KR100818485B1 - Auto-leveling apparatus for headlamp of vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

An auto-leveling apparatus for a head lamp of a vehicle is provided to automatically level irradiation angle of the head lamp even when the irradiation angle is changed according to loads of baggage or passengers. A head lamp(100) has a housing(120) installed at the front of a vehicle, a light source(140) housed in the housing, a reflector(160) reflecting the light emitted from the light source, and a lens cover(180) transmitting the reflected light. A leveling member(200) changes irradiation angle of the head lamp, and is driven by a driving motor(300). A tilting sensor(400) is installed on a bottom surface of the vehicle to detect tilting angle of the vehicle. A controller(500) receives a signal from the tilting sensor, and drives the driving motor according to load alteration of the vehicle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an auto-

The present invention relates to a headlamp for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a vehicular headlamp capable of automatically leveling an irradiation angle of a headlamp for a vehicle, achieving compactness inside the vehicle, and capable of legally using a high-density discharge (HID) To an auto leveling device for a headlamp.

In general, a headlamp for a vehicle is an illuminating lamp that performs an important function of illuminating the course ahead in the nighttime, and it needs brightness that can identify a traffic obstacle at a distance of 100m at night. However, have.

On the other hand, if the illumination angle of the light is fixed when the vehicle headlamp is irradiated with light from the vehicle headlamp, if the cargo is loaded or the number of passengers is large, the vehicle body tilts, . As a result, it interferes with the visibility of the driver of the coming vehicle, causing a large-scale accident. In order to prevent the above-described problems, studies have been actively made on a leveling device capable of adjusting an irradiation angle of a headlamp for a vehicle.

1 and 2 show a structure of a general leveling device for a headlamp for a vehicle. First, a general headlamp 10 for a vehicle includes a housing 12 provided at the front of the vehicle, A reflector 16 for reflecting the light of the light source 14 and guiding light to the front of the housing 12 and a reflector 16 for reflecting the light reflected from the reflector 16 to the outside, And a lens cover 18.

The leveling device 20 for adjusting the irradiation angle of the vehicle headlamp shown in Fig. 1 has one end coupled to the reflector 16 of the headlamp 10 and the other end connected to the linear drive motor 24 And an associated control bar 22. That is, when the linear driving motor 24 is driven, the control bar 22 moves forward and backward to rotate the reflector 16. Thereby, when the light emitted from the light source 14 of the headlamp 10 is reflected by the reflector 16 and guided to the front of the vehicle, the irradiation angle of the headlamp 10 can be adjusted upward or downward will be. 2, the leveling device 20 rotates the reflector 16 by driving the rotation motor 24 'via the reduction gear 22', thereby controlling the irradiation angle of the head lamp 10 .

The irradiation angle of the head lamp 10 may be adjusted by rotating the light source 14 while fixing the reflector 16 in addition to the configuration of the conventional leveling apparatus 20 for a vehicle headlamp. There is a case where both the reflector 16 and the light source 14 are fixed and the head lamp 10 itself is rotated to adjust the irradiation angle.

On the other hand, when a light source of a conventional head lamp for a vehicle is to be replaced with a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp in a filament, an auto leveling device capable of adjusting the irradiation angle of the head lamp is essentially required. And there is no reliable countermeasure.

As described above, the conventional leveling apparatus has a problem that it is difficult for the driver to adjust the irradiation angle of the head lamp directly in consideration of the load and the weight of the occupant, and it is difficult to control the angle of the irradiation accurately.

Further, in order to replace the light source of the head lamp with a high-density discharge (HID) lamp from a conventional filament, it is necessary to provide an auto leveling device. Otherwise, the HID lamp can not be legally used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention, which is devised to solve the problems described above, to provide a vehicle headlamp capable of automatically leveling a headlamp when an angle of irradiation of a headlamp is changed by a vehicle body inclined according to a load of a cargo or a passenger loaded on the vehicle, And an auto leveling device for a headlamp for a vehicle.

Further, in the case where the vehicle is in operation or in the off state, unnecessary automatic leveling can be prevented by fixing the irradiation angle of the headlamp, and a vehicle headlamp capable of reducing the internal size of the vehicle without requiring complicated wired lines And an auto leveling device.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an auto leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp capable of automatically leveling an irradiation angle of a headlamp even in the case of a light source such as a high density discharge (HID) lamp, so that the HID lamp can be legally used.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an auto leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp comprising: a housing provided in front of a vehicle; a light source accommodated in the housing to irradiate light; A head lamp including a reflector for guiding light and a lens cover for transmitting light reflected by the reflector to the outside; leveling means for changing an irradiation angle of the head lamp; driving motor for driving the leveling means; A tilting sensor that detects a tilted degree of the vehicle body and a tilting sensor that receives a signal sensed by the tilting sensor and processes the signal only for a change in a load applied to the vehicle, And a control unit for driving the driving motor so as to be within a predetermined range.

