribution pattern for example, a high-beam light distribution pattern
  • the vehicle lamp which is configured in a manner so as to form a predetermined light distribution pattern at which a plurality of illumination patterns at which non-illuminated regions are formed are superposed, is characterized by the non-illumination regions respectively formed at the plurality of illumination patterns being different from each other in size.
  • the headlight device is an AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting System) headlight device.
  • the headlight device has a laser light source which emits laser radiation with a beam cross-section, the geometric form of which is not circular.
  • Another optical scanning device is known from WO 2014/121315 A1 .
  • an optical scanning device is provided as set forth in claim 1.
  • the rotational position of the light emitting unit of the light source device about the optical axis is so set that the minor axis direction of the excitation light spot will be a direction along the first scanning direction of the excitation light spot on the light incident surface.
  • the optical scanning device further includes the first and second irradiation systems in such a manner that the excitation light spot of the first irradiation system in the first scanning area smaller on the common light incident surface has a smaller diameter than that of the excitation light spot of the second irradiation system in the second scanning area larger than the first scanning area.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one half part when a headlight unit 1 is divided into two parts by a plane of symmetry
  • FIG. 2 is a sectional view when the headlight unit 1 is cut along the plane of symmetry.
  • Two headlight units 1 are equipped for each of right and left vehicle headlights.
  • the vehicle has four headlight units 1 in total.
  • Each headlight unit 1 is equipped with two irradiation systems 13a, 13b to be described later.
  • a total of eight irradiation systems are equipped in the vehicle.
  • Each irradiation system can set an irradiation area individually. It is assumed that the relationship among irradiation areas of the total of eight irradiation systems can be a case where a predetermined number of irradiation areas partially overlap with one another, a case where one irradiation area is included in another irradiation area, or a case where another predetermined number of irradiation areas match one another.
  • the headlight unit 1 includes a front assembly 2 mounted in a front-end portion of a unit mounting hole formed in a depressed area adapted to mounting the vehicle headlight and provided at the front of an unillustrated vehicle body, and a rear assembly 3 mounted at the back of the unit mounting hole.
  • the front assembly 2 and the rear assembly 3 are so arranged that the center lines of the assemblies will be aligned with the center line of the unit mounting hole.
  • the front assembly 2 includes a lens holder 7, an annular cap 8, and a laser holder 9.
  • the annular cap 8 is assembled to the lens holder 7 in such a manner that the inner peripheral portion of the annular cap 8 is screwed onto the outer peripheral portion of the front end of the lens holder 7.
  • the laser holder 9 is assembled to the lens holder 7 in such a manner that the inner peripheral portion of the front end of the laser holder 9 is screwed onto the outer peripheral portion of the rear end of the lens holder 7.
  • the headlight unit 1 has irradiation systems 13a, 13b, which can set irradiation areas independently, in a positional relationship of the upper side and down side, respectively.
  • the irradiation system 13a includes a laser-light emission device 14a fixed to an upper portion on the inner periphery of the rear end of the laser holder 9, a condenser lens 16a mounted in an emitting unit of the laser-light emission device 14a, and a light deflector 15a fixed to an upper inclined face in a central portion of the front of the rear assembly 3.
  • the irradiation system 13b includes a laser-light emission device 14b fixed to a lower portion on the inner periphery of the rear end of the laser holder 9, a condenser lens 16b mounted in an emitting unit of the laser-light emission device 14b, and a light deflector 15b fixed to a lower inclined face in a central portion of the front of the rear assembly 3.
  • Projector lenses 19a to 19d are arranged on the inner periphery of the lens holder 7 to align the center lines with one another in the front-rear direction in order from front to rear.
  • the rim of the projector lens 19a is fixed to the front end of the lens holder 7 by the annular cap 8.
  • the other projector lenses 19b to 19d are positioned in the direction of the center line of the lens holder 7 by step parts or fitting rings on the inner peripheral side of the lens holder 7, and fixed to the inner peripheral side of the lens holder 7.
  • a phosphor panel 20 is formed into the shape of a rectangular flat plate, the center line thereof is aligned with the center line of the front assembly 2, and the periphery thereof is mounted in a rectangular opening portion at the center of the laser' holder 9.
  • the phosphor panel 20 includes a pair of transparent plates on both sides in the thickness direction, and a light transmission part formed between the pair of transparent plates to house granular phosphors.
  • the light incident surface 41 ( FIG. 5A ) of the phosphor panel 20 is formed on one transparent plate on the rear side to face the rear assembly 3.
  • the light emitting surface of the phosphor panel 20 is formed on the other transparent plate on the front side to face the rear surface of the projector lens 19d.
  • light e.g., blue light
  • the light deflector 15a reflects the incident light, and the reflected light enters the light incident surface 41 ( FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B ) of the phosphor panel 20 along an optical path 23a.
  • light emitted from the laser-light emission device 14b (the same color as that of emitted light from the laser-light emission device 14a) enters the light deflector 15b along an optical path 22b.
  • the light deflector 15b reflects the incident light, and the reflected light enters the light incident surface 41 of the phosphor panel 20 along an optical path 23b.
  • the projector lenses 19a to 19d and the phosphor panel 20 constitute a device common to the irradiation systems 13a, 13b.
  • Light emitted from the light emitting surface as the front surface of the phosphor panel 20 passes through an array of the projector lenses 19a to 19d in order from rear to front, and is emitted from the front surface of the projector lens 19a toward a predetermined irradiation area ahead of the vehicle.
  • the irradiation systems 13a, 13b are collectively called the “irradiation system 13" unless otherwise the irradiation systems 13a, 13b are particularly distinguished.
  • the laser-light emission devices 14a, 14b are not particularly distinguished, the laser-light emission devices 14a, 14b are collectively called the “laser-light emission device 14."
  • the light deflectors 15a, 15b are not particularly distinguished, the light deflectors 15a, 15b are collectively called the "light deflector 15.”
  • the condenser lenses 16a, 16b are not particularly distinguished, the condenser lenses 16a, 16b are collectively called the "condenser lens 16.”
  • the optical paths 22a, 22b are not particularly distinguished, the optical paths 22a, 22b are collectively called the “optical path 22.”
  • the optical paths 23a, 23b are not particularly distinguished, the optical paths 23a, 23b are collectively called the "optical path 23.”
  • the laser-light emission device 14 has a laser diode as a light source.
  • the center line of the optical path 22 is an optical axis of emitted light from the laser-light emission device 14.
