Vehicle Headlight Sensor Swivel for Detection Area Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle headlight systems face challenges in cost-effectively expanding the detection field of optical sensors while minimizing system complexity and data stream demands, as existing approaches either rely on large single sensors or multiple sensors with limited detection fields.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a controllable pivoting mechanism for the optical sensor to dynamically adjust its detection area, allowing a single, inexpensive sensor to cover a wider field of view, and adding a fixed sensor for redundancy, with a vehicle headlight computing unit controlling the pivoting based on GPS, steering angle, and other vehicle parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a single sensor with a sufficiently large field of view is selected, then the detection area is improved, but the sensor size and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the sensor swivelable to change its detection area orientation dynamically. Instead of using a large fixed sensor, a smaller sensor is mounted on a swivel mechanism that can rotate to point at different environmental objects, effectively expanding the total detection coverage while keeping individual sensor size and cost low.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of temporal sequencing to the detection system. By swiveling the sensor to sequentially detect different areas and combining these detections over time, the system achieves comprehensive environmental awareness equivalent to multiple simultaneous sensors, but with reduced hardware cost and complexity.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple sensors are combined to expand the field of view, then the detection area is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using multiple fixed sensors simultaneously, the patent employs a single sensor with dynamic swiveling capability. This reduces device complexity by eliminating the need for multiple sensor mounts, synchronization mechanisms, and calibration systems while achieving the same expanded detection coverage through temporal sequencing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of multiple sensors into a single sensor system by combining the detection results from sequential measurements. The control unit integrates data from different detection areas over time, effectively consolidating what would require multiple simultaneous sensors into one sensor with swiveling capability.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple sensors are used to expand the field of view, then the detection area is improved, but the data stream demands increase
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic swiveling mechanism allows the system to focus detection resources sequentially on different areas rather than continuously monitoring all areas simultaneously with multiple sensors. This temporal multiplexing reduces the total data stream volume while maintaining comprehensive environmental detection coverage.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle headlight (1, 1'), in particular a motor vehicle headlight, comprising a vehicle headlight housing (5) closed by means of a translucent cover (3), at least one lighting module (4) arranged within the vehicle headlight housing (5) for generating a light distribution in a main emission direction, and at least one sensor module arranged within the vehicle headlight housing (5), wherein the at least one sensor module (6) has at least one optical sensor for optically detecting the vehicle headlight environment, wherein a detection area is assigned to the at least one optical sensor for this purpose, and wherein the sensor module (6) is arranged such that the detection of the vehicle headlight environment takes place through the cover (3), wherein the vehicle headlight (1,1') at least one controllable swivel device (7) for spatially swiveling the entire detection range of the at least one optical sensor.