The leveling means is connected to the reflector and the drive motor to change the angle of the reflector.

The leveling means is connected to the light source and the driving motor to change the angle of the light source.

The tilting sensor may be a tilting sensor of a torque balance type.

The controller may further include a speed sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle, and the controller may receive the signal detected from the speed sensor and may drive the driving motor when the vehicle is stopped.

The controller may further include a start-up sensor for detecting whether the start-up of the vehicle is ON or OFF. The controller receives the signal detected from the start-up sensor and drives the drive motor only when the start- .

The control unit may further include an on / off switch for turning on / off the light source, and the control unit turns on the light source only when the start of the vehicle is on.

A wireless transmitter for receiving a signal sensed by the tilting sensor and wirelessly transmitting the signal to the controller; and a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving the signal from the wireless transmitter and transmitting the signal to the controller .

In addition, the radio transmission / reception method performed between the radio transmitter and the radio receiver is one of Bluetooth, ZigBee, and radio wave identification.

Further, the light source is a high density discharge (HID) lamp.

The auto-leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention can automatically level the headlamp even if the angle of irradiation of the headlamp is changed by the inclination of the vehicle body in accordance with the load of the cargo or passenger loaded on the vehicle through the leveling means, the tilting sensor, have.

In addition, when the vehicle is running or the vehicle is in an off state through the speed sensor and the start detection sensor, unnecessary automatic leveling can be prevented by fixing the irradiation angle of the head lamp.

In addition, when the on-off switch of the light source constituting the head lamp is connected to the control unit to automatically turn on the light source of the head lamp when the vehicle is turned on, .

In addition, a radio transmitter and a receiver are installed in the tilting sensor and the control unit, respectively, so that signals can be transmitted and received wirelessly without complicated wired lines, so that the interior of the vehicle can be made compact.

In addition, even in the case of a light source such as a high-density discharge (HID) lamp, the irradiation angle of the headlamp can be automatically leveled, so that the HID lamp can be legally used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an auto leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an auto leveling apparatus for a headlamp for a vehicle according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of an auto leveling apparatus for a headlamp for a vehicle according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an operation process of an embodiment of the tilting sensor according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the embodiment of FIG. 3 is installed in a vehicle, As shown in Fig.

3 to 7, the automatic leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention includes a head lamp 100, leveling means 200 and 200 ', driving motors 300 and 300', tilting sensors 400 And a control unit 500. The head lamp 100 includes a housing 120, a light source 140, a reflector 160, and a lens cover 180. In addition, the light source 140 may further include an on / off switch 145, and may be an HID lamp. The automatic leveling apparatus for a vehicle headlamp according to the present invention may further include a speed sensor 600, a start detection sensor 700, a wireless transmitter 450, and a wireless receiver 550.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the headlamp 100 includes a housing 120 installed in front of the vehicle, a housing 120 housed in the housing 120, A reflector 160 for reflecting the light of the light source 140 and guiding the light toward the front of the housing 120 and a lens cover 160 for transmitting the light reflected by the reflector 160 to the outside 180). The housing 120 has the same structure as that of a conventional vehicle, and a lens cover 180 for transmitting light to the outside is installed in front of the housing 120. The light source 140 may use a general filament lamp or a high-density high-intensity discharge lamp. In the case of a HID lamp, it is a lamp that can be used when an auto leveling device is mandatory, and is a lamp that best matches the object of the present invention. The reflector 160 reflects the light emitted from the light source 140 and guides the light toward the front of the housing 120, that is, the lens cover 180. Since each component of the headlamp 100 can be realized by a conventional technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The leveling means 200 and 200 'change the irradiation angle of the headlamp 100 and the driving motors 300 and 300' change the irradiation angle of the leveling means 200 and 200 ' . That is, the leveling means 200 and 200 'are driven by the operation of the driving motors 300 and 300', thereby changing the irradiation angle of the head lamp 100. The leveling means 200 and 200 'and the driving motors 300 and 300' have the same structure as that of the conventional leveling device. For example, the leveling means 200 and 200 'and the driving motors 300 and 300' rotate the reflector 160 constituting the head lamp 100, And the angle of irradiation of the light emitted from the head lamp 100 can be changed by rotating the head lamp 100 itself. 3, the reflector 160 is rotated by the linear driving motor 300 through the control bar 200 or the reflector 160 is rotated by the reduction gear 200 ' And can be rotated by the rotation motor 300 '. Although not shown in the drawing, a rack-and-pinion may be formed in the head lamp 100 to rotate the head lamp 100 itself with a rotating motor. That is, the leveling means 200 and 200 'are connected to the reflector 160 and the driving motors 300 and 300' to change the angle of the reflector 160 or to change the angle of the light source 140 and the driving motor 300 , 300 'to change the angle of the light source 140. Since the automotive headlamp automotive headlamp apparatus of the present invention is intended to automate conventional leveling apparatuses, the leveling means 200, 200 'and the driving motors 300, 300' It is sufficient if the irradiation angle of the light source can be changed.

