Stanley Electric Co., Ltd

Yoshiaki Nakazato

Yoshiaki Nakaya

Mitsuhiro Uchida

Naochika Horio

Tatsuma Saito

Toshimichi Anzai

Philip Rackow

Chiho En

Takahiko Tokiwa

A vehicle headlight includes a first light distribution variable lighting unit and a second light distribution variable lighting unit each having a plurality of light emitting devices and a projection lens that projects light emitted from the plurality of light emitting devices and that are configured to variably control a light distribution pattern of light emitted from the projection lens while switching lighting of the plurality of light emitting devices, wherein the first light distribution variable lighting unit radiates light having a first light distribution pattern toward a side in front of the projection lens with respect to a predetermined radiation range, and the second light distribution variable lighting unit radiates light having a second light distribution pattern toward the side in front of the projection lens with respect to at least a vicinity of a reference center of the radiation range.

Vehicle headlight

Provided is a vehicle headlight for forming a high-beam additional light distribution pattern overlaid on a high-beam light distribution pattern. The vehicle headlight is capable of making a driver feel the sense of turning-on of the headlight when the high-beam additional light distribution pattern is additionally formed. The vehicle lighting fixture can be configured to further form a turning-on perceptible light distribution pattern for causing a driver to feel a sense of turning-on together with the high-beam additional light distribution pattern.

Vehicle lighting fixture

A vehicle lighting fixture can eliminate the use of a phosphor member that causes the reduced color rendering properties and the occurrence of color separation, specifically, can enhance the color rendering properties and suppress the occurrence of color separation more than a conventional white light source that use a semiconductor light emitting element such as an LD and a phosphor member (wavelength converting member). The vehicle lighting fixture includes: a supercontinuum light source configured to output supercontinuum light containing light in a visible wavelength region, and an optical system configured to control the supercontinuum light output from the supercontinuum light source.

A vehicle lighting apparatus includes: a light source device that includes a semiconductor laser which emits laser light and a wavelength conversion member which converts the wavelength of at least part of the laser light and that emits, from a light emission part, light from the wavelength conversion member; a reflection member that reflects light emitted from the light emission part of the light source device in a vehicle frontward direction as parallel light; a light shield member that blocks light which is emitted in the vehicle frontward direction from the light emission part and which is not incident on the reflection member; and a light detection part that is arranged at a vehicle rearward positon of the reflection member and detects part of the light emitted from the light emission part.

Vehicle lighting apparatus

A vehicle headlight system can include a headlight controller and a lamp unit incorporating a high beam module, which can emit favorable marking lights while the headlight controller associates each of a shading driver and a swivel structure with a shading width setter and a swivel setter, respectively. When a forward vehicle does not exist in a forward direction, the headlight systems can provide favorable light distribution patterns by overlapping the light distribution pattern projected from the high beam module with each of light distribution patterns for a high and low beam. When the forward vehicle exists, the headlight system can prevent the lamp unit from emitting a glare type light to the forward vehicle. Thus, the disclosed subject matter can provide vehicle headlight systems, which can emit favorable light patterns toward a pedestrian as a marking light, and which can provide favorable light distribution patterns to drive at night.

Vehicle headlight system

A vehicle headlight can ensure a driver's visibility even when the headlight projects low-beam, and at the same time, can promote awareness of pedestrians and the like in front of and around the vehicle. A vehicle headlight installed in a vehicle can include a plurality of lamp modules each configured to project light in front of the vehicle, and a control unit configured to control the plurality of lamp modules to be turned on and off so that a lighting pattern constituted by the lamp module or lamp modules being turned on is varied and at least one lamp module out of the plurality of lamp modules is configured to form a predetermined light distribution for ensuring a driver's visibility when being turned on.

