High beam headlights

description

The present application relates to a high beam headlight such. B. a high beam for installation in a vehicle.

Motor vehicle high beam headlights generate a strongly bundled far field with a half-width of the angular distribution of the light intensity of approx. 5 °. To avoid dazzling oncoming or preceding vehicles, the high beam may have to be switched off and only the low beam used. By segmenting the high beam into individually switchable vertical strips with a horizontal width of less than 2 °, glare-free operation is only possible by switching off the respective blinding segments and thus better illumination of the road.

An LED array mounted on a printed circuit board serves as the light source. The non-radiating areas between the individual LEDs are masked out by a special light guide or reflector filling optics. At the same time, this optic enables a slight reduction in the divergence of the radiation from the LED array. The exit of the filling optics is mapped onto the road to infinity by long focal length projection optics with a comparatively large overall length. Due to the high temperature and optical power densities in the immediate vicinity of the LED array, the implementation of the filling optics places high demands on materials and manufacturing processes. Furthermore, achromatically corrected projection optics are required to suppress color fringes in the light segments.

There is consequently a need for a high beam or high beam headlight which, with a short overall length, delivers a high light yield and enables efficient manufacture.

The object of the present invention is therefore to create a high beam or a high beam headlight which meets these conditions. This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claim.

A core idea of ​​the present application is that it is possible to create a high beam or a high beam headlight that can be manufactured with a small overall length with high efficiency, and that also enables effective, inexpensive manufacture by using a light source array with a A plurality of light sources is combined with a honeycomb condenser. A collimator, which is connected between the honeycomb condenser and the light source array, illuminates the honeycomb condenser with collimated light from the plurality of light sources in the light source array. The arrangement of the components is such that the collimated light from a first light source leads to cross-talk-free irradiation of the honeycomb condenser and illumination of a first far-field segment. For each of the at least one second light source of the light source array, the collimated light of the respective second light source results in irradiation of the honeycomb condenser with channel crosstalk and illumination of a second far field segment oriented obliquely to the first far field segment. In other words, the one or more second light sources are arranged in such a way that their collimated light when passing through the entry-side honeycomb lenses or lenslets of the honeycomb condenser is not focused into the respectively assigned exit-side honeycomb lenses or lenslets of the honeycomb condenser, with which they form a respective channel , but in the exit-side honeycomb lenses or lenslets of another channel, such as. B. of the adjacent channel, which would correspond to a first crosstalk order, or another channel but one, which would correspond to a second crosstalk order, etc. If acceptance angles of the exit lenslets are adhered to, the honeycomb condenser design automatically ensures seamless joining of the far field segments assigned to the light sources of the light source array because they are illuminated by them. It is thus possible to obtain a segmented high beam or a high beam with individual or group controllability of the light sources of the light source array or a high beam in which the desired segments are switched on or off or, if the light sources can be controlled accordingly, are illuminated more or less. If the acceptance angles of the exit-side lenslets are observed, the honeycomb condenser design automatically ensures seamless joining of the far-field segments assigned to the light sources of the light source array because they are illuminated by them. It is thus possible to obtain a segmented high beam or a high beam with individual or group controllability of the light sources of the light source array or a high beam in which the desired segments are switched on or off or, if the light sources can be controlled accordingly, are illuminated more or less strongly. If the acceptance angles of the exit-side lenslets are observed, the honeycomb condenser design automatically ensures seamless joining of the far-field segments assigned to the light sources of the light source array because they are illuminated by them. It is thus possible to obtain a segmented high beam or a high beam with individual or group controllability of the light sources of the light source array or a high beam in which the desired segments are switched on or off or, if the light sources can be controlled accordingly, are illuminated to a greater or lesser extent.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the present application are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

1 shows a schematic plan view of a high beam or high beam headlight according to an embodiment, namely viewed along the horizontal;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the high beam or high beam headlamp of FIG. 1, viewed along the vertical; FIG. and

3 shows a schematic spatial representation of the honeycomb condenser from FIGS. 1 and 2.

