RU2446963C1 - Head light (versions) and method of road illumination - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to automotive industry, particularly, to head light design. Proposed head light uses one LED as light source to form illumination zone and photoreceiver connected therewith. Said photoreceiver control LED brightness. LED and photoreceiver operate in pulse mode in antiphase. In compliance with first version, photoreceiver radiation pattern is partially or completely aligned with that of LED to allow photoreceiver to ambient light sources between LED flashes. In compliance with second version, photoreceivers are arranged to allow responding to LED crystal illumination by ambient light sources located in LED illumination zone between its flashes. Method of road illumination consists in using head light with above described properties as light source.

EFFECT: ruling out dazzle.

7 cl, 12 dwg

Description

The presented group of inventions relates to the field of transport technology, namely, to the design of a non-dazzling vehicle headlight made on the basis of LEDs and to a method for illuminating a road using non-dazzling headlights.

As you know, there is the problem of blinding vehicle drivers with headlights from other vehicles, which leads, according to various estimates, to fifteen percent of all traffic accidents - [http: ///redvanov.net/2010/02/03/sekrety _ vozhdenija_avtomobilja_nochju_i_v_usiovijakh_plokhojj_vidimosti.html] /. Blinding occurs both because of the indiscipline of some drivers - their failure to pass to the dipped beam when driving on the way or overtaking - and due to the design features of the dipped headlights. For example, the dipped-beam headlights that are currently used in most cars do not have automatic correctors and dazzle oncoming traffic when the car moves along a curved path and also when they are misaligned relative to the norm.

The known problem of protecting the eyes of drivers from oncoming light. In particular, it is known a device for switching the dipped and main beam of a vehicle headlights, including a light sensor mounted in front of the vehicle, a comparison unit, a light switching command driver whose outputs are connected respectively to the vehicle headlights and a headlight switch, as well as a generator pulses and vehicle speed sensor [Description of the invention to the USSR copyright certificate No. 1409491 of 12/11/1986, IPC ⁴ B60Q 1/08, publ. 07/15/1988]. The device provides automatic switching of headlights from far to near of each of the oncoming vehicles when driving at an optimum distance, which helps to create favorable working conditions for drivers and increase traffic safety.

Although the known device and solves the problem of the timely transition from high beam headlights to low beam, it does not solve the problems associated with the previously mentioned disadvantages of low beam headlights.

A known driver’s eye protection system when the headlights of an oncoming vehicle are blinded by light, comprising a screen, a camera, a device for determining the coordinates of the intersection of the optical axis of the eye with the screen, a control unit based on a software and hardware complex configured to periodically read the coordinates of the driver’s eye position from the sensor by definition coordinates of the position of each human eye relative to the screen, which is made in the form of a transparent or partially transparent protective polymer liquid a low-resolution tally screen of matrix type and is mounted on the windshield of the car or between the windshield and the driver, and performing the formation of blackout in that part of the screen, which is necessary to protect the eyes of the driver of the vehicle from being dazzled by the headlights of the oncoming vehicle, and the control unit periodically reads images the headlights of the oncoming vehicle from the camera [Description of the utility model for RF patent No. 92789 of 12/08/2009, IPC F61F 9/06, publ. 04/10/2010]. The system provides effective protection for the eyes of the driver of the vehicle when the headlights of the oncoming vehicle are blinded by the light while maintaining the transparency of the windshield in areas that were not exposed to light from the source.

The implementation of this system in most manufactured cars is not possible in the near future, since it is comparable in value to the cost of the car itself. In addition, defects in the vehicle’s windshield and its contamination sharply reduce the efficiency of the system, as blinding light is scattered outside the coverage area of the formed blackouts of the liquid crystal screen.

A known design of anti-glare headlights containing a source of flux of parallel rays of light and the main stack of flat parallel plates of a transparent dielectric, mounted on the path of the flux of rays of light at an angle of Brewster to it. An additional stack of transparent dielectric plates is installed on the path of the light flux component reflected from the main stack of transparent dielectric plates, and a shutter made of opaque material is connected to the component of the light flux passing through the main stack of transparent dielectric plates, connected through an actuator to an electronic controller, containing photosensitive sensors [Description of the invention to the patent of the Russian Federation No. 2221175 of 03/11/2002, IPC F21S 8/10, publ. November 27, 2004]. EFFECT: increased efficiency of vehicles by improving the safety and efficiency of their operation.