  • the center line of the optical path 23 is an optical axis of emitted light from the light deflector 15 or an optical axis of incident light onto the phosphor panel 20.
  • the emitted light and the incident light are such that the same light becomes the emitted light when the emitting side device is used as the reference device, or becomes the incident light when the incident side device is used as reference.
  • light on the optical path 22 is emitted light based on the laser-light emission device 14, or incident light based on the light deflector 15.
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view when the light deflector 15 is viewed diagonally from the front.
  • the light deflector 15 as an MEMS device includes a mirror unit 32 arranged pivotably on the center, an inner rectangular frame 33 that surrounds the mirror unit 32 externally, and an outer rectangular frame 34 that surrounds the inner rectangular frame 33 externally.
  • the light deflector 15 reflects, on a mirror surface 32a of the mirror unit 32, light entering from the laser-light emission device 14 along the optical path 22, and emits the reflected light from the mirror surface 32a toward the phosphor panel 20 along the optical path 23.
  • a long-side direction X, a short-side direction Y, and a thickness direction Z mutually orthogonal to one another are defined for the light deflector 15.
  • the long-side direction X and the short-side direction Y are directions parallel to the long side and short side of the outer rectangular frame 34, respectively.
  • the thickness direction Z is the thickness direction of the outer rectangular frame 34. Since the light deflector 15 is made using MEMS technology, the light deflector 15 has a laminated structure.
  • the thickness direction Z of the light deflector 15 corresponds to the laminated direction of the laminated structure of the light deflector 15.
  • the back side of the light deflector 15 is a side opposite to the front side in the thickness direction Z.
  • the positive sides of the long-side direction X and the short-side direction Y are the right side and upper side of the light deflector 15 as viewed from the front, respectively.
  • the positive side of the thickness direction Z is a direction from the back side to the front side of the light deflector 15.
  • a pair of torsion bars (elastic beams) 35a, 35b are arranged on one side in the short-side direction Y (the upper side of the light deflector 15 in the front view) of the mirror unit 32 and on the other side (the lower side of the light deflector 15 in the front view) to couple the mirror unit 32 and the inner rectangular frame 33.
  • the inner actuators 36a, 36b are arranged together on one side for the mirror unit 32 in the short-side direction Y, and on one side (left side of the light deflector 15 in the front view) and the other side (right side of the light deflector 15 in the front view) for the torsion bar 35a in the long-side direction X, respectively.
  • the inner actuators 36c, 36d are arranged together on the other side for the mirror unit 32 in the short-side direction Y, and on one side and the other side for the torsion bar 35b in the long-side direction X, respectively.
  • the torsion bars 35a, 35b are not particularly distinguished, the torsion bars 35a, 35b are collectively called the "torsion bar 35."
  • the inner actuators 36a to 36d are not particularly distinguished, the inner actuators 36a to 36d are collectively called the “inner actuator 36.”
  • the inner actuator 36 extends in the long-side direction X to couple the torsion bar 35 and the inner rectangular frame 33.
  • the inner actuator 36 is a piezoelectric actuator made up as a unimorph cantilever.
  • the outer actuators 37a, 37b are arranged on one side and the other side for the inner rectangular frame 33 in the long-side direction X, respectively, and reside between the inner rectangular frame 33 and the outer rectangular frame 34 to couple the inner rectangular frame 33 and the outer rectangular frame 34.
  • the outer actuators 37a, 37b are collectively called the "outer actuator 37.”
  • the outer actuator 37 is made up of plural unimorph piezoelectric cantilevers coupled in series along a meander line (concertina line).
  • Plural electrode pads 38a, 38b are formed on one-side and the other short-side surfaces in the long-side direction X of the outer rectangular frame 34, respectively, and connected to the electrodes of an electric structure in the inner actuator 36 or the like through wiring (not illustrated) formed along the surface of the light deflector 15 and a wiring layer (not illustrated, which is typically ground wiring) embedded in the light deflector 15.
  • the electrode pads 38a, 38b are also connected outside of the light deflector 15 to a drive voltage generating unit (not illustrated) that generates drive voltage to the inner actuator 36 and the outer actuator 37 (applied voltage to piezoelectric membranes included in the actuators).
  • the electrode pads 38a, 38b are collectively called the "electrode pads 38.”
  • the mirror unit 32 can reciprocally turn about a first rotation axial line 50 ( FIG. 8C ) as an axial line of the torsion bar 35 by the actuation of the inner actuator 36. Further, the mirror unit 32 can reciprocally turn about a second rotation axial line 51 ( FIG. 8C ), perpendicular to the first rotation axial line 50 and parallel to the mirror surface 32a of the mirror unit 32, by the actuation of the outer actuator 37.
  • the first and second rotation axial lines 50, 51 are approximately parallel to the short-side direction Y and the long-side direction X, respectively, and the normal line of the mirror surface 32a is parallel to the thickness direction Z.
  • the reciprocal turning frequency of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 is 16 kHz
  • the reciprocal turning frequency of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51 is 60 Hz.
  • the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 as reciprocal turning at a high frequency becomes resonant driving to drive at a resonant frequency as the natural resonance frequency of the mirror unit 32.
  • the frequency of first drive voltage ( FIG. 5B ) as supply voltage to the inner actuator 36 by resonant driving is set to the natural resonance frequency (resonant frequency) of the mirror unit 32 having a sinusoidal waveform.
  • the mirror unit 32 is driven by the inner actuator 36 to turn reciprocally about the first rotation axial line stably at the resonant frequency.
  • the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51 as reciprocal turning at a low frequency becomes non-resonant driving without using the natural vibration of the mirror unit 32.
  • the frequency of second drive voltage ( FIG. 5C ) as supply voltage to the inner actuator 36 by non-resonant driving becomes a non-resonant frequency different from the natural resonance frequency (resonant frequency) of the mirror unit 32, which has, for example, a sawtooth waveform.
  • the waveform of the second drive voltage as the supply voltage to the inner actuator 36 may be any waveform, such as a sinusoidal waveform or a triangular waveform, as long as the second drive voltage contains a monotonically increasing range and a monotonically decreasing range in one cycle.
  • the resonant frequency of the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line is decided by the dimensions, weights, materials, and the like of the mirror unit 32 and the torsion bar 35.
  • the light incident on the light incident surface 41 ( FIG. 5A ) of the phosphor panel 20 from the light deflector 15 scans on the light incident surface 41 in a horizontal axis H direction and a vertical axis V direction.