The basic arrangement is shown in Figure 1 as a plan view and in Figure 2 as a side view. A linear LED cluster 1 with common collimation optics 2 serves as the light source. The beam shaping optics consist of a honeycomb condenser [1] which is irregular in the vertical direction and regular in the horizontal direction with rectangular lenslets. The honeycomb condenser is constructed as a tandem array consisting of an irregular input array 3 and a regular output array 4. The irregularity of the entrance array is only vertical.

If only the central LED 1 a is switched on, all input lenslets only map this LED onto the respectively assigned output lenslet and thus realize an illumination beam path with Koehler illumination in each array channel. For the sake of clarity, FIG. 1 shows only the beam path in the central entrance lenslet. The output lenslets in turn map the apertures of the assigned input lenslets to infinity and thus generate the central far field segment 5a of the high beam. Due to the vertical irregularity of the input array, an approximately symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution of the light intensity of the segment is obtained in the vertical, but a rectangular tophat angular distribution in the horizontal.

If the LEDs adjacent to the central LED in the direction of light propagation right 1b or left 1c are activated, the input lenslets map them onto the output lenslet in the channel adjacent to the left or right. In FIG. 1, for the sake of clarity, only the beam path for bundles incident into the central input lenslet is shown again. This channel crosstalk leads to the formation of the segments adjacent to the central far-field segment in the direction of travel on the left 5b and on the right 5c. LEDs that are even further away from the central LED, not shown for the sake of clarity, cause channel crosstalk to the next but one or an even farther channel and thus permit the illumination of far field segments even further away from the optical axis of the system.

The formation of the input lens array as an irregular array with a high fill factor guarantees the seamless connection of the segments and makes the use of special filler optics superfluous. The LEDs of the array are arranged in such a way that, taking into account the distortion of the collimator, only the desired channel crosstalk but no light components are generated in other channels. Since the f-numbers of the lens-lets are comparatively large with typically f / #> 10, only minimal aberrations occur and an achromatization of the projection is not necessary. By individually controlling the LEDs, in addition to glare-free illumination, a horizontal light intensity profile of the high beam can also be set, which enables energy-saving operation, for example.

In other words, the above figures show a high beam or high beam headlight 100 with a light source array 1 with a plurality of light sources 1a-1c, although the number, as already mentioned, is limited to three, but can be two or more. The high beam 100 further comprises a honeycomb condenser 10 and a collimator 2 which is connected between the honeycomb condenser 10 and the light source array 1 in order to illuminate the honeycomb condenser 10 with collimated light from the plurality of light sources 1a-1c. As already mentioned above, the latter can possibly be activated individually or in groups, so that a segmented high beam is created, as described above. The controllability is implemented by a control circuit 102 optionally belonging to the headlight 100 and can be limited to being able to be switched on and off, but could also include a luminosity control. The light sources 1 a-1c lie in the focal plane of the collimator 2.

In particular, there is a light source 1a among the light sources, which does not necessarily have to be the middle one in the focal plane of the collimator 2 among the light sources of the light source array 1. This light source 1 a leads via the collimator 2 to collimated light, which leads to a cross-talk-free irradiation of the honeycomb condenser 10. For every other light source, here 1b and 1c, the respective collimated light leads to irradiation through the honeycomb condenser 10 with channel crosstalk. In other words, the honeycomb condenser 10 is equipped on the entry side with a honeycomb lens array 3 and on the exit side with a honeycomb lens array 4. Each entry-side honeycomb lens or entry-side lenslet 30 of the input array 3 is associated with a respective exit-side lenslet or lenslet. associated with an exit-side honeycomb lens 40 of the output array 4 in order to form a channel together in that the former focuses the collimated light from the light source 1 a into the exit-side honeycomb lens 40 associated therewith. For this purpose, the output lenslets 40 are arranged at a distance from the latter, which is the focal length of the input lenslets 30, and conversely, the input lenslets 30 are arranged at a distance