The disadvantage of this design is the reduction, due to polarization, by about half the luminous flux of the headlamp in low beam mode.

A known headlamp with an LED radiation source containing a power source, a control unit and LEDs mounted on boards in a special way and equipped with secondary optics, with some of the secondary optics having a narrow angle of divergence of the main beam and the other part wide, have a low beam [Utility Model Description to the patent of the Russian Federation No. 78739 dated 08/18/2008, IPC B60Q 1/00, B60Q 1/04, F21S 8/10, publ. 12/10/2008]. The headlight has advanced functionality, reliability and efficiency.

It should be noted that the technical solution of the well-known headlight is a consequence of the use of LED technology, which in itself has all the advantages listed above, but this device does not solve the problem of blinding the drivers of other vehicles due to the driver’s “forgetfulness” about the need to switch to the dipped beam or due to misalignment of the headlight .

The closest analogue of the claimed group of inventions - in terms of headlight design - is the BeamAtic Premium system - a joint project of the French company Valeo and the Japanese company Ichikoh. - preventing blinding oncoming drivers on the highway without switching the high beam of the car [http://www.membrana.ru/lenta/?10756]. The system includes a headlight, the radiation pattern of which can change due to the mechanical movement of an opaque screen (curtain) placed in the optical system of the headlight, a video camera that senses the traffic situation and a computer that processes information from the video camera and controls an opaque screen placed in the optical system of the headlight .

The disadvantages of this system are:

- the presence of a powerful computer in the system for an objective analysis of information about the situation on the road coming from the video camera;

- the presence of the video camera itself and the exact mechanisms for moving the curtain, which makes the system quite expensive and unclaimed by the manufacturers of inexpensive cars;

- the lack of security of the system from a false decision when the camera receives the headlight system reflected from traffic elements, such as reflective elements of road signs, chrome parts of other cars, icy trees, etc .;

- unpredictability of the system when moving towards a convoy of cars.

The problem solved by the group of inventions, in terms of two headlamp options, and the technical result achieved are to effectively prevent blinding of road users, including drivers of a moving vehicle, either on the way or along the way, or standing transport, regardless of speed, vehicle trajectory, terrain terrain and human factor, and subject to full coverage of the road.

To solve the problem and achieve the claimed technical result, in the first embodiment, the headlights use at least one LED as its own light source, which forms the lighting zone and has at least one photodetector associated with it, the radiation pattern of which is partially or fully coincides with the directivity pattern of the LED and its brightness control depending on the extraneous light sources located in the LED lighting area, while the LEDs and photodetectors and operate in a pulsed mode in antiphase with the photodetectors to detect extraneous sources of light between the LED flashes.

Besides:

- LEDs are configured to realize the frequency of flashes above the level of perception of the human eye;

- the lighting zone of the carriageway is formed by adding their own lighting zones of LEDs with the possibility of their partial and / or complete overlap.

In the second embodiment, the headlights use at least one LED as their own light source, which forms its own lighting zone and has at least one photodetector associated with it that controls its brightness, while the LEDs and photodetectors operate in a pulsed mode out of phase, moreover, the photodetectors are arranged to respond to the illumination of the LED crystal from extraneous light sources located in the zone of illumination of the LED, between its flashes.

Besides:

- LEDs are configured to realize the frequency of flashes above the level of perception of the human eye;

- the lighting zone of the carriageway is formed by adding their own lighting zones of LEDs with the possibility of their partial and / or complete overlap.

There are a variety of vehicle lighting methods for the carriageway, which blinds other road users.

In particular, there is a known method for preventing driver blinding with an appropriate system for its implementation, which consists in sending pulse-modulated light flux through the headlights of the vehicle, light flux pulses reflected from objects of the road situation to the driver’s eyes, strobe with a light shutter located in front of the driver, while the luminous flux is modulated by a pulse sequence, which is selected in accordance with the direction of movement of the vehicle means determined by the navigation system from the ensemble of orthogonal sequences of pulses synchronized by the exact time signals, and pulses of the light flux of the headlights of vehicles moving in opposite directions appear simultaneously and have a fixed time shift relative to each other [Description of the invention to the RF patent No. 2294846 dated 05.06 .2002, IPC B60J 3/04, F21S 8/12, publ. 03/10/2007]. As a result, road safety is increased while protecting the driver from being dazzled by the headlights of oncoming vehicles.