A vehicle headlight can be configured such that the size of the vehicle headlight which includes a semiconductor laser element employed as a light source is reduced. The vehicle headlight can includes: a projection lens disposed on an optical axis extending in a front-to-rear direction of a vehicle body; a light-emitting device including a semiconductor laser element configured to emit a laser beam and a light-transmitting member configured to absorb and convert the wavelength of at least part of the laser beam from the semiconductor laser element; and a first reflection surface configured to reflect the light from the light-emitting device so as to transmit and project forward the resulting light through the projection lens. The vehicle headlight can further include: a light detection unit configured to detect a light beam of a specific color, the light detection unit being disposed between the projection lens and the light-emitting device and below the optical axis; a second reflection surface configured to reflect the light beam from the light-emitting device toward the light detection unit, the second reflection surface being disposed ahead of the front end of the first reflection surface; and a control unit configured to control the semiconductor laser element in accordance with a detection result provided by the light detection unit so that the semiconductor laser element does not emit the laser beam.

There is provided a vehicle headlamp that can be miniaturized and that can form a synthetic light distribution pattern (for example, a low-beam light distribution pattern) in which a hot zone is brighter. The vehicle headlamp that forms the synthetic light distribution pattern including the hot zone and a diffusion region diffused from the hot zone, includes at least one first lighting fixture unit including a laser light source and a first optical system that forms a first light distribution pattern to irradiate light forward from the laser light source and irradiate the hot zone, and at least one second lighting fixture unit including an LED light source and a second optical system that forms a second light distribution pattern to irradiate light forward from the LED light source and irradiate the diffusion region.

Vehicle headlamp

A vehicle light can prevent color variations of the projected image. The vehicle light can include a laser diode, a wavelength conversion member including a phosphor configured to receive blue light emitted from the laser diode and then emitting white light, a projection lens configured to project the white light emitted from the wavelength conversion member to provide forward illumination for a vehicle, and a diffusing portion provided to the projection lens, configured to diffuse the excitation light which is incident on the projection lens from the wavelength conversion member.

Vehicle light

A vehicle lighting unit can form a structure or mechanism for positioning and installing a light emitting device in a vehicle lighting unit main body.

Vehicle lighting unit

A vehicle lighting unit that utilizes a semiconductor laser light source can suppress color unevenness of a light distribution pattern while ensuring the usefulness of the semiconductor laser light source. The vehicle lighting unit can include a semiconductor laser light source, a phosphor configured to receive blue light emitted from the semiconductor laser light source and emit white light by excitation, and a reflector configured to reflect the light emitted from the phosphor so that the light can be diffused wider in a right-to-left direction than in a vertical direction on the basis of a posture when the lighting unit is mounted on a vehicle body. Part of the blue light that is emitted from the semiconductor laser light source and reflected off a surface of the phosphor can be incident on the reflector with an elongated area in the right-to-left direction.

A vehicle light can prevent color variations in a projected image. The vehicle light can include a light source, a wavelength conversion member including a phosphor configured to receive blue light having been emitted from the light source and then emitting white light, and a reflector having a reflection surface that reflects the white light having been emitted from the wavelength conversion member. The reflection surface of the reflector can have an optical structure that can diffuse the blue light incident on the reflection surface from the phosphor, reflect the blue light back to the phosphor, or allow the blue light to pass through the reflection surface to the area rearward thereof.

Vehicle headlight with means for reducing the projection of excitation source light

A vehicular lighting fixture unit can include a projector lens placed on an optical axis extending in a vehicle front-rear direction. A light-emitting element can be placed between the projector lens and a rear-side focal point of the projector lens at a position lower than the optical axis so as to emit light substantially vertically upward. A phosphor can be placed so as to be closer to a vehicle rear side than the rear-side focal point. A first reflecting surface can reflect the light from the phosphor so as to condense the light toward the optical axis. A second reflecting surface can be placed substantially vertically above the light-emitting element at a position at which the second reflecting surface does not block the reflected light from the first reflecting surface. The second reflecting surface can reflect the light from the light-emitting element toward the phosphor.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yoshiaki Nakazato