Adaptive Headlight Layout for Leaning Vehicle Corner Visibility
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing headlight devices for leaning vehicles struggle to provide good visibility ahead, especially obliquely ahead, while avoiding glare towards oncoming vehicles and maintaining adaptive lighting control during various running conditions.
Innovation Solution
A headlight device with adaptive front-lighting function that includes left and right oblique areas with maximum luminous intensity points above a horizontal reference line, and lower areas below it, controlled by a control device to adjust lighting based on the presence of oncoming vehicles or vehicles ahead, ensuring good visibility and reducing glare.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the headlight device lights all areas including areas above the cut-off line when moving straight ahead, then good visibility in the ahead-driving direction is obtained, but glare towards oncoming vehicles occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The headlight device dynamically adjusts the lighting pattern based on the vehicle's operation state (straight ahead, turning left, turning right). When turning, the lighting pattern shifts to illuminate oblique areas in the turning direction, while when moving straight, it illuminates areas above the cut-off line. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by providing appropriate illumination for each operational context without causing glare to oncoming vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different lighting characteristics to different spatial zones. Oblique areas in the turning direction receive enhanced illumination with higher intensity and different distribution patterns compared to other areas. This local quality approach allows the system to improve visibility where needed (in the turning direction) while maintaining appropriate lighting levels in other areas to avoid glare.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle body leans during turning, then the headlight device can illuminate the turning direction, but the light distribution shifts and areas that were lit during straight movement are no longer lit
Solution Approach 1:
The control device dynamically switches between different lighting patterns based on the vehicle's operation state. When the vehicle is turning, the system activates a lighting pattern that illuminates oblique areas in the turning direction. When the vehicle returns to straight movement, the system switches back to the pattern that illuminates areas above the cut-off line. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by ensuring appropriate illumination for the current operational context.
Solution Approach 2:
The headlight device performs preliminary illumination of oblique areas in the turning direction before the vehicle completes the turn. This allows the rider to obtain information about circumstances in the turning direction in advance, improving safety and adaptability during maneuvering.
3Illumination intensity
If the headlight lights higher areas above the horizontal reference line, then visibility of places far from the vehicle is improved, but the area lit is narrow and limited to a point far ahead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the lighting function into different light sources with different functions: low beam lights that illuminate lower areas and high beam lights that illuminate higher areas. By using multiple light sources with complementary illumination patterns, the system achieves both wide coverage of nearby areas and focused illumination of distant areas, resolving the contradiction between lit area width and visibility of distant places.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the illumination in the horizontal dimension by lighting oblique areas that spread outwardly in the left-right direction. This dimensional expansion allows the system to provide both wide lateral coverage and extended forward visibility, overcoming the limitation of narrow lighting in the traditional vertical dimension alone.
Data Source
AI summary
A headlight device includes a headlight and a control device. The headlight includes a plurality of light sources that is configured to light one or more left oblique areas located in the ahead-driving direction of the leaning vehicle on the left, one or more right oblique areas located in the ahead-driving direction of the leaning vehicle on the right, and one or more lower areas located in the ahead-driving direction of the leaning vehicle. The control device controls the headlight to light at least the left oblique areas and the right oblique areas based on adaptive lighting control. At least one of the left oblique areas and at least one of the right oblique areas that are lit based on the adaptive lighting control spread more outwardly in a left-right direction than any of the lower areas.