WO2022122618A2 - Dispositif d'éclairage automobile - Google Patents

Dispositif d'éclairage automobile Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2022122618A2
WO2022122618A2 PCT/EP2021/084324 EP2021084324W WO2022122618A2 WO 2022122618 A2 WO2022122618 A2 WO 2022122618A2 EP 2021084324 W EP2021084324 W EP 2021084324W WO 2022122618 A2 WO2022122618 A2 WO 2022122618A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
light
group
driver
lighting device
automotive lighting
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2021/084324
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English (en)
Other versions
WO2022122618A3 (fr
Inventor
Juan Lara Cabeza
Juan Jose SANTAELLA HERNANDEZ
Antonio Domingo ILLAN CABEZA
Miguel Angel PEÑA PULIDO
Original Assignee
Valeo Vision
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Valeo Vision filed Critical Valeo Vision
Publication of WO2022122618A2 publication Critical patent/WO2022122618A2/fr
Publication of WO2022122618A3 publication Critical patent/WO2022122618A3/fr

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B45/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H05B45/40—Details of LED load circuits
    • H05B45/44—Details of LED load circuits with an active control inside an LED matrix
    • H05B45/48—Details of LED load circuits with an active control inside an LED matrix having LEDs organised in strings and incorporating parallel shunting devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B45/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H05B45/50—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED] responsive to malfunctions or undesirable behaviour of LEDs; responsive to LED life; Protective circuits
    • H05B45/56—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED] responsive to malfunctions or undesirable behaviour of LEDs; responsive to LED life; Protective circuits involving measures to prevent abnormal temperature of the LEDs