The tilting sensor 400 senses the inclination of the front and rear of the vehicle body.

The tilting sensor 400 is an inclination angle sensor for detecting an inclination angle and converting it into an electric signal. The tilting sensor 400 may be a differential trans type sensor, a potentiometer type sensor, or a torque balance type sensor. However, it is more preferable to use a torque balance type tilting sensor that is compact, lightweight, excellent in response, high accuracy, and high resolution. 5, the light receiving elements PTR1 and PTR2 and the resistors R1 and R2 constitute a DC bridge circuit and the movable coils L1 and L2 are connected to the bridge circuit. And a load resistor R0 are connected to the movable coil L1 and the movable element MC connected to the movable coils L1 and L2. When the tilting sensor 400 is fixed in the direction of the center of gravity GS of the earth, the shielding piece S is positioned at the center of each of the light emitting devices LED1 and LED2 and the light receiving devices PTR1 and PTR2, And the light receiving elements PTR1 and PTR2 receive the same amount of light from each other, the bridge circuit is balanced. However, when the tilting sensor 400 is inclined by a predetermined angle? 1 with respect to the center of gravity GS of the earth, the movable element MC also tilts in the same direction, but due to the moment due to the unbalance of the weight, ') In the original direction. Therefore, the resistance of the light receiving elements PTR1 and PTR2 changes due to the movement of the shielding piece S, the balance of the bridge circuit is broken, and the current I1 flows to the movable coils L1 and L2. The current I1 at this time becomes the output current of the tilting sensor 400 and the control unit 500 to be described later receives the output current of the tilting sensor 400 as a signal.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the tilting sensor 400 detects the inclination of the front and rear of the vehicle body. Therefore, the tilting sensor 400 is mounted on the bottom of the vehicle body inside the vehicle, Is easy to install and replace, and is preferable in that it is possible to more easily detect the inclination of the front and rear of the vehicle body. Accordingly, the tilting sensor 400 can sense the inclination of the vehicle body irrespective of changes in the external environment.

The control unit 500 receives the signal sensed by the tilting sensor 400 and processes the signal only for a change in the load applied to the vehicle so that the irradiation angle 100 of the headlamp is within a predetermined range. (300, 300 '). The signal sensed by the tilting sensor 400 refers to the degree of tilting of the vehicle body in front and rear, and in the case of the torque balance type tilting sensor 400, the output current corresponds to this. The irradiation angle within the predetermined range of the headlamp 100 may be set such that the manufacturer or the driver sets the irradiation angle of the headlamp 100 to the headlamp 100 mounted on the first vehicle in accordance with the model of the vehicle or the standard of each country It is said to have put it. Therefore, the set range may vary depending on the model of the vehicle and the criteria of each country. Also, the controller 500 drives the driving motors 300 and 300 'to operate the leveling means 200 and 200' so as to reach the irradiation angle of the set range. The leveling means 200 and 200 'are operated by the driving motor 300 to rotate the reflector 160, the light source 140 or the headlamp 100 itself constituting the headlamp 100, Thereby changing the irradiation angle of the light irradiated from the light source.