  • the light deflector 15 is mounted on the rear assembly 3 to associate the long-side direction X, the short-side direction Y, and the thickness direction Z ( FIG. 3 ) of the light deflector 15 with the horizontal axis H and the vertical axis V of the light incident surface 41 so that scanning over the light incident surface 41 with the incident light in the horizontal axis H direction will correspond to reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 ( FIG.
  • the light incident on the light incident surface 41 of the phosphor panel 20 is emitted from the light emitting surface of the phosphor panel 20 via the light transmission part that houses the phosphors of the phosphor panel 20. Then, the light moves through the array of the projector lenses 19a to 19d from rear to front, and a trajectory of light on the light incident surface 41 is projected from the projector lens 19a to a predetermined irradiation area ahead of the headlight unit 1.
  • FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C are explanatory charts related to the fluorescence lifetime.
  • FIG. 4A is an explanatory chart related to the relationship between a change in vibration level of electrons of the phosphors, and the absorption and emission of vibrational energy.
  • S0 denotes a ground state
  • S1 denotes a first excited state
  • S2 denotes a second excited state.
  • the electrons of the phosphors have three orders of vibration levels in the ground state, the first excited state, and the second excited state, respectively.
  • "absorption” and “emission (fluorescence)" indicate that the respective electrons of the phosphors absorb and emit vibrational energy.
  • the phosphors emit fluorescence when vibrational energy is emitted.
  • the vibration level of the electrons of the phosphors increases from S0 to S1 or S2. At this time, the excitation energy of the excitation light is converted to the vibrational energy of the phosphors.
  • the time required for the phosphors to absorb the excitation energy of the excitation light and for the vibration level of the electrons to move from the ground state to the excited state is just in the order of femtoseconds.
  • the fluorescent molecules in the lowest-order vibration level of the first excited state S1 dissipate excess energy to drop to the lowest-order vibration level of the first excited state S1.
  • This state is most stable in the process of excitation, and the staying time in the lowest-order vibration level is in a range from several tens of nanoseconds to a few nanoseconds.
  • the phosphors emit energy.
  • the emitted energy at the time is converted to fluorescence.
  • the fluorescence is light (e.g., white light) lower in wavelength than the emitted light (e.g., blue light) from the laser-light emission device 14.
  • FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C illustrate changes in fluorescence intensity after the phosphors are excited.
  • the abscissa indicates time t.
  • the ordinate in FIG. 4B indicates the fluorescence intensity as a relative value with a peak value set to 1
  • the ordinate in FIG. 4C indicates a value after the relative value in FIG. 4B is converted to a natural logarithmic value, where "e" is the base of the natural logarithm.
  • the fluorescence intensity increases rapidly to the peak value, and after that, decreases slowly.
  • FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are explanatory diagrams related to scanning of an optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41.
  • FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B , and FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C are to point out the problems with the light deflector 15 when scanning of the optical spot Sp is done regardless of the fluorescence lifetime, and to be excluded from embodiments of the present invention.
  • the first drive voltage in FIG. 5B and the second drive voltage in FIG. 5C are applied to the embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5A is a diagram of the light incident surface 41 of the phosphor panel 20 as viewed from the side of the rear assembly 3.
  • the light incident surface 41 is set to be a rectangle.
  • H and V denote the horizontal axis and vertical axis as the coordinate axes.
  • the long side and short side of the light incident surface 41 are set to be parallel to the horizontal axis H and vertical axis V, respectively.
  • the long side and short side of the light incident surface 41 correspond to the sides to be scanned with the optical spot Sp at high speed and low speed.
  • An origin O is set to the center of the light incident surface 41 (an intersecting point of the diagonal lines of the rectangular light incident surface 41).
  • the horizontal axis H and the vertical axis V are orthogonal to each other at the origin O.
  • the origin O becomes a reference position (0, 0) as the origin of the coordinate system of the horizontal axis H and the vertical axis V.
  • the lengths of the long side and short side of the light incident surface 41 are 19 mm and 2.4 mm, respectively.
  • Kr denotes a track (trajectory) of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41, where Sp denotes an optical spot generated on the light incident surface 41 by the incident light entering the light incident surface 41 from the light deflector 15.
  • the track Kr moves from one end to the other end of the light incident surface 41 in the vertical axis V direction while coming and going between both ends of the light incident surface 41 in the horizontal axis H direction.
  • the optical spot Sp moves on the light incident surface 41 along the track Kr in conjunction with the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 of the light deflector 15 about the first and second rotation axial lines 50, 51.
  • the optical spot Sp is defined as a portion obtained by extracting, from the entire irradiation area, a portion of the irradiation area, not the whole of the irradiation area, to act as light (excitation light) capable of exciting the phosphors of the phosphor panel 20 in the irradiation area.
  • the incident light from the light deflector 15 is irradiated to the light incident surface 41, the irradiation area shines brightly.
  • the optical spot Sp means a portion acting as the excitation light of the phosphors in the irradiation area, and a portion outside of the optical spot Sp in the irradiation area cannot excite the phosphors though the portion has predetermined illuminance (> 0).
  • FIG. 5B illustrates the waveform of first drive voltage output by a mirror control unit (which also serves as the drive voltage generating unit) outside of the light deflector 15 to the inner actuator 36 of the light deflector 15.
  • the first drive voltage has a sinusoidal waveform.
  • the first drive voltage is, for example, 16 kHz.
  • the frequency of the first drive voltage is set to be a resonant frequency as the natural resonance frequency of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50.
  • the optical spot Sp reciprocally turns on the light incident surface 41 in the horizontal axis H direction to form reciprocating paths of the track Kr in the horizontal axis H direction.
  • FIG. 5C illustrates the waveform of second drive voltage as voltage to be supplied to the outer actuator 37 of the light deflector 15.
  • the second drive voltage has a sawtooth waveform.
  • the second drive voltage gradually increases with time, and when reaching the peak, the second drive voltage falls instantly, repeating this, for example, at 60 Hz.
  • the first drive voltage and the second drive voltage are supplied to the inner actuator 36 and the outer actuator 37 from an unillustrated mirror control unit.
  • the mirror control unit includes a power supply and is generally incorporated in the headlight unit 1. However, the mirror control unit may be provided as an external mirror control unit of the headlight unit 1 in such a manner that the output terminals of the first drive voltage and second drive voltage of the mirror control unit are connected by wiring to the input terminals of the first drive voltage and second drive voltage of the headlight unit 1.
  • the outer actuator 37 reciprocally turns the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51.