Definitions

  • This invention is related to the field of automotive lighting devices, and more particularly, to the management of the electrical current received by the solid-state light sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
  • LEDs light-emitting diodes
  • the current value needed by the LEDs may also substantially vary between different projects, and sometimes a single driver is not able to provide the requested current to the LEDs. In other scenarios, the total optical flux that the LEDs can provide with the current supplied by the driver is not enough to fulfil homologation or customer requirements in terms of flux.
  • the invention provides a solution for these problems by means of an automotive lighting device.
  • the invention provides an automotive lighting device for an automotive vehicle, the automotive lighting device comprising
  • This automotive lighting device is able to use powerful current lighting devices with an old main light driver, without replacing it by a more expensive one.
  • a cheap secondary driver may provide the difference between the current allowed by the old main driver and the current needed by the light sources.
  • the first group and the second group are connected in series with the main driver output, but each group of light sources may comprise several branches of light sources in parallel.
  • the lighting device is able to cope with updated functionalities.
  • the main light driver is a DC/DC driver.
  • the secondary light driver is a linear driver.
  • a cheap and simple linear driver is enough to fulfil de functionality required by the lighting device of the invention, so the upgrading of the old main driver may be done easily.
  • the main light driver and the secondary light driver are arranged to be fed by the same electrical power source.
  • the secondary light driver further comprises a PWM input receiving the electric signal from the main output terminal.
  • the PWM input that uses the signal coming from the main driver output, is used to perform the failure detection.
  • the PWM input of the secondary driver will receive a high voltage value, and the secondary driver will work normally (increasing the current of the second group of light sources). But if there is a failure in any light source of the first group, the main driver will detect it and the main driver itself will be automatically switched OFF (this action is a consequence of the standard topology of a DC/DC driver).
  • the main driver is switched OFF, the output of the main driver will become low voltage and the PWM input of the secondary driver will receive this low voltage.
  • the secondary driver will construe this input as a failure in the main driver, and the secondary driver will be switched OFF, so that it will not add any current to the second group of light sources.
  • the device further comprises an impedance and a Zener diode between the main output terminal and the PWM input.
  • the Zener diode is used to limit the maximum voltage at the PWM input of the secondary driver in order to protect that input of the secondary driver. This maximum voltage is set by the Zener voltage. This is an optional feature that is placed just in the case that the main driver can generate a voltage higher than the voltage supported by the PWM input of the secondary driver.
  • the automotive lighting device further comprises an optical element configured to project the light emitted by the light sources outside the lighting device.
  • An optical element is an element that has some optical properties to receive a light beam and emit it in a certain direction and/or shape, as a person skilled in automotive lighting would construe without any additional burden. Reflectors, collimators, light guides, projection lenses, etc., or the combination thereof are some examples of these optical elements.
  • the optical element is a light guide.
  • Light guides are particularly advantageous, since they may provide a light projection over a relatively long distance with a small group of light sources located perpendicularly.
  • the light guide has a cylindrical cross section.
  • Cylindrical lightguides are often used in automotive devices due to their good performance.
  • the light guide has a curved guideline.
  • This curved guideline allows the light guide to adapt to the contour of the lighting device.
  • the optical element is a lens
  • the second group of light sources are configured to provide a high beam configuration when combined with the first group of light sources.
  • a common lens is used to project the light emitted by the first group and the second group, but the second group is only used when the high beam functionality is needed.
  • the secondary light driver is configured to be activated or deactivated according to a secondary activation signal.
  • the secondary driver may be used to activate a separate functionality in the second group of drivers, such as the high beam functionality.
  • the solid-state light sources are light-emitting diodes.
  • solid state refers to light emitted by solid-state electroluminescence, which uses semiconductors to convert electricity into light. Compared to incandescent lighting, solid state lighting creates visible light with reduced heat generation and less energy dissipation.
  • the typically small mass of a solid-state electronic lighting device provides for greater resistance to shock and vibration compared to brittle glass tubes/bulbs and long, thin filament wires. They also eliminate filament evaporation, potentially increasing the life span of the illumination device.
  • Some examples of these types of lighting comprise semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), or polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED) as sources of illumination rather than electrical filaments, plasma or gas.
  • the automotive lighting device further comprises a first thermistor configured to measure the temperature of the first group of at least one light source and send the measured temperature to the main light driver. In some particular embodiments, the automotive lighting device further comprises a second thermistor configured to measure the temperature of the second group of at least one light source and send the measured temperature to the secondary light driver.
  • thermistors may act as a thermal protection for each group of light sources.
  • FIG. 1 shows a graphic illustration of an electric circuit comprised in an automotive lighting device according to the invention.
  • FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a lighting device according to the invention.
  • FIG. 1 shows an alternative embodiment of a lighting device according to the invention.
  • FIG. 1 shows a graphic illustration of an electric circuit comprised in an automotive lighting device according to the invention.
  • This electric circuit comprises
  • the main light driver 1 is a light driver which may belong to an older version of the lighting device.
  • This main light driver 1 comprises a main output terminal 5 and is configured to selectively activate or deactivate current flow in the main output terminal 5 when receiving a DRL (Daytime Running Light) activation signal.
  • DRL Daytime Running Light
  • the first group 2 of LEDs is connected in series to the main output terminal 5.
  • This first group 2 of LEDs mean the total amount of LEDs that may be driven by the main light driver 1, due to current value constraints. The first group is therefore affected by the current flow activated or deactivated by the main output terminal 5.
  • the second group 3 of LEDs is connected in series after the first group 2 of LEDs.
  • This second group 3 of LEDs means the number of LEDs needed to be added to the first group 2 of LEDs to perform a new functionality not supported by the old light driver 1. Hence, the second group 3 of LEDs is also affected by the current flow activated or deactivated by the main output terminal 5.
  • This electric circuit also comprises a secondary light driver 4 with a secondary output terminal 6 being electrically connected between the first group 2 of LEDs and the second group 3 of LEDs, the secondary light driver 4 being configured to generate an additional current, so that the second group 3 of at least one LED is further affected by the additional current.
  • the main light driver 1 is configured to provide a first current value, which feeds both the first 2 and the second group 3 of LEDs. Furthermore, there is an secondary driver 4 which provides an additional current only to the second group of LEDs.
  • the main light driver 1 is a DC/DC driver, which is employed to manage the operation of different functionalities.
  • the secondary light driver 4 is a linear driver, comprising a PWM input 7 being fed by the electric signal from the main output terminal 5.
  • This PWM input 7 acts as failure detection means, since the signal in the main output terminal 5 is modified when a light source of the first group 2 fails.
  • the main driver 1 would have their own means to activate the failure mode, but this would only affect to the first group 2, since the second group 3 of light sources would be still fed by the secondary driver 4. Thanks to the PWM input 7, the secondary driver may also enter in the failure mode, so that all the light sources are consistently treated.
  • the circuit has also a thermistor 8 configured to measure the temperature of the second group 3 of LEDs and send the measured temperature to the secondary light driver 4, to perform a thermal control of the LEDs.
  • This electrical arrangement may have different applications. Although in this , the LEDs are placed in the same string, in the different applications, as will be shown below, they may be located arbitrarily throughout the whole lighting device.
  • FIG. 10 shows a first embodiment of a lighting device 10 according to the invention.
  • This lighting device 10 comprises a curved light guide 9 which is fed by a plurality of LEDs. To fulfil the manufacturer’s requirement, these LEDs should provide a predetermined luminous flux. However, to provide such a flux, it is necessary that the LEDs are fed with a power which is not supported by the main light driver 1, which is old and has been used in old versions of the lighting device.
  • the main light driver 1 may only feed 6 LEDs, and the required luminous flux is 80 lm. But the main driver 1 is only able to provide a current value which makes the LED emit 10 lm each one.
  • the first group 2 of LEDs will receive the current value to emit 10 lm but a second group 3 of LEDs will receive also the current value from the auxiliary driver: some of the LEDs will emit 10 lm and some of the LEDs will emit 20 lm, to complete the required 80 lm. Since the light projected by the light guide is not affected by non-homogeneity of the light sources which are in charge of providing the luminous flux, there is no problem to feed some of the LEDs with a higher current value, to obtain these 20 extra lm which are needed to complete the required 80 lm.
  • the secondary driver is always operative, since the extra amount of flux is needed to perform the lighting functionality.
  • FIG. 1 shows an alternative embodiment of a lighting device according to the invention.
  • the first 2 and second group 3 of LEDs are arranged to project a low beam pattern when all of them are fed with the nominal current value accepted by the main light driver.
  • the second group 3 of the LEDs are configured in such a way that, when they are further fed by the additional current of the secondary light driver, they provide, together with the first group of LEDs, a high beam pattern to the reflector 9’.
  • the secondary light driver will be activated on demand when the high beam pattern is needed.
  • This invention may also be used when a particular lighting functionality has different luminous requirements in different countries: the main driver is configured to provide the functionality in the country with a lower luminous requirement (in this country, no secondary driver will be used) and the secondary light driver is used to increase the power of this lighting functionality in those countries which require a higher luminous flux for this lighting functionality.
  • LEDs are set up (for instance, by using light guides) to illuminate a diffusing surface where there is a variation of the flux needed to illuminate the surface according to the point where the LED is located. This may happen when the surface is triangular or trapezoid and the LEDs are set up along a line.
  • a particular LED has to be able to light up a surface variable according to the position on the line. Being able to provide some LEDs which emit a higher luminous flux helps to achieve light homogeneity at a lower cost, and this may be obtained by the present invention, by using these LEDs in the second group. In particular, this is useful for signalling functions such as rear lamp and Daytime Running Light.