The disadvantages of the method include the complexity of its practical implementation, since the system must be equipped with all participants in the movement. In addition, the use of a light shutter reduces (in this case by more than half) the luminous flux to the driver’s eyes, similarly to glasses with tinted windows or tinted windows of a car.

The closest analogue of the third invention of the group-method of lighting the roadway is also the previously mentioned BeamAtic Premium system [see http://www.membrana.ru/lenta/?10756]. The method is carried out by a headlight, the radiation pattern of which can be changed due to the mechanical movement of an opaque screen (curtain) located in the headlight optical system, using a video camera that senses the traffic situation and a computer that processes information from the video camera and controls the movement of the opaque screen located in the headlight optical system . The driver of the oncoming car perceives his vis-à-vis as if he had a dipped headlight, but for the owner of BeamAtic Premium itself the picture is different: he still has a high beam and he sees the whole traffic situation well. From the outside, it looks like a shadow on the back of an oncoming car.

The disadvantage of this method is the high cost of its implementation and the structural inertia of the system - with a sudden change in road conditions (for example, the sudden appearance of an oncoming car due to a turn), the mechanical drive of the curtain needs time to shift it to the desired position.

The problem solved by the third invention of the group, in terms of the method of lighting the road, and the technical result achieved, are to effectively prevent blinding of road users, including drivers traveling on the way, along the way, or standing transport, regardless of speed, vehicle trajectory, terrain terrain and human factor, and subject to full coverage of the road.

To solve the problem and achieve the claimed technical result, in the way of lighting the road, which consists in reducing the level of illumination of the section on which the moving or standing transport with the headlights turned on, the illumination is carried out by a light source, at least one headlight being used with features according to any one of the above embodiments of the invention.

The invention is illustrated by drawings, where:

- figure 1 schematically shows the construction of a simple headlamp - the first option - with one LED that has a photodetector associated with it, the radiation pattern of which almost coincides with the radiation pattern of the LED;

- figure 2 - the operation of the headlight of figure 1 in radiation mode - the LED is on, the photodetector is off;

- figure 3 - the operation of the headlight of figure 1 in reception mode - the LED is off, the photodetector is on;

- Fig. 4 schematically shows the construction of the simplest headlight - the second option - with one LED that has a photodetector associated with it, arranged to respond to the illumination of the LED crystal from illumination by its external light source - with this arrangement of the radiation pattern of the LED and the photodetector ;

- figure 5 - the operation of the headlight of figure 4 in the radiation mode - the LED is on, the photodetector is off;

- in Fig.6 - the operation of the headlights of Fig.4 in the reception mode - the LED is off, the photodetector is on;

- Fig.7 shows a diagram of the operation of the LEDs (a) and photodetectors (b) in a pulsed mode in antiphase in the road lighting mode;

- Fig. 8 is a diagram of the operation of the LEDs (c) and photodetectors (g) in the off mode;

- figure 9 schematically shows the operation of the LED and photodetector on the example of figure 4 in the presence of a defect in the optical system of the headlight;

- figure 10 shows a road lighting scheme with a headlight with many LEDs in the absence of oncoming traffic;

- figure 11 shows the same scheme with oncoming vehicles.

- Fig.12 shows a functional diagram of a headlamp with one LED and one photodetector.

The headlight according to the first embodiment of the invention has its own light source, which uses one or more LEDs 1, each of which forms its own lighting zone (sector) 2. Each LED 1 has at least one photodetector 3 connected to it, the radiation pattern of which partially or completely coincides with the radiation pattern of the LED 1 connected to it and controlling its brightness depending on extraneous (external) light sources (lighting) 4 located in zone 2 of the illumination of LED 1. LEDs 1 and photodetectors 3 operate in a pulsed mode in antiphase with the ability to detect photodetectors 3 between flashes of LEDs 1 of extraneous light sources 4, for example, vehicles and with the headlights on (see Fig. 11).

The LEDs 1 of the headlight are made with the possibility of realizing the flash frequency above the level of perception of the human eye (more than 23 flashes per second), and its lighting zone 5 is formed by adding its own lighting zones 2 of the LEDs 1 with the possibility of their partial and / or complete overlap.

The headlight according to the second embodiment of the invention is similar in design to the headlight according to the first embodiment, with some exceptions. It also uses, as its own light source, at least one LED 1, which forms its own lighting zone (sector) 2 and has at least one photodetector 3 associated with it that controls its brightness, while the LEDs 1 and photodetectors 3 operate in a pulsed mode in antiphase, moreover, the photodetectors 3 are arranged to respond to the crystal illumination of the LED 1 from extraneous light sources 4 located in the lighting zone 2 of the LED 1 between its flashes.