Meanwhile, the control unit 500 receives the signal detected from the tilting sensor 400, but processes the signal only for a change in the load applied to the vehicle. The tilting sensor 400 not only detects the degree of tilting of the vehicle body in accordance with a change in the load applied to the vehicle but also tilts the entire vehicle by an inclination angle of the slope even when the vehicle enters the sloping slope, The inclination angle is detected by the tilting sensor 400. If the tilting sensor 400 transmits a signal to the controller 500 with respect to the inclination angle of the slope so that the controller 500 processes the signals to drive the drivers 300 and 300 ' ) Can be adjusted to be ridiculously upward or downward. In order to prevent this, the control unit 500 processes the signals sensed by the tilting sensor 400 only for changes in the load applied to the vehicle, thereby driving the drivers 300 and 300 '. For example, even when the vehicle enters a slope of 30 degrees of inclination while the vehicle is running, the tilting sensor 400 detects the inclination angle of the slope, but since no load is applied to the vehicle, . In order to implement such an algorithm, the control unit 400 receives all tilt angles from the tilting sensor 400 before, during, and after the vehicle is stopped. When the vehicle enters or stops on the sloping road, There is a method of correcting the inclination angle by recognizing the inclination angle. In addition, by providing a load sensor for detecting whether a load is added or reduced to the vehicle, the control unit 500 does not drive the driving units 300 and 300 'with respect to the inclination angle of the sloping road, The control unit 500 may receive a signal from the tilting sensor 400 to adjust the irradiation angle of the head lamp 100 only by the difference of the tilt angle before and after the tilting. That is, regardless of how the controller 500 configures the algorithm or whether another sensor is mounted, the control unit 500 processes the signal input from the tilting sensor 400 only for the load change of the vehicle Accordingly, it is sufficient that the irradiation angle of the head lamp 100 can be adjusted by driving the driving units 300 and 300 '.

The speed sensor 600 senses the speed of the vehicle. In this case, the control unit 500 receives the signals sensed by the speed sensor 600 and drives the driving motors 300 and 300 'only when the vehicle is stopped. The speed sensor 600 is provided with a Hall element in a rotating body such as an axle or a vehicle wheel to detect the speed of the vehicle. The Hall element senses the rotation of the rotating body and generates a square wave having a frequency proportional to the rotating speed of the rotating body to transmit the rectangular wave to the controller 500. Since the speed sensor 600 can be realized in the prior art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted, and the speed sensor 600 is connected to the control unit 500 used in the auto leveling apparatus of the present invention. A signal sensed by the speed sensor 600 transmits only a signal of 0 or 1 to the control unit 500. The signal of 0 indicates a stop state of the vehicle and the signal of 1 indicates a state of the vehicle in operation . Therefore, only when the signal sensed by the speed sensor 600 is 0, that is, when the vehicle is stopped, the control unit 500 drives the driving motors 300 and 300 ', and the driving motors 300 and 300' The leveling means 200 and 200 'are actuated by driving to eventually adjust the irradiation angle of the headlamp 100 of the vehicle upward or downward. When the vehicle is in operation, the value of the tilting sensor 400 is varied due to inclination of the road surface or up / down motion due to the damping action of the vehicle, so that the irradiation angle of the head lamp 100 is continuously adjusted, There is a risk of it becoming dangerous. To prevent this, when the vehicle is in operation, the inclination angle of the tilting sensor 400 is not transmitted from the control unit 500 to the driving motors 300 and 300 ', and the tilting sensor 400 And drives the drive motors 300 and 300 '.

The start detection sensor 700 detects whether the start of the vehicle is on or off. In this case, the control unit 500 receives the signal sensed by the start-up detection sensor 700 and drives the driving unit only when the start-up of the vehicle is on. In the case of a general vehicle, there is a difference in the voltage (V) value of the vehicle battery when the ignition is on and off. For example, when the ignition is on, the value is 13 V or more. The startup detection sensor 700 can detect whether the vehicle is on or off by reading the voltage value in the set range according to the vehicle type. If the tilting sensor 400 senses the inclination of the vehicle body by the tilting sensor 400 to change the irradiation angle of the headlamp 100, the unnecessary electric power is wasted. The control unit 500 drives the driving motors 300 and 300 'to drive the leveling means 200 and 300', respectively, when the start of the vehicle is on, 200 'to adjust the irradiation angle of the head lamp 100.

The on-off switch 145 turns the light source 140 on and off. In this case, the controller 500 is connected to the on-off switch 145 to turn on the light source 140 when the vehicle is turned on. That is, in a country where a headlamp 100 of a vehicle must be turned on regardless of whether it is a main night or a nighttime in Europe, the headlamp 100 of the vehicle is off, ) Is required to be turned on. Accordingly, the on / off switch 145 for turning on / off the light source 140 and the start detecting sensor 700 for detecting whether the start of the vehicle is on / off are connected to the control unit 500. When the start of the vehicle is on The light source 140 can be turned on by operating the on-off switch. The automatic turn-on function of the headlamp 100 for a vehicle can be implemented together.