  • the optical spot Sp gradually decreases on the light incident surface 41 in the vertical axis V direction, and when reaching the lower side of the light incident surface 41, the optical spot Sp goes up to the upper side instantly.
  • FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C are explanatory diagrams related to the relationship between the optical spot Sp and a phosphor 43.
  • FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram of a total continuous irradiation time T, where Hc denotes the scanning direction of the optical spot Sp.
  • the scanning direction Hc indicates the plus direction of the horizontal axis H direction ( FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B ).
  • Da denotes the diameter of the optical spot Sp in the scanning direction Hc.
  • Db denotes a mean particle diameter of the phosphor 43 in the scanning direction Hc.
  • spot diameter Da > particle diameter Db.
  • the optical spot Sp specifically has an elongated shape. Therefore, if the mounting position of the laser-light emission device 14 into the laser holder 9 is not set to a predetermined position, Da may become a maximum of 400 mm.
  • the phosphor 43 is, for example, ce (ceramic) in YAG (yttrium, aluminium, garnet). The YAG phosphor 43 is such that the particle diameter Db is 20 ⁇ m and the fluorescence lifetime ⁇ is 60 ns.
  • total continuous irradiation time T an interval of time in which the entire phosphor 43 is included inside the optical spot Sp and continuously irradiated
  • the phosphor immediately reaches a peak value of the fluorescence intensity (in the order of femtoseconds).
  • the phosphor 43 cannot absorb energy from excitation light until the phosphor 43 returns to the ground state even if the excitation light continues to be irradiated. In other words, the excitation light cannot be converted to fluorescence.
  • the number of fluorescence emissions from the phosphor 43 is three.
  • the phosphor 43 absorbs energy from the excitation light only at three times indicated with "EXCITATION.”
  • EXCITATION the total continuous irradiation time T1 during which the phosphor 43 is irradiated by the optical spot Sp.
  • This waste is called luminance quenching.
  • the phosphor 43 increases in temperature to reduce the conversion efficiency of fluorescence emission. This reduction of conversion efficiency is called temperature quenching.
  • T1 ⁇ ⁇ is not desired from the standpoint of the occurrence of luminance quenching and temperature quenching.
  • FIG. 6C illustrates the total continuous irradiation time T at each position on the light incident surface 41 when the spot diameter Da is 400 ⁇ m, the particle diameter Db is 20 ⁇ m, and the reciprocal turning frequencies of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line are 16 kHz and 33 kHz.
  • the coordinate positions in the horizontal axis direction on the abscissa indicate a range of -0.5 mm to 9.5 mm.
  • FIG. 6C illustrates the total continuous irradiation time T of almost the right half of the light incident surface 41 in FIG. 5A .
  • the characteristic curves indicated with A1 and A2 in FIG. 6C are characteristic curves when the optical spot Sp is scanned on the light incident surface 41 by transverse scanning defined in FIG. 7A .
  • the total continuous irradiation time T becomes the shortest at the center of the light incident surface 41 in the horizontal axis H direction, and the longest at both ends of the light incident surface 41 in the horizontal axis H direction.
  • the straight line of the total continuous irradiation time T 60 ns (the fluorescence lifetime of YAG) is illustrated as reference. From FIG. 6C , it is found that the total continuous irradiation time T ⁇ 60 ns (the fluorescence lifetime of YAG) cannot be achieved in this structure of the headlight unit 1 even if the reciprocal turning frequency of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line on the light deflector 15 is changed from 16 kHz to 33 kHz about the twice the frequency at all positions on the light incident surface 41. Because of the structure of the light deflector 15, it is unreasonable to set reciprocal turning frequency of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line three times or more of 16 kHz in order to set the total continuous irradiation time T ⁇ 60 ns.
  • FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are explanatory diagrams related to the relationship between a light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 and the optical spot Sp.
  • FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C , and FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C are to describe the meaning of the transverse scanning of the optical spot Sp in the embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram when an elongated optical spot Sp is generated. Since the laser-light emission device 14 is semiconductor laser, the cross section of emitted light from the semiconductor laser (cross section cut in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction) becomes an ellipse, not a circle. Thus, the light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 is formed into a horizontally long shape to fit the elongated cross section of the emitted light.
  • the light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 has a specific shape different from the circle. Further, the condenser lens 16 is provided on the optical path 22 between the laser-light emission device 14 and the light deflector 15. Thus, the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41 is not a circle, which is an elongated shape of 400 ⁇ m in the major axis direction and 50 ⁇ m in the minor axis direction as illustrated in FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C .
  • emitted light is widened largely from the optical axis (which agrees with the center line of the light emitting unit 45) as the emitted light travels from the light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 toward the condenser lens 16, but this is more exaggerated than the actual situation.
  • the light emitting unit 45 i.e., the laser-light emission device 14 is rotated about the optical axis to change the rotational position of the optical spot Sp about the optical axis.
  • the light widths indicated by the solid line and broken line correspond to the minor axis direction and major axis direction among the radial directions perpendicular to the optical spot Sp, respectively.
  • FIG. 7B illustrates an optical spot Sp generated on the light incident surface 41 when the rotating angle of the light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 about the optical axis is set to a predetermined value ⁇ .
  • the horizontal scanning direction Hc i.e., the scanning direction by resonant driving using natural vibration (resonance vibration) is aligned with the major axis direction of the optical spot Sp having an elongated shape.
  • the laser-light emission device 14 is mounted on the laser holder 9 by rotating the light emitting unit 45 of the laser-light emission device 14 about the optical axis by 90 degrees from a predetermined value ⁇ in Fig.7B to change the rotating angle to ⁇ + 90 degrees.
  • the minor axis direction of the elongated optical spot Sp can be aligned with the scanning direction by resonant driving using the horizontal scanning direction Hc, i.e., the natural vibration (resonance vibration).
  • FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C are explanatory diagrams of the total continuous irradiation time T of the optical spot Sp.
  • FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are explanatory diagrams of the total continuous irradiation time T when the major axis direction and minor axis direction of the optical spot Sp are aligned with the scanning direction Hc, respectively.
  • the major axis and minor axis of the optical spot Sp are assumed to be 400 ⁇ m and 50 ⁇ m, respectively.
  • the particle diameter of the phosphor 43 is assumed to be 20 ⁇ m.
  • the scanning systems when scanning is performed by aligning the major axis direction and minor axis direction of the optical spot Sp with the scanning direction Hc on the light incident surface of the phosphor panel 20 such as the light incident surface 41 are respectively called “transverse scanning” and “longitudinal scanning” accordingly.
