Pivotable Mirror Absorber Sensor for Vehicle Headlight Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle headlight systems, particularly laser-based and matrix systems, face challenges in ensuring laser safety and maintaining homogeneous light distribution due to technical limitations, such as the inability to cover the entire angular space for laser radiation and complex adjustments required for high-resolution systems.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle headlight with a lighting device featuring a pivotable mirror or micromirror array that can assume multiple pivoting states, including an absorber state for safety and a high-resolution configuration, along with a sensor system to monitor light intensity and wavelength, allowing for individual control and calibration of light sources to ensure functionality and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors are placed to cover the entire angular space for laser radiation detection, then laser safety is improved, but device complexity becomes infeasible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the safety detection function from a complex multi-sensor angular coverage system and implements it through a single sensor positioned at the absorber. By removing unnecessary sensor elements and concentrating the detection function at one strategic location, the system achieves laser safety without the infeasible complexity of complete angular space coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The absorber acts as an intermediary element that redirects potentially hazardous laser radiation onto the sensor. Instead of requiring sensors to directly monitor all angular spaces, the absorber mediates by capturing and redirecting the radiation to a single detection point, simplifying the overall sensor coverage system while maintaining safety.
2Stability of the object's composition
If high-resolution systems use a large number of columns or rows with luminous pixels, then light distribution homogeneity is improved, but adjustment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the sensor detects light intensity at the absorber position and this information is used to automatically adjust the mirror positions. This closed-loop control system enables high-resolution systems with many luminous pixels to maintain homogeneous light distribution without complex manual adjustment procedures, as the system self-regulates based on sensor feedback.
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
This solution enables reliable laser safety, maintains homogeneous light distribution, and allows for continuous functionality checks, ensuring the headlight operates within safe parameters and adjusts dynamically to maintain performance even in high-resolution configurations.
Implementation Method 1
directing the light into a second solid angular range different from the first, in which the light directed onto an absorber device of the lighting device
Implementation Method 2
the absorber device has a sensor with which the functionality of the lighting device can be checked
Implementation Method 3
a mirror device including a pivotable mirror or micromirror array for directing light from the one or more light sources
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
A lighting device is to be more reliably verifiable. For this purpose, a lighting device is provided with a lighting unit (1) including one or more light sources and a mirror unit including a pivotable mirror (2) for directing light from the one or more light sources. In a defined first pivoting state (Z1), the mirror (2) directs the light into a first solid angle region in which the light is used as intended; in a defined second pivoting state (Z2), into a second solid angle region different from the first, in which the light is directed onto an absorber unit (6) of the lighting device; and optionally, in a third pivoting state (Z3), into a third solid angle region located between the first and second solid angle regions, wherein the third pivoting state (Z3) is always assumed when the mirror unit is de-energized.Finally, the absorber device (6) has a sensor (7) with which the functionality of the lighting device can be checked.