Vehicle Lean Light Unit Subheadlight Cut-off Line Adjustment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle light units for vehicles that lean into turns face challenges in manufacturing accuracy and effectiveness in suppressing dazzling and maintaining visibility while navigating curves, as they require precise positional relationships between cut-off lines that are difficult to achieve with integrated subheadlights and low-beam headlights.

Innovation Solution

A light unit with a subheadlight that can be finely adjusted by a sub-headlight turn-on device and cut-off line moving device, allowing for independent adjustment of light emission based on the low-beam headlight's cut-off line when the vehicle is stopped, ensuring accurate positioning and reduced manufacturing complexity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If subheadlights and low-beam headlights are integrated into a single light unit, then the positional relationship between cut-off lines can be precisely controlled, but manufacturing complexity and difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositional relationship between cut-off linesVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The light unit is divided into separate subheadlight and low-beam headlight components, each with independent adjustment mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured and adjusted independently, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining precise positional relationships between cut-off lines through separate adjustment devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If the vehicle body leans to a high degree into turns, then the turning performance is improved, but the illumination range in the area inside the curve and ahead in the advancing direction decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveturning performanceVSAvoidillumination range
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The subheadlights are configured to be adjustable in position and orientation, allowing the illumination pattern to dynamically adapt to the vehicle's lean angle during turns. This dynamic adjustment capability ensures that the illumination range is optimized for both straight-line and turning conditions, maintaining visibility while preserving turning performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Illumination intensity

If the cut-off line of the low-beam headlight is inclined due to vehicle lean, then the visibility on curves is improved, but dazzling to oncoming vehicles increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisibility on curvesVSAvoiddazzling to oncoming vehicles
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The subheadlights are positioned and oriented to provide localized illumination specifically for the curve area, while the low-beam headlight maintains its primary function with a controlled cut-off line. This localized approach ensures that curve visibility is improved without causing excessive dazzling to oncoming vehicles, as each light source serves its specific purpose.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2792585B1Light unit for use in vehicle that leans into turns, method for adjusting the same, vehicle that leans into turns, and method for adjusting the same
Publication Date: 2019.05.08 YAMAHA MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP2792585B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2792585B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2792585B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A light unit (100) for use in a vehicle (10) that leans into turns includes: a fixed part (101) fixed to a vehicle body that is allowed to lean while the vehicle (10) is running; a sub headlight (130) provided in the fixed part (101) and including a sub headlight light source (131), the sub headlight (130) being configured to produce a cut-off line at the upper side of light emitted from the sub headlight light source (131), the cut-off line extending obliquely when the vehicle body is upright, the sub headlight (130) being configured to be turned on in accordance with a lean angle of the vehicle (10) while the vehicle is running; a sub headlight turn-on device (150) for a vehicle's stopped state configured to turn on the sub headlight (130) when the vehicle (10) is stopped; and a sub-headlight cut-off line moving device (140) configured to, when the vehicle (10) is stopped, move the cut-off line of the light emitted from the sub headlight (130) under a state where the sub headlight (130) is turned on and the fixed part (101) is fixed to the vehicle body.