Landscapes

  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif d'éclairage automobile (10) comprenant un dispositif d'activation de lumière principal (1) présentant une borne de sortie principale (5), un premier groupe (2) d'au moins une source de lumière à semi-conducteurs connectée en série à la borne de sortie principale, un deuxième groupe (3) d'au moins une source de lumière connectée en série après le premier groupe d'au moins une source de lumière, et un dispositif d'activation de lumière secondaire (4) comprenant une borne de sortie secondaire connectée électriquement entre le premier groupe de sources de lumière et le second groupe de sources de lumière. Le dispositif d'activation de lumière secondaire est conçu pour générer un courant supplémentaire, pour que le second groupe d'au moins une source de lumière subisse également l'action du courant supplémentaire.
PCT/EP2021/084324 2020-12-09 2021-12-06 Dispositif d'éclairage automobile WO2022122618A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FRFR2012921 2020-12-09
FR2012921A FR3117187B1 (fr) 2020-12-09 2020-12-09 Dispositif d'éclairage automobile

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2022122618A2 true WO2022122618A2 (fr) 2022-06-16
WO2022122618A3 WO2022122618A3 (fr) 2022-07-21

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2021/084324 WO2022122618A2 (fr) 2020-12-09 2021-12-06 Dispositif d'éclairage automobile

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FR (1) FR3117187B1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2022122618A2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7986107B2 (en) * 2008-11-06 2011-07-26 Lumenetix, Inc. Electrical circuit for driving LEDs in dissimilar color string lengths
US20120153845A1 (en) * 2010-12-17 2012-06-21 GE Lighting Solutions, LLC Solid state lighting control methods and apparatuses for series combinations of light emitting diodes
FR2996629A1 (fr) * 2012-10-04 2014-04-11 Valeo Vision Module d'eclairage a lentille pilotee electriquement
FR3002794B1 (fr) * 2013-03-04 2015-03-20 Valeo Vision Belgique Dispositif d'eclairage et/ou de signalisation pour vehicule automobile,comportant un guide de lumiere
FR3065346B1 (fr) * 2017-04-13 2021-01-01 Valeo Vision Gestion thermique modulee de sources lumineuses du type led

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FR3117187B1 (fr) 2022-12-16
FR3117187A1 (fr) 2022-06-10
WO2022122618A3 (fr) 2022-07-21

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