Optical Device Segmented Beam Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automotive lighting technologies, such as adaptive driving beams (ADB), face limitations in resolution, which restrict their ability to perform advanced lighting functions like on-road writing, due to complexity and cost constraints.
Innovation Solution
An optical device comprising a first and second optical unit with specific lens configurations, including a convergent lens and a lens doublet made of flint and crown glass, respectively, to enhance beam resolution and reduce chromatic aberration, allowing for higher resolution segmented beams that can write on the road.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a pixelated light source with high resolution is used to perform advanced lighting functions like on-road writing, then the resolution and beam definition are improved, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is divided into two separate optical units: a first optical unit for basic beam projection and a second optical unit for high-resolution segmented beam projection. This segmentation allows each unit to be optimized for its specific function, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high resolution where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The first optical unit serves multiple purposes by projecting both the basic beam and contributing to the segmented beam through the pupil. This multi-functionality reduces the need for completely separate optical paths, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining resolution capabilities.
2Device complexity
If a single optical unit is used for beam projection, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to achieve high resolution and perform on-road writing is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is divided into two separate optical units: a first optical unit for basic beam projection and a second optical unit for high-resolution segmented beam projection. This segmentation allows each unit to be optimized for its specific function, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high resolution where needed.
3Device complexity
If chromatic aberration is not corrected in the optical system, then the manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but the beam quality and color uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The second optical unit employs a lens doublet composed of two different glass materials (crown glass and flint glass) with different refractive indices. This composite material approach corrects chromatic aberration by ensuring that light rays of different wavelengths focus at the same point, improving beam quality without excessive complexity.
4Reliability
If the optical system is designed for wide temperature range operation, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision and alignment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies that the distances between the pupil and the dioptric interfaces of both optical units are substantially equal. This parameter symmetry is designed to compensate for thermal expansion and contraction, maintaining optical alignment across a wide temperature range and improving reliability without requiring excessive manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical device for projecting light beams that is able to interact with a pixelated light source comprising a plurality of selectively activatable emitting elements. The device successively includes, in the direction of the path of the light rays, a first optical unit, a pupil and a second optical unit. The first optical unit includes an output diopter located at a first distance (d1) from the pupil, and the second optical unit includes an input diopter interface located at a second distance (d2) from the pupil, the second distance (d2) being substantially identical to the first distance (d1). The first unit includes a converging lens, and the second unit includes a doublet of lenses one of which is made of flint glass and the other of which is made of crown glass.