The method of lighting the road is to reduce the level of illumination of the section on which the extraneous transport (extraneous light source 4) is located with the headlights on (see Fig. 11), and the illumination is provided by a light source, at least one of which is used of the above headlights.

Let us analyze the essential features of inventions.

Despite the popularity of the use of LED technology as light sources, their capabilities are still not fully utilized.

The implementation of the headlight, the light source of which is one or more LEDs 1, controlled by their associated photodetectors 3, provided that they operate in pulsed mode in antiphase, allows for a unique way to illuminate the road when only that part of it is illuminated without the use of expensive hardware and software systems no vehicles with headlights on.

The operation of the LEDs 1 and photodetectors 3 in pulsed mode in antiphase allows you to place them in close proximity to each other, which allows you to use common elements of the optical system 6 of the headlight for them and get almost complete alignment of their radiation patterns. The practical combination of the radiation patterns of photodetectors 3 and LEDs 1, as well as their operation in pulsed mode in antiphase, provides complete noise immunity of the headlamp from being turned off by its own reflected light, reduces the requirements for adjusting the headlamp and its installation location, and eliminates the use of compensating devices for positioning the headlamp.

Subjectively, for a driver of a vehicle equipped with a similar headlight, the road will be lit as if driving with high beams, while other road users with the headlights on will be accompanied by unlit sectors 7, since the LEDs 1 directed at them will be turned off by a command associated with them photodetectors 3. Drivers of other vehicles will perceive light from headlights made according to the invention, for example, as dipped.

It should be noted that by turning off the LEDs 1 is meant an increase in the duty cycle of the pulses for switching them on, perceived by the human eye as turning them off or glowing with low brightness, while photodetectors 3 of such headlights installed on other vehicles will respond to such LEDs 1 as those turned on, regardless of the subjective perceptions of people. In Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, positive pulses show the time intervals of operation of the LEDs 1 (upper graphs) and photodetectors 3 (lower graphs) in the lighting mode - Fig. 7, and off - Fig. 8.

In the simplest embodiment, the proposed headlamp can be made with one LED 1 and one photodetector 3 and used as both the main and additional light source, for example, as a main beam headlamp in combination with a low beam headlamp. In contrast to the high-beam headlights used at present, the proposed headlight automatically turns off when other vehicles appear in its coverage area.

It is possible to use this headlight as one or more additional light sources independently installed by drivers of vehicles, since there are no strict adjustment requirements for it.

In a more complex version, the headlamp consists of several LEDs 1, each of which is controlled by a photodetector 3 connected to it, the headlamp lighting zone is formed by adding its own lighting zones 2 LEDs 1. When making a headlamp of several LEDs 1, their operation must be synchronized in order to prevent false triggering of photodetectors 3 from light from unrelated LEDs 1.

The proposed headlamp can be used to exchange information between road users or transfer information from a vehicle to various services in order to reduce accident rate along with the currently developed Car-2-Car system (http://www.dni.ru/ auto / 2008/10/31 / 152189.html). The headlight contains the necessary transmitter (LED 1) and a receiver (photodetector 3). To transmit information, frequency modulation of the switching pulses of the LEDs 1 can be carried out.

The LEDs 1 and photodetectors 3 of the headlight can be structurally located in close proximity, have a common optical axis and use the common optical details of the headlight, which makes the system protected from mechanical displacement, contamination, changes in the properties of the headlight optical elements, since the stated defects will equally affect how the work LED 1, and photodetector 3. For example, if any defect in the headlights (scratch, frozen ice, drop of water, etc.) caused the beam of LED 1 to be deflected, which could blind a person If, for example, the driver is approaching the intersection of a car, then light will also come to photodetector 3 from this external source 4, precisely from the direction in which LED 1 is now shining, which will turn off the headlight - see Fig. 9.