  • each of optical spots Sp1, Sp3 is illustrated at a position when the front end thereof is aligned with the front end of the phosphor 43 in the scanning direction Hc.
  • Each of optical spots Sp2, Sp4 is illustrated at a position when the rear end thereof is aligned with the rear end of the phosphor 43 in the scanning direction Hc.
  • Co1 and Co2 indicate the centers of the optical spots Sp1, Sp2 in the scanning direction Hc, respectively.
  • the total continuous irradiation time T at the time of transverse scanning of the optical spot Sp is calculated as a time required for the center of the optical spot Sp to move 380 ⁇ m as distance between Co1 and Co2 in the scanning direction Hc.
  • the total continuous irradiation time T when the minor axis direction of the optical spot Sp is aligned with the scanning direction Hc is calculated as a time required for the center of the optical spot Sp moves 30 ⁇ m as distance between the center position of the optical spot Sp3 and the center position of the optical spot Sp4 in the scanning direction Hc.
  • the rotational position of the light emitting unit 45 is set to ⁇ + 90 degrees. It can be understood that the total continuous irradiation time T is reduced at the time of longitudinal scanning of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41 to achieve total continuous irradiation time T ⁇ fluorescence lifetime ⁇ .
  • FIG. 8C is an explanatory diagram when the optical spot Sp is scanned by aligning the minor axis direction of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41 with the scanning direction Hc, i.e., the scanning direction by resonant driving using natural vibration (resonance vibration) based on the discussions on FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B .
  • the mirror unit 32 reciprocally turns about the first rotation axial line 50 and the second rotation axial line 51.
  • the optical spot Sp reciprocally scans in the horizontal axis H direction on the light incident surface 41 in conjunction with the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50, and reciprocally scans in the vertical axis V direction on the light incident surface 41 in conjunction with the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51.
  • the optical spot Sp scans in the scanning direction Hc as the sum of reciprocal scanning in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction.
  • scanning of the optical spot Sp in the scanning direction Hc contains a scanning component in the horizontal axis H direction and a scanning component in the vertical axis V direction.
  • the scanning direction Hc is nearly the horizontal axis H direction as the scanning direction by resonant driving.
  • FIG. 9 is a diagram of a light incident surface 411 as viewed from the side of the rear assembly 3, which is used in another embodiment to reduce the total continuous irradiation time T.
  • the light incident surface 411 in FIG. 9 is formed by reducing both end ranges in the horizontal axis H by about 15 percent, respectively, compared with the light incident surface 41 in FIG. 5A .
  • the dimensions of the light incident surface 411 are equal to the dimensions of the light incident surface 41 in the vertical axis V direction.
  • the distance from the origin O to both ends of the light incident surface 411 in the horizontal axis H direction is reduced to 8.0 mm from 9.5 mm as the distance from the origin O to both ends of the light incident surface 41 in the horizontal axis H direction.
  • the first drive voltage of the inner actuator 36 in the light deflector 15 is controlled by an unillustrated mirror control unit inside the vehicle headlight equipped with the headlight unit 1 to make the reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 on the light deflector 15 identical to that when the optical spot Sp is scanned on the light incident surface 41 regardless of using the light incident surface 411 instead of the light incident surface 41.
  • the laser-light emission device 14 is turned off by the light source control unit.
  • the light incident surface 411 is such that the optical spot Sp is scanned at a scanning speed higher than a reference scanning speed (a scanning speed corresponding to a boundary L in FIG. 10A to be described later) on the front surface thereof.
  • FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are charts for describing the effects when longitudinal scanning and the light incident surface 411 narrow in width are used.
  • FIG. 10A is a graph illustrating the effect of reducing the total continuous irradiation time T when longitudinal scanning and the light incident surface 411 narrow in width are used.
  • the abscissa in FIG. 10A indicates coordinate positions in the horizontal axis H direction with respect to the origin O ( FIG. 9 ).
  • the total continuous irradiation time T of longitudinal scanning of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 411 is indicated as a total continuous irradiation time T in an area of the graph to the left of the boundary L drawn at a coordinate position of 8.0 mm in the horizontal axis H direction among the total continuous irradiation times T of longitudinal scanning of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 41.
  • the terms "transverse” and “longitudinal” at B1 to B5 mean transverse scanning of the optical spot Sp in FIG. 8A and longitudinal scanning of the optical spot Sp in FIG. 8B , respectively.
  • 16 kHz and 33 kHz mean the frequencies of reciprocal turning of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 on the light deflector 15.
  • B3 is the total continuous irradiation time T corresponding to ⁇ of ce (ceramic) in YAG (yttrium, aluminium, garnet). Note that the characteristic curves B4 and B5 in FIG. 10A are obtained when the optical spot Sp is scanned on the light incident surface 41 by transverse scanning, which match the characteristic curves A1 and A2 in FIG. 6C .
  • the light incident surface is so made that both end ranges of the light incident surface 41, where the scanning speed of the optical spot Sp in the horizontal axis H direction is reduced (a range of horizontal-axis H coordinates to the right of the boundary L in FIG. 10A on the light incident surface 41) are cut off.
  • the total continuous irradiation time T at each coordinate position of the horizontal axis H direction in each of the characteristic curves B1 to B5 corresponds to the scanning speed of the optical spot Sp. It is found from FIG. 10A that the characteristics of total continuous irradiation time T at longitudinal 16 kHz (B1) and longitudinal 33 kHz (B2) are such that the total continuous irradiation time T (corresponding to the scanning speed) in each area range inside the boundary L (ends of the light incident surface 411 in the horizontal axis H direction) is less than the fluorescence lifetime ⁇ (60 ns).
  • the scanning of the optical spot Sp on the light incident surface 411 can achieve total continuous irradiation time T ⁇ fluorescence lifetime ⁇ as illustrated in FIG. 10B .
  • FIG. 11 illustrates optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c generated on a light incident surface 53 by two headlight units 1.
  • the light incident surface 53 is assumed to be a light incident surface obtained by synthesizing light incident surfaces 411 ( FIG. 9 ) in the two headlight units 1.
  • a light incident surface 52 is assumed to be a light incident surface obtained by synthesizing light incident surfaces 41 ( FIG. 9 ) in the two headlight units 1.
  • a vehicle equipped with headlight units 1 includes one headlight device on each of the right and left sides, and each headlight device includes two headlight units 1, respectively.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c in FIG. 11 correspond to an optical spot scanning area generated by the two headlight units 1 on either of the right and left sides altogether.
