The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 02, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 12, 1997
Hiroaki Okuchi, Anjo, JP;
Kenichi Nishimura, Gifu, JP;
Takanori Ota, Aichi, JP;
Ryoji Kawakami, Toyota, JP;
Ryosuke Naito, Aichi, JP;
Yuji Yamada, Toyota, JP;
Denso Corporation, Kariya, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
A pitch angle in the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle body is calculated based on output signals of height sensors disposed at front and rear wheels of the vehicle. A vehicle traveling speed is obtained. A vehicle acceleration is obtained from the vehicle traveling speed. Using the vehicle traveling speed and the vehicle acceleration, a judgement is made to determine the control mode corresponding to the vehicle traveling condition, by selecting one from the group consisting of a stopping mode, an acceleration mode, a deceleration mode and a constant-speed mode. An actuator target value (i.e., target aiming adjustment angle) is calculated in accordance with the determined control mode. To obtain this actuator target value, a filter is used to process the pitch angle so that the headlights do not dazzle an oncoming vehicle's driver. Then, the aiming adjustment for the headlights is performed by actuating actuators in accordance with the actuator target value. The pitch angle is adequately processed by using a preferable filter. Therefore, the aiming adjustment of the headlights is not performed unnecessarily or erroneously.