The operation of the system based on LED headlights with one LED and one photodetector occurs as follows: at night, when there are no other LEDs in the lighting zone 2, the photodetector 3 between the flashes of LED 1 is lit with weak light based on the conditions of natural or artificial night illumination (moon, stars or lights), while the luminous flux at the photodetector 3 is weak, the signal at its output does not exceed the threshold value and does not affect the operation of the power pulse generator (VCO - a generator controlled by yazheniem) 8 LED 1. LED 1 feed pulses minimum duty ratio that corresponds to their maximum brightness. When bright extraneous light sources 4 appear in the lighting zone 2 of LED 1, the luminous flux arriving at the photodetector 3 between the flashes of LED 1 sharply increases, which will lead to an increase in the signal at its output above a threshold value, which, by controlling the power pulse generator 8 of LED 1, will translate it in the high duty cycle mode, which is subjectively perceived as turning off the LED 1. Bus 9 external synchronization and control is necessary to synchronize the operation of the LEDs 1 (if there are several) change threshold on response voltages depending on the time of day, forced shutdown and other system control.

In a similar way, the system based on the LED headlight with several LEDs 1 and several photodetectors 3.

We will consider the way of lighting the carriageway with typical examples of headlights.

Example 1

The headlight according to the first embodiment of the invention is equipped with several LEDs 1, configured to form a common lighting zone 5, such as, for example, shown in FIG. 10. Each LED has a photodetector 3 associated with it (see FIG. 1), each of which is capable of detecting external (extraneous) light sources 4 between the flashes of the LEDs 1.

The proposed headlight mounted on a vehicle forms a lighting zone 5 (see Fig. 10). When an oncoming car appears (see Fig. 11), the light from it through the optical system 6 of the headlight (Fig. 1) enters the photodetector 3 of that LED 1, in the lighting zone of which the oncoming car is at a given time, the photodetector 3 turns off the LED 1, the oncoming car will be in the “shadow” zone (sector) 7. When the oncoming car is angularly moved relative to the proposed headlight in the lighting zone (sector) 2 of its other LEDs 1, the photodetectors 3 associated with them will also turn them off, thus the oncoming car l will always be in the shadow zone 7 of the proposed lights.

In case of overtaking, the proposed headlight, responding to the light of the side lights of the vehicle moving in front, will also turn off the blinding light.

Example 2

The headlight according to the second embodiment of the invention, for example, is also equipped with several LEDs 1, also configured to form a common lighting zone 5, as shown in FIG. 10. Each LED 1 has a photodetector 3 associated with it (see FIG. 4), capable of detecting extraneous light sources 4 between flashes of LEDs 1.

When moving at night time along the carriageway of a vehicle with a headlight made in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, said headlight forms its lighting zone (see also FIG. 10). When an oncoming car appears (see Fig. 11), the light of its headlights passes through the optical system 6 of the headlights of our vehicle to the LED crystal, and the photodetector connected with it, reacting to the illumination of the crystal, turns off the LED. And so on, similar to Example 1.

In addition, the headlights made according to the inventions are able to implement various other lighting options for the carriageway and its environs within the framework of the essential features and explanations to them set forth in the present description.

As a result of the use of inventions, options were developed for an inexpensive, from an economic point of view, headlights and an original way of lighting the road, which effectively prevented the blinding of road users, including drivers moving on or off, or standing transport, regardless of the vehicle's trajectory, terrain and the human factor, and subject to full coverage of the road.

Claims (7)

1. A headlight that uses at least one LED as its own light source, which forms a lighting zone and has at least one photodetector associated with it, the directivity pattern of which partially or completely coincides with the directivity pattern of the LED and controls its brightness depending on the extraneous light sources located in the zone of illumination of the LED, while the LEDs and photodetectors operate in a pulsed mode in antiphase with the possibility of photodetectors detecting nnih light sources between the LED flashes. 2. The headlight according to claim 1, characterized in that the LEDs are configured to realize flash frequencies above the level of perception of the human eye. 3. The headlamp according to claim 1, characterized in that its lighting zone is formed by adding its own lighting zones of the LEDs with the possibility of their partial and / or complete overlap. 4. A headlight that uses at least one LED as its own light source, which forms its own lighting zone and has at least one photodetector associated with it that controls its brightness, while the LEDs and photodetectors operate in a pulsed mode out of phase, moreover, the photodetectors are arranged to respond to the illumination of the LED crystal from extraneous light sources located in the zone of illumination of the LED, between its flashes. 5. The headlamp according to claim 4, characterized in that the LEDs are configured to realize flash frequencies above the level of perception of the human eye. 6. The headlamp according to claim 4, characterized in that its lighting zone is formed by adding its own lighting zones of the LEDs with the possibility of their partial and / or complete overlap. 7. The method of lighting the road, which consists in reducing the level of illumination of the section on which the vehicle is located with the headlights on, characterized in that the lighting is provided by a light source, which is used as at least one headlight according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .

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