  • first and second headlight units 1 respectively
  • two irradiation systems 13 in the first headlight unit 1 generate the optical spot scanning areas 55a and 55b, respectively
  • two irradiation systems 13 in the second headlight unit 1 generate the optical spot scanning areas 55b and 55c, respectively.
  • FIG. 11 although the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are illustrated on one light incident surface 53, FIG. 11 illustrates the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c together on the light incident surface 53 by integrating the light incident surface of the first headlight unit 1 and the light incident surface of the second headlight unit 1 into one light incident surface 53.
  • the dimensions of the light incident surface 53 in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction are the same as those of the light incident surface 411.
  • Optical spots Spa to Spc in corresponding irradiation systems 13 are scanned in the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c, respectively.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are so set that the dimensions thereof in the horizontal axis H direction will be equal to the dimensions of the light incident surface 53 in the horizontal axis H direction. Further, the dimensions of the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are set to increase in the vertical axis V direction in this order.
  • Scanning light beams corresponding to the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are emitted from the vehicle headlights equipped with the headlight units 1. These scanning light beams correspond to the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c to scan irradiation areas overlapped like the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c illustrated in FIG.
  • the irradiation areas generated ahead of the vehicle headlights based on the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c correspond to a spot irradiation area (SPOT), an intermediate irradiation area (MID), and a widespread irradiation area (WIDE), respectively.
  • SPOT spot irradiation area
  • MID intermediate irradiation area
  • WIDE widespread irradiation area
  • the turning frequencies and turning angle ranges of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 on the light deflector 15 of each irradiation system 13 are set equal to one another regardless of the irradiation system 13.
  • the turning frequencies of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51 on the light deflector 15 of each irradiation system 13 are set equal, but the turning angle ranges are set to increase in order of the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c.
  • the turning angle ranges of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51 on the light deflector 15 in each irradiation system 13 are adjusted by the second drive voltage ( FIG. 5C ). As the turning angle range becomes larger, the peak value of the second drive voltage increases.
  • the intensity of the optical spot Sp as excitation light irradiated to the light incident surface 41 of the phosphor panel 20 is enhanced when passing through the vicinity of the center of the phosphor panel 20. Therefore, it is required to keep high conversion efficiency of the phosphors in the vicinity of the center of the phosphor panel 20 in order to generate irradiated light with small chromaticity differences.
  • the laser-light emission devices 14 may be turned off (lights-out state) to stop the emission of light from the laser-light emission device 14. This is because the illuminance in the both end portions is not required to be high compared with the illuminance at the center.
  • control to change the positions and virtual widths of the optical spot scanning areas 55a and 55b in the horizontal axis H direction can be performed. This control will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B .
  • the illuminance decreases in order of the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c. Since the optical spot scanning area 55a overlaps with the optical spot scanning areas 55b and 55c, the illuminance particularly increases in the range of the optical spot scanning area 55a.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are collectively called the “optical spot scanning area 55" unless otherwise the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c are particularly distinguished.
  • the optical spot Sp of each optical spot scanning area 55 is scanned longitudinally even on the light incident surface 53.
  • both ends of the light incident surface 53 in the horizontal axis H direction should be located inside the scanning range (i.e., on the side of the origin O from the boundary L in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B (the left boundary L is omitted in FIG.
  • FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are explanatory diagrams of the control to change the virtual positions and virtual widths of the optical spot scanning areas 55a and 55b in the horizontal axis H direction by adding intensity control of laser light (emitted light) emitted from the laser-light emission device 14 to the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c in FIG. 11 .
  • the optical spot scanning areas 55a to 55c in FIG. 11 are indicated by SPOT, MID, and WIDE in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B , respectively.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 55a and 55b (SPOT and MID) have the same width as the optical spot scanning area 55c (WIDE) in the horizontal axis H direction in FIG. 11 , while MID is more reduced than WIDE and SPOT is further more reduced than MID in terms of the widths in the horizontal axis H direction in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B .
  • the boundary between SPOT and MID is indicated by a solid-line rectangular frame.
  • the boundary between both ends of the optical spot scanning area 55a (SPOT) and the optical spot scanning area 55b (MID) in the horizontal axis H direction matches with the boundary of the optical spot scanning area 55c (WIDE).
  • FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B when the optical spots Spa and Spb ( FIG. 11 ) scan outside of the frames in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B in the horizontal axis H direction, corresponding laser-light emission devices 14 are turned off (lights-out state) not to irradiate scanning light to corresponding irradiation areas.
  • the intensity of emitted light from the laser-light emission devices 14 can also be made weaker than that during the period of scanning inside of the frames while keeping the corresponding laser-light emission devices 14 turned on (lighting state) without being turned off (lights-out state). To the contrary, the intensity of emitted light from the laser-light emission devices 14 can be made stronger during the period of scanning inside of the frames in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B in the horizontal axis H direction during the period of scanning outside of the frames to generate virtual SPOT and MID.
  • FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B entities in the irradiation areas by the headlight units 1 are also illustrated to make the displacement of SPOT understandable, where 78 indicates a preceding vehicle ahead of an own vehicle equipped with the headlight units 1 on a vehicle lane 82 of a curved road 81 on which the own vehicle is running.
  • SPOT in FIG. 12A is illustrated in a standard position the center of which exists on the center line of the own vehicle in the horizontal direction. When the own vehicle is running on a straight road, SPOT is in the standard position.
  • the center of SPOT in FIG. 12B is displaced by a predetermined amount K ⁇ on the inner side of the curved road 81 from the center line in the horizontal direction of the own vehicle.
  • the own vehicle is equipped with a camera, a steering control-angle sensor, and the like.
  • the relative position of the preceding vehicle 78 to the own vehicle is detected by performing known analytical processing on images captured with the camera. Further, the fact that the own vehicle is running on the curved road 81 can be detected from a detection signal and the like from the steering control-angle sensor that detects the steering control angle of the steering wheel operated by a driver of the own vehicle.
  • the center of SPOT is displaced, by an amount of displacement corresponding to the curvature of the curved road 81, from the center in the horizontal direction of the own vehicle to the inner side (turning side) of the curved road 81 in the horizontal axis H direction.
  • the driver can have visual contact with the preceding vehicle 78 clearly even on the curved road 81 while keeping the preceding vehicle 78 inside SPOT.
  • FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B displacement control based on the situation related to vehicle driving is not performed on MID, and the relative position of MID to the center line in the horizontal direction of the own vehicle is fixed like in the case of WIDE.
  • FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of another headlight unit.