On the other hand, in order to simplify and compact the interior of the vehicle, it is necessary to eliminate the wiring between the electronic equipments and transmit / receive signals wirelessly. To this end, a wireless transmitter 450 receives a signal sensed by the tilting sensor 400 and wirelessly transmits the signal to the controller 500. The wireless transmitter 450 wirelessly receives the signal from the wireless transmitter 450 And may further include a wireless receiver 550 for transmitting the control signal to the control unit 500. The wireless transmitter 450 and the wireless receiver 500 may wirelessly transmit and receive signals in various ways, but it is preferable that the wireless transmitter 450 and the wireless receiver 500 are one of the following schemes.

The first is Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a low-cost, low-power, short-range wireless solution that is robust to interference and interconnectivity, allowing simultaneous access to multiple devices. Therefore, it is easy to mount on mobile terminals or household appliances. The second is the Zigbee method. The ZigBee method is also used to communicate a small amount of information instead of minimizing power consumption. It is used in the near field communication market such as intelligent home network, building, industrial automation, logistics, environmental monitoring, human interface, telematics and military. The small size, low power consumption, low price, home network, ubiquitous building solution is recently attracting attention. The third is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The RFID system is one of the non-contact type recognition systems, and is distinguished from a manual type in which energy is supplied from a reader's radio wave signal without an internal power supply, and an active type in which an RF tag battery is incorporated for self-operation. It is sufficient that any wireless transmission / reception system can wirelessly transmit and receive signals between the wireless transmitter 450 and the wireless receiver 550. [

The embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art will be able to modify the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Accordingly, such improvements and modifications will fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are obvious to those skilled in the art.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a leveling device for a conventional headlamp for a vehicle,

2 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of a leveling device for a conventional headlamp for a vehicle,

3 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an auto leveling apparatus for a headlamp for a vehicle according to the present invention,

4 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of an auto leveling apparatus for a headlamp for a vehicle according to the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an operation process of an embodiment of a tilting sensor according to the present invention,

Fig. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a state in which the embodiment of Fig. 3 is installed in a vehicle,

Fig. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a state in which the embodiment of Fig. 4 is installed in a vehicle. Fig.

Description of the Related Art

100: head lamp

120: Housing

140: Light source 145: On-off switch

160: Reflector

180: Lens cover

200: leveling means

300: drive motor

400: tilting sensor 450: wireless transmitter

500: control unit 550: radio receiver

600: Speed sensor

700: Startup sensor

Claims (10)

A reflector that reflects the light of the light source and guides light toward the front of the housing; a reflector that reflects the light reflected from the reflector to the outside; A head lamp composed of a cover, Leveling means for changing an irradiation angle of the headlamp; A driving motor for driving the leveling means, A tilting sensor of a torque balance type installed at a floor of a vehicle body inside the vehicle and sensing a tilting degree of the vehicle body, And a control unit for receiving the signal detected from the tilting sensor and processing the signal only for a change in the load applied to the vehicle so as to drive the driving motor so that the irradiation angle of the headlamp is within a predetermined range. Automatic leveling device of the lamp. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the leveling means is connected to the reflector and the drive motor to change the angle of the reflector. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the leveling means is connected to the light source and the drive motor to change the angle of the light source. delete The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a speed sensor for sensing a speed of the vehicle, Wherein the control unit drives the driving motor only when the vehicle is stopped by receiving a signal detected from the speed sensor. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a start detection sensor for detecting whether the start of the vehicle is ON or OFF, Wherein the control unit drives the driving motor only when the start of the vehicle is ON by receiving a signal detected from the start-up detecting sensor. The method according to claim 6, Further comprising an on-off switch for turning the light source on and off, Wherein the control unit is connected to the on-off switch to turn on the light source when the start-up of the vehicle is on. The method according to claim 1, A wireless transmitter for receiving a signal sensed by the tilting sensor and wirelessly transmitting the signal to the controller; Further comprising a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving the signal from the wireless transmitter and transmitting the signal to the controller. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the radio transmission / reception method performed between the radio transmitter and the radio receiver is one of Bluetooth, ZigBee, and radio wave identification. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 5 to 9, Wherein the light source is a high density discharge (HID) lamp.

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