Headlight having a division scan optical system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9772084-B2
Application number	US-201515123903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2015
Priority date	Mar 25, 2014
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A system can include: a dividing unit which divides a light scanning within a rotation angle range into a right scan light of a first angle portion and a left scan light of a second angle portion; a right-side scan light generation unit which reflects the right scan light toward a right-side region portion of an irradiation region; and a left-side scan light generation unit which reflects the left scan light toward a left-side region portion of the irradiation region. Both end fields of the region are irradiated by the light from the middle part of the rotation angle range. A center field of the region is irradiated by the light from the end parts of the rotation angle range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A headlight comprising:
a light source;
an optical deflector which has a reflection unit which reflects light from the light source and an actuator unit driven by first and second driving voltages and reciprocating and rotationally moving the reflection unit around orthogonal first and second rotation axes, the optical deflector emitting reflection light while reciprocating and rotationally moving the reflection light from the reflection unit within first and second rotation angle ranges by rotational movement of the reflection unit around the first and second rotation axes; and
an optical system which emits the reflection light emitted from the optical deflector within the first and second rotation angle ranges as scan light which scans an irradiation region in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, wherein
the optical system has a dividing unit which divides the reflection light within the first rotation angle range into reflection light of a first angle portion from one end angle to an intermediate angle of the first rotation angle range and reflection light of a second angle portion from the intermediate angle to the other end angle of the first rotation angle range;
a right-side scan light generation unit which advances the reflection light which is the closer to the one end angle in the reflection light of the first angle portion on a left side in the horizontal direction and emits the light as scan light which scans a right-side region portion of the irradiation region in the horizontal direction; and
a left-side scan light generation unit which advances the reflection light which is the closer to the other end angle in the reflection light of the second angle portion on a right side in the horizontal direction and emits the light as the scan light which scans a left-side region portion of the irradiation region in the horizontal direction.

2. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein
the dividing unit is a V-shaped mirror which reflects the reflection light of the first angle portion by one of reflective surfaces and reflects the reflection light of the second angle portion by the other reflective surface;
the right-side scan light generation unit is a mirror for the first angle portion which reflects the reflection light from the one reflective surface of the V-shaped mirror toward the right-side region portion; and
the left-side scan light generation unit is a mirror for the second angle portion which reflects the reflection light from the other reflective surface of the V-shaped mirror toward the left-side region portion.

3. The headlight according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a prism having a diamond sectional shape, wherein
one of half portions of the diamond sectional shape in the prism has the reflection light of the first angle portion from the optical deflector incident thereto and refracts the incident reflection light inside and emits it toward the right-side region portion so as to serve both as the dividing unit and the right-side scan light generation unit; and
the other half portion of the diamond sectional shape in the prism has the reflection light of the second angle portion from the optical deflector incident, and refracts the incident reflection light inside and emits it toward the left-side region portion so as to serve both as the dividing unit and the left-side scan light generation unit.

4. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein
the intermediate angle is set to a rotation angle at a center of the first rotation angle range.

5. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein
the first driving voltage is a sinusoidal wave, and a driving voltage supply unit is provided for adjusting a center voltage and amplitude of the first driving voltage and supplying the voltage to the actuator unit.

6. The headlight according to claim 1 , wherein
the optical system has:
another dividing unit which divides the reflection light within the second rotation angle range into reflection light of a third angle portion from another one end angle to another reflection light intermediate angle of the second rotation angle range and a fourth angle portion from the other intermediate angle to yet another angle of the second rotation angle range;
a lower-side scan light generation unit which advances the reflection light of the third angle portion which is the closer to the other one end angle on an upper side in a vertical direction and emits the light as scan light which scans a lower-side region portion of the irradiation region in the vertical direction; and
an upper-side scan light generation unit which advances the reflection light of the fourth angle portion which is the closer to the yet another end angle on a lower side in a vertical direction and emits the light as scan light which scans an upper-side region portion of the irradiation region in the vertical direction.

7. The headlight according to claim 6 , wherein
the second driving voltage is a sinusoidal wave or a sawtooth wave, and another driving voltage supply unit which adjusts a center voltage and amplitude of the second driving voltage and supplies the voltage to the actuator unit is provided.

Assignees

• Stanley Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Saito Takao

Classifications

• G02B26/105

  with one or more pivoting mirrors or galvano-mirrors (G02B26/101 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F21S41/675

  by moving reflectors · CPC title

• G02B19/0052

  the light source comprising a laser diode (coupling into light guides using intermediate optical elements G02B6/4204; semiconductor lasers having optical devices external to the laser cavity H01S5/005) · CPC title

• G02B19/0028

  refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems · CPC title

• F21S41/336

  with discontinuity at the junction between adjacent areas · CPC title