the focal length of the output lenslets 40 to the latter and, moreover, the input lenslets and output lenslets are regularly arranged with a constant repeat distance Dc from one another. 1-3, the exemplary case is shown that the collimated light from the light source 1a strikes the honeycomb condenser 10 perpendicularly, in which case lens openings and lens vertices of a pair of input lens 30 and output lens 40 assigned to one another exactly along the horizontal direction x aligned, but an alternative embodiment could also be envisaged. In Fig. 3, which shows only by way of example that the honeycomb condenser 10 possibly has 40 channels, a light beam 11 of the collimated light from the light source 1a is shown as an example, which strikes a specific entrance lenslet 30, in order to exit the associated exit lenslet 40 again. The beam 11 runs quasi in a channel of the honeycomb condenser 10. With dashed lines 11 ′, FIG. 3 shows the collimated light of one of the other light sources as it hits the same input lenslet 30 but then exits through another output lenslet 40. The exit lenslet through which the light beam emerges is an exit lenslet adjacent to the exit lenslet through which the light beam 11 of the light source 1a passed. This was previously referred to as the first crosstalk order. With 11 ″, FIG. 3 shows with a dash-dotted line a light beam originating from yet another light source, which passes through the same input lenslet 30 as the other rays 11 and 11 ', but exits through yet another output lenslet 40, which in this case is spaced by an exit lenslet from the exit lenslet through which the light beam 11 runs, ie that of the light source 1a, ie represents a neighbor but one in the exit array 4. This is then referred to as the second crosstalk order. Further, different and higher crosstalk orders would be conceivable.

In the exemplary embodiments described above, the light sources 1a-1c were arranged along a one-dimensional line, here along the horizontal x. Different embodiments in which the light sources are arranged differently, such. B. also two-dimensional, but would also be conceivable. The one-dimensional arrangement of the light sources 1 means that the collimated light from the “other” light sources 1b and 1c, ie those light sources which lead to channel crosstalk, lead to column-wise channel crosstalk. The honeycomb condenser 10 and its input and output arrays 3 and 4 thus have columns 13 of lenslets 30 and 40, which are each formed identically or identically and are or are arranged next to one another at a certain repeat distance along the direction x. merge into one another conformally by translation in multiples of the repetition distance. Thus, each

of the pair of input and output lenslets 30 and 40 forming a channel in one column, a pair in every other column, namely that in the same row of the array 3 or 4, and a channel crosstalk means that the light of an input lenslet 30 is not in its associated Output lenslet 40 is bundled in the same column 13, but in output lenslet 40 of the corresponding pair of input and output lenslet 30 and 40 in a different column 13, such as the neighboring column in the case of the first crosstalk order, etc.

The output lenslets 40 also form a regular array in the y direction within each column 13. In other words, in the previous exemplary embodiments, the array of output lenslets 40 formed a regular array with a constant repetition distance Dc in x and a constant repetition distance Ay in y. The lens openings of the exit lenslets 40 are rectangular and are joined to one another without any gaps. In each column 13, however, the input lenslets 30 have lens openings of different sizes. The lens opening variation relates to the extension of the lens openings in the y direction, as shown in FIG. Nevertheless, each input lens 30 bundles the collimated light from the light source 1 a incident into it into the center of its associated output lens 40. In each compartment 13, one or more of the input and / or output lenlets 30 and 40 can have a lens vertex that is decentered in relation to its lens opening along the y direction. Dentering and Unsenöffungsvariati-on serve to achieve a desired luminous intensity angle distribution in the direction y, with which the segments 5a-5c are illuminated. Here the angular distribution became broader with a peak at a predetermined angle or perpendicular to the front, in that some input lenslets 30 have a larger lens opening extension in y compared to their associated output lenslet 40, with the lens apex mutually aligned in y and centered on their lens opening. Other designs would also be conceivable.

