Headlight for a motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10285232-B2
Application number	US-201615052301-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2016
Priority date	Feb 24, 2015
Publication date	May 7, 2019
Grant date	May 7, 2019

Abstract

A headlight for a motor vehicle includes at least two light sources and a driver, which is arranged to vary the light intensities of the light sources with a phase shift to one another periodically between a minimum and a maximum and in the course of a period to set intermediate values between the maximum and the minimum. In a phase of the period, in which the first light source reaches the maximum of its light intensity, the light intensity of the second light source is situated at an intermediate value and increases.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A headlight for a motor vehicle comprising:
a first light source having a first light intensity;
a second light source having a second light intensity; and
a driver configured to vary the first and second light intensities with a phase shift to one another periodically between a minimum value and a maximum value, and in the course of a period to set intermediate values between the maximum value and the minimum value, wherein in a phase of the period in which the first light intensity reaches the maximum value, the second light intensity is set at an intermediate value increasing to the maximum value, and
wherein the driver is programmable to:
deactivate, at a first moment upon receipt of a blinker signal, the first light source and the second light source;
activate, at a second moment, the first light source such that the first light intensity increases from the minimum value to a first value of the intermediate values while maintaining the deactivation of the second light source;
activate, at a third moment when the first light intensity reaches the first value, the second light source such that the second light intensity increases from the minimum value to a second value of the intermediate values while maintaining the activation of the first light source such that the first light intensity increases from the first value to the maximum value;
deactivating, at a fourth moment when the first light intensity reaches the maximum value, the first light source such that the first intensity decreases from the maximum value while maintaining the activation of the second light source such that the second light intensity increases from the second value to the maximum value; and
deactivating, at a fifth moment when the second light intensity reaches the maximum value, the first light source and the second light source such that the first light intensity and the second light intensity decrease to the minimum value.

2. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein the second light source is positioned closer to an edge of the headlight than the first light source is to the edge.

3. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second light sources is configured to be switched over between the emission of colored light and the emission of white light.

4. The headlight according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second light sources comprises an illuminant producing colored light and producing white light.

5. The headlight according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second light sources comprises an illuminant producing at least one colored light and at least one complementary illuminant, the light of which is able to be superimposed with the colored light to produce white light.

6. The headlight according to claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first and second light sources comprises a diffuser which is beamed at by at least one of the illuminant and the complementary illuminant.

7. The headlight according to claim 1 , further comprising a third light source emitting white light or red light.

8. The headlight according to claim 7 which, viewed from a front direction of a beam emitted from the third light source, comprises a main region, via which the third light source emits third light, a first edge region, via which the first light source emits first light, and a second edge region, via which the second light source emits second light.

9. The headlight according to claim 8 , wherein the first edge region extends between the main region and the second edge region.

10. The headlight according to claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first and second light sources comprises a diffuser extending along one of the first and second edge regions.

11. A headlight for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a main light source configured to generate a main light beam;
a main reflector forming at least a portion of a main region with the main light source and directing the main light beam from the main light source out of the headlight, the main reflector having a perimeter formed by an outer edge region;
a first diffuser adjacent to the main reflector and extending along at least a portion of the outer edge region;
a first edge light source optically coupled to the first edge diffuser, the first light source having a first light intensity that selectively varies between a minimum value, a maximum value, and intermediate values between the minimum value and the maximum value;
a second diffuser adjacent to the first diffuser on a side opposite the main reflector;
a second edge light source optically coupled to the second edge diffuser, the second edge light source having a second light intensity that selectively varies between the minimum value, the maximum value, and intermediate values between the minimum value and the maximum value; and
a driver electrically coupled to the first edge light source and the second edge light source, the driver programmable to:
deactivate, at a first moment upon receipt of a blinker signal, the first edge light source and the second edge light source;
activate, at a second moment, the first edge light source such that the first light intensity increases from the minimum value to a first value of the intermediate values while maintaining the deactivation of the second edge light source;
activate, at a third moment when the first light intensity reaches the first value, the second edge light source such that the second light intensity increases from the minimum value to a second value of the intermediate values while maintaining the activation of the first light source such that the first light intensity increases from the first value to the maximum value;
deactivating, at a fourth moment when the first light intensity reaches the maximum value, the first edge light source such that the first intensity decreases from the maximum value while maintaining the activation of the second edge light source such that the second light intensity increases from the second value to the maximum value; and
deactivating, at a fifth moment when the second light intensity reaches the maximum value, the first edge light source and the second edge light source such that the first light intensity and the second light intensity decrease to the minimum value.

12. The headlight of claim 11 , wherein the driver is configured such that the first value and the second value are the same.

13. The headlight of claim 12 , wherein the driver is configured such that the first moment, the second moment, the third moment, the fourth moment, and the fifth moment form a time period, and wherein the driver is configured such that the time period is repeated until the blinker signal is deactivated.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Langkabel Frank
• Haberkorn Rouven
• Roeckl Philipp
• Bach Michael
• Schneider Ralph
• Schneider Ingolf

Classifications

• F21W2103/25

  for rear-view mirrors · CPC title

• H05B45/10

  Controlling the intensity of the light · CPC title

• B60Q1/0041 Primary

  of several lamps in relation to each other · CPC title

• F21W2107/10

  for land vehicles · CPC title

• F21V5/08

  producing an asymmetric light distribution · CPC title