  • the headlight unit has spot diameter-changing lenses 62a, 62b as diameter-reducing lens elements added to the headlight unit 1 on the optical paths 22a, 22b, respectively.
  • the spot diameter-changing lenses 62a, 62b are collectively called the “spot diameter-changing lens 62" unless otherwise the spot diameter-changing lenses 62a, 62b are particularly distinguished.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c generated on the light incident surface 53 by two headlight units inside the same vehicle headlight.
  • the light incident surface 53 means that two light incident surfaces 411 ( FIG. 9 ) are synthesized.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c in FIG. 14 correspond to an optical spot scanning area generated by the two headlight units on either of the right and left sides altogether.
  • first and second headlight units respectively
  • two irradiation systems 13 in the first headlight unit generate the optical spot scanning areas 65a and 65b
  • two irradiation systems 13 in the second headlight unit generate the optical spot scanning areas 65b and 65c, respectively.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c together on the light incident surface 53 by integrating the light incident surface 41 ( FIG. 5A ) of the first headlight unit and the light incident surface 41 ( FIG. 5A ) of the second headlight unit into one light incident surface 53.
  • the dimensions of the light incident surface 53 in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction are the same as those of the light incident surface 411 ( FIG. 9 ).
  • a light incident surface 52 obtained by integrating the light incident surfaces 41 in FIG. 9 is illustrated as reference.
  • Optical spots Spa to Spc in corresponding irradiation systems 13 are scanned in the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c. Further, the dimensions of the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c are increased in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction in this order.
  • the optical spots Spa to Spc are all longitudinal optical spots.
  • the dimensions of the largest optical spot scanning area 65c in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction is set equal to the dimensions of the light incident surface 53 in the horizontal axis H direction and the vertical axis V direction.
  • the turning frequencies of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 on the light deflector 15 of each irradiation system 13 are set equal to one another regardless of the irradiation system 13.
  • the turning angle ranges are increased in order of the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c.
  • the turning frequencies of the mirror unit 32 about the second rotation axial line 51 on the light deflector 15 of each irradiation system 13 are set to be equal to one another regardless of the irradiation system 13, but the turning angle ranges are set to increase in order of the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c.
  • the turning angle ranges of the mirror unit 32 about the first rotation axial line 50 and the second rotation axial line 51 on the light deflector 15 of each irradiation system 13 are adjusted by the first drive voltage ( FIG. 5B ) and the second drive voltage ( FIG. 5C ). As the turning angle range becomes larger, the peak-to-peak value of the first and second drive voltages increases.
  • Scanning light beams corresponding to the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c are emitted from the vehicle headlights equipped with the headlight units. These scanning light beams correspond to the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c to scan irradiation areas overlapped like the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c illustrated in FIG. 14 .
  • the irradiation areas generated ahead of the vehicle headlights based on the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c correspond a spot irradiation area, an intermediate irradiation area, and a widespread irradiation area, respectively.
  • the optical spots Spa to Spc are optical spots Sp to scan the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c, respectively.
  • the optical spots Spa to Spc are collectively called the “optical spot Sp” unless otherwise the optical spots Spa to Spc are particularly distinguished.
  • the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c are collectively called the “optical spot scanning area 65" unless otherwise the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c are particularly distinguished.
  • the spot diameter-changing lens 62 ( FIG. 13 ) adjusts the amount of light from an aperture of the laser-light emission device 14 so that the optical spot Sp having a size (diameter) set in the irradiation system with the spot diameter-changing lens 62 provided therein will be formed in a corresponding optical spot scanning area 65 (in FIG. 14 , as the optical spot scanning area 65 is larger, a larger optical spot Sp is formed).
  • the optical spot Sp has a smaller diameter, the total continuous irradiation time T decreases. Therefore, the optical spot Sp can be made smaller for the smaller optical spot scanning area 65 to keep the conversion efficiency of the phosphors without increasing the scanning speed so much even when the optical spot scanning area has a short length in the scanning direction Hc.
  • the size of each of the optical spots Spa to Spc is increased in this order according to the size of each of the optical spot scanning areas 65a to 65c.
  • a relationship between the dimensions of the optical spot scanning areas 65a, 65b and the scanning speeds of the optical spots Spa, Spb in the horizontal axis H direction will be described. Since the relationship between the dimensions of the optical spot scanning area 65a in the horizontal axis H direction and the scanning speed of the optical spot Spa is the same as the relationship between the dimensions of the optical spot scanning area 65b in the horizontal axis H direction and the scanning speed of the optical spot Spb, only the former relationship will be described.
  • both ends of the optical spot scanning area 65a in the horizontal axis H direction should be included in a scanning range of the optical spot Spa for the optical spot scanning area 65a, where the total continuous irradiation time T corresponding to the scanning speed in the scanning direction Hc becomes total continuous irradiation time T ⁇ fluorescence lifetime ⁇ .
  • the optical spot Spa the waste of excitation light energy of the optical spot Sp to the phosphor 43 inside the phosphor panel 20 can be prevented.
  • the headlight unit 1 is described as an example of the optical scanning device.
  • the optical scanning device of the present invention is not limited to the headlight unit 1, and can also be applied to an illuminating device that illuminates the exterior or the interior, a projector that generates an image in an area such as an image projection screen, and the like.
  • a blur laser-light emission device 14 having the light emitting unit 45 is included in the embodiments.
  • Any light source device other than the blur laser-light emission device 14, such as any color laser-light emission device other than blur laser, an RGB laser, or an LED (Light Emitting Diode) can be adopted as the light source device of the present invention.
  • projector lenses 19a to 19d that irradiate light to irradiation areas are provided as projector units that adjust light emitted from the light emitting surface of the phosphor panel to project the light to the irradiation areas.
  • the projector units of the present invention may be collimator lenses. The number and arrangement of projector lenses as the projector units can also be changed depending on the situation.
  • the optical spot Sp as an excitation light spot that is the excitation source of phosphors has a line-symmetric shape.
  • the excitation light spot of the present invention may not have the line-symmetric shape as long as the excitation light spot has the major axis direction and the minor axis direction.
  • the light source control unit that controls the ON and OFF of the light source device is provided in the headlight unit 1, 61.
  • the light source control unit of the present invention may be an external light source control unit provided outside the headlight unit 1, 61 and connected by wiring to the laser-light emission device 14 of the headlight unit 1, 61.
