Headlight Control Device for Obstacle Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional headlight control systems momentarily fail to irradiate light to obstacles, making it difficult for drivers to visually confirm pedestrians and other obstacles, such as parked vehicles, which can lead to safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A headlight control device that determines the presence and position of obstacles and sets up an intensified illumination area with both illuminated and non-illuminated zones using a digital mirror system to ensure consistent light distribution, allowing for easy visual confirmation of obstacles while preventing momentary darkness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the angle of the pedestrian illumination mirror is changed periodically to flash the pedestrian, then the driver can be notified of the pedestrian's presence, but no light is momentarily irradiated to the pedestrian causing difficulty in visual confirmation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by controlling the illumination light to repeatedly switch between illuminating and non-illuminating states. The control unit causes the illumination light to irradiate the obstacle repeatedly over time, creating periodic illumination cycles that provide both notification (through variation) and continuous coverage (through repetition), thereby resolving the contradiction between driver notification and continuous visual confirmation.
2Illumination intensity
If a spotlight is used to illuminate the pedestrian, then the driver can be notified of the obstacle, but the light distribution becomes uneven creating momentary darkness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by controlling the illumination light to selectively irradiate different regions (illuminated zones and non-illuminated zones) of the obstacle at different times. The control unit creates localized illumination patterns that vary over time, ensuring that different parts of the obstacle are illuminated in sequence, which maintains overall light coverage while providing highlighted notification.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the illumination angle is changed to cover different areas, then comprehensive obstacle detection is enabled, but momentary gaps in illumination occur reducing visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-planning the illumination sequence to ensure continuous coverage. The control unit is configured to switch between different illumination angles and regions in a predetermined sequence, where the transition from one illumination zone to another is planned in advance to avoid gaps, thereby maintaining continuous visual confirmation while achieving comprehensive obstacle detection.
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 solution effectively ensures that obstacles are consistently illuminated, enhancing driver visibility and safety by maintaining light coverage without momentary darkness, thus improving pedestrian and obstacle detection at night.
Implementation Method 1
a headlight control device provided in a vehicle to perform headlight control and to control a distribution of light irradiated from a light source
Data Source
AI summary
A headlight control device provided in a vehicle to perform headlight control and to control a distribution of light irradiated from a light source is provided. The headlight control device includes: a determination unit that determines a presence and an absence of an obstacle in front of the vehicle and determines a position of the obstacle; a setting unit that sets up an area covering the obstacle as an intensified illumination area when the determination unit determines the presence of the obstacle, wherein the intensified illumination area is an area to which the light from the light source is irradiated in a manner different than a peripheral area of the intensified illumination area; and a controller that controls the distribution of the light irradiated from the light source so that the intensified illumination area set up by the setting unit has an illuminated zone and a non-illuminated zone.