Beam-Shaping Collector With Trim Shield for Sharp Headlamp Cutoff
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive lighting systems require high-precision positioning of benders to achieve desired beam cutoffs, leading to increased weight and complexity due to thicker projection lenses.
Innovation Solution
A light module design incorporating a trim shield and reflective collector to shape and redirect light beams, allowing for compact and economical production of desirably shaped light beams with controlled cutoffs, using materials like polycarbonate and polyetherimide.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a bender is used to change beam direction and achieve cutoff, then beam shaping capability is improved, but positioning precision requirements increase and lens thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediate shield is introduced between the light source and the projection lens to perform beam cutoff and shaping functions. This intermediary component absorbs or blocks light to create the desired beam pattern, eliminating the need for high-precision positioning of benders and cutoff edges while achieving the same beam control objectives.
2Manufacturing precision
If the projection lens is made thicker to accommodate the cutoff edge positioning, then beam cutoff precision is improved, but lens weight and production complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate shield serves as a mediator that performs the beam cutoff function externally, allowing the projection lens to maintain a thin, simple design. The shield creates the beam pattern through its physical structure rather than requiring the lens to be thickened, thereby reducing production complexity while maintaining cutoff precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If the projection lens is made thicker to accommodate the cutoff edge positioning, then beam cutoff precision is improved, but lens weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
By placing an intermediate shield between the light source and projection lens, the beam cutoff function is transferred from the lens structure to the shield. This allows the use of a thin, lightweight projection lens while achieving precise beam cutoff through the shield's geometry, thereby reducing overall system weight without sacrificing precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves sharp beam cutoffs with reduced lens thickness, minimizing weight and production complexity while maintaining beam homogeneity and reducing chromatic aberrations, enabling efficient and cost-effective manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
a collector with a reflective surface configured to capture the light from the light source and redirect a number of light rays towards a focal point located along a trim shield
Implementation Method 2
the trim shield having a feature that modifies or shapes the beam image originating from the light source into the beam projection image
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention pertains to an automotive lighting system arrangement including an optical light module with a light source that produces light rays and emits light rays along the module's optical axis towards a beam clipping structural arrangement that forms a cutoff in a generated light beam; the reflective collector being arranged with a trim shield and an optional light blocker so that a portion of the light rays directed along the optical axis has a pre-designed shape or angle of inclination relative to a benchmark axis, such that the optical light module forms a shaped image from the interaction of light rays across a collector's reflective surface with the trim shield to achieve the shaped image of the cutoff beam. The invention also describes application to lighting systems that include multiple associated lighting device modules.