  • the scanning speed corresponding to the boundary L in FIG. 10A is described as the reference scanning speed at which the total continuous irradiation time as the time of continuously irradiating all the phosphors having an average particle diameter becomes equal to the fluorescence lifetime of the phosphors.
  • the scanning speed corresponding to the boundary L in FIG. 10A is not fixed and is changed diversely depending on the types of phosphors, the placing position of the laser-light emission device 14, the type of emitted light, and the like under the environment in which the optical scanning device is provided.
  • the scanning direction Hc as the direction along the scanning direction of the optical spot Sp approximately matches the horizontal axis H direction.
  • the present invention includes a case where the scanning direction Hc is a direction with a predetermined inclined angle with respect to the horizontal axis H, and a case where the scanning direction Hc is the vertical axis V direction.
  • the spot diameter-changing lens 62 ( FIG. 13 ) is provided as the diameter-reducing lens element that reduces the diameter of each excitation light spot.
  • the diameter-reducing lens element of the present invention can be mounted on the laser-light emission device 14, rather than provided in the middle of the optical path 22.
  • the headlight unit 1, 61 includes the irradiation systems 13a, 13b as the first and second irradiation systems.
  • the optical scanning device of the present invention can also include three or more irradiation systems.
  • the light incident surface 41 of the phosphor panel 20, and the like are formed in a rectangular shape.
  • the light incident surface of the phosphor panel of the present invention can also be applied to any shape other than the rectangle (such as the parallelogram, the square, and a diamond shape).
  • the inner actuator 36 and the outer actuator 37 of the light deflector 15 as actuators, and the light source control unit that controls the ON and OFF of the laser-light emission device 14 are described to be separate entities.
  • a control unit of the present invention may serve as both the mirror control unit of the light deflector and the light source control unit.
  • the inner actuator 36 and the outer actuator 37 for the light deflector 15 are both piezoelectric actuators that deform piezoelectric membranes under the control of applied voltage to the piezoelectric membrane to relatively displace both ends of the cantilever bodies in the long-side direction on which the piezoelectric membranes are fixed in order to displace a target to be acted upon by this relative displacement.
  • the actuators of the present invention may be of any drive type other than the piezoelectric type as long as the actuators can reciprocally turn the mirror unit about the first and second rotation axial lines orthogonal to each other.
  • electromagnetic or electrostatic actuators can be adopted.

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  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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Claims (1)

  1. Dispositif de balayage optique comprenant :
    un dispositif de source de lumière (14) ayant une unité d'émission de lumière (45) pour émettre de la lumière à partir de l'unité d'émission de lumière (45) ;
    un panneau de luminophore (20) ayant une partie de transmission de lumière qui loge des luminophores (43) entre une surface incidente à la lumière (41) et une surface d'émission de lumière ;
    une unité de projecteur (19) configurée pour régler la lumière émise par la surface d'émission de lumière du panneau de luminophore (20) et pour projeter la lumière vers une zone d'irradiation ;
    un déflecteur de lumière (15) ayant une unité de miroir (32) pouvant tourner réciproquement autour de première et deuxième lignes axiales de rotation (50, 51) orthogonales l'une à l'autre, et des actionneurs (36, 37) pour faire tourner l'unité de miroir (32) réciproquement autour des première et deuxième lignes axiales de rotation (50, 51), le déflecteur de lumière (15) étant configuré pour réfléchir, par l'unité de miroir (32), la lumière incidente provenant de l'unité d'émission de lumière du dispositif de source de lumière (14), et pour amener la lumière réfléchie à balayer la surface incidente à la lumière du panneau de luminophore (20) dans des première et deuxième directions de balayage correspondant aux directions de rotation réciproques de l'unité de miroir (32) autour des première et deuxième lignes axiales de rotation (50, 51) ; et
    une unité de génération de tension de commande configurée pour générer des tensions de commande des actionneurs (36, 37) de sorte que la rotation réciproque de l'unité de miroir (32) autour de la première ligne axiale de rotation (50) soit effectuée à une fréquence de résonance en tant que vibration naturelle de l'unité de miroir (32), et la rotation réciproque de l'unité de miroir (32) autour de la deuxième ligne axiale de rotation (51) soit effectuée à une fréquence non résonnante différente de la fréquence de résonance,
    le dispositif de balayage optique comprenant en outre :
    des premier et deuxième systèmes d'irradiation (13a, 13b) ayant chacun le dispositif de source de lumière (14) et le déflecteur de lumière (15) séparément et partageant tous deux le panneau de luminophore (20) et l'unité de projecteur (19), où les premier et deuxième systèmes d'irradiation (13a, 13b) sont structurés de sorte qu'une première zone de balayage (55a) des première et deuxième zones de balayage (55a, 55b) générées respectivement sur la surface incidente de lumière (41) en tant que zones de balayage de points lumineux d'excitation (Sp) se trouve sur un côté intérieur de la deuxième zone de balayage (55b) ; et
    des éléments de lentille de réduction de diamètre (62) pour rendre un diamètre du point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) du premier système d'irradiation (13a) plus petit que celui du point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) du deuxième système d'irradiation (13b), caractérisé en ce que
    les plus longues et les plus courtes de deux directions radiales d'un point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) sont définies comme une direction de grand axe et une direction de petit axe, respectivement, où les deux directions radiales sont perpendiculaires l'une à l'autre, et le point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) est généré sur la surface incidente de lumière (41) du panneau de luminophore (20) par la lumière réfléchie provenant de chaque déflecteur de lumière (15) pour exciter les luminophores (43) dans la partie de transmission de lumière, et une position de rotation de l'unité d'émission de lumière de chaque dispositif de source de lumière (14) autour d'un axe optique de la lumière émise provenant de l'unité d'émission de lumière est réglée de sorte que la direction du petit axe de chaque point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) sera une direction le long de la première direction de balayage du point lumineux d'excitation (Sp) sur la surface incidente à la lumière (41).
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JP7132468B2 (ja) * 2018-06-22 2022-09-07 スタンレー電気株式会社 光源装置、車両用ヘッドライト
JP7048443B2 (ja) 2018-07-19 2022-04-05 スタンレー電気株式会社 光投射装置
JP7172557B2 (ja) * 2018-12-19 2022-11-16 株式会社リコー 光偏向装置、画像投影装置、レーザヘッドランプ及び移動体
JP2021172273A (ja) * 2020-04-28 2021-11-01 船井電機株式会社 移動体用投光装置

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EP3205929A2 (fr) 2017-08-16
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JP2017134133A (ja) 2017-08-03
EP3205929A3 (fr) 2017-11-15

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