The high beam headlight 100 thus enables high beam segments 5a, 5b and 5c to be individually illuminated. According to the one-dimensional juxtaposition of the light sources 1a - 1c, the far field segments fan out along the spatial direction x. But they border one another seamlessly. As mentioned above, the lenslets 30 on the entry side can be slightly pre-defocused in order to enable better focusing on average across all crosstalk orders that occur (with no channel crosstalk corresponding to the zeroth order). The entry-side honeycomb lenses of the entry-side honeycomb lens array 3 of the honeycomb condenser 10 can therefore be opposite

a plane, in which the exit-side honeycomb lenses 40 of the exit-side honeycomb lens array 4 of the honeycomb condenser 10 are arranged, for the collimated light of the first light source 1a be arranged more defocused than for collimated light with a collimation direction between that of the collimated light of this light source 1a and that of the collimated light of such a different light source with the maximum crosstalk order among the light sources, ie light source 1b or 1c in the case of FIG. 1. Effectively, for example, the output lenslets 40 in FIG would do optimally, but also further away than would optimally do for the cross-channel irradiation through one of the light sources 1 b and 1 a.

The micro-optical implementation as a multi-aperture system for beam shaping makes it possible to reduce the overall length compared to conventional systems. The micro-optical beam shaping makes separate filling optics and achromatic correction of the projection optics superfluous. Compared to projecting systems with slide arrays or screens, an increased system transmission is achieved.

The above embodiments can be used as motor vehicle high beams, but also generally as switchable spotlights. Two-dimensional, variable illumination of larger areas with rectangular pixels could be realized.

In other words, the above exemplary embodiments therefore describe, inter alia, a segmented high beam with multi-aperture optics. It was described that the segmented high beam has a collimated light source array and a subsequent honeycomb condenser for beam shaping, with a central element of the light source array, for example, or a central light source, a vertical irradiation of the honeycomb condenser, but all other elements an oblique irradiation and thus a defined one Generate channel crosstalk. An embodiment of the light source array as a one-dimensional, linear arrangement of several emitters was shown as an example. As shown, the light source array can be collimated by an aspherical lens. Alternatively, a collimation of the light source array by means of a two-lens arrangement consisting of a field lens and a collimation asphere is also possible. The honeycomb condenser can, as shown, be formed as a honeycomb condenser which is irregular in the vertical direction y and a regular honeycomb condenser in the horizontal direction with rectangular lenslets. In FIG. 2, the honeycomb condenser was formed by an input lens array of rectangular lenslets that are irregular in the vertical direction and a regular output array of rectangular lenslets. It is also possible that the honeycomb condenser has an output lens array which also contains lens segments decentered in the vertical direction but with a constant vertical extension of the lens apertures. The honeycomb condenser can be designed as a monolithic tandem array.

literature

[1] C. Li, P. Schreiber, D. Michaelis, Ch. Wächter, St. Fischer, UD Zeitner: “Etendue conserving light shaping using microlens arrays with irregular lenslets”, SPIE 10693 (2018) 1069304.

Claims

1 high beam headlight with

a light source array (1) having a plurality of light sources (1 a, 1 b, 1 c);

a honeycomb condenser (10);

a collimator (2), which is connected between the honeycomb condenser and the light source array, for illuminating the honeycomb condenser with collimated light from the plurality of light sources,

wherein the light source array has a first light source (1 a) and at least one second light source (1 b), the collimated light of the first light source (1a) of the light source array (1) for a crosstalk-free irradiation of the honeycomb condenser and an illumination of a first far-field segment (5a) and for each of the at least one second light source (1b) the collimated light of the respective second light source (1b) to irradiation of the honeycomb condenser with channel crosstalk and an illumination of an oblique to the first far-field segment ( 5a) aligned second far field segment (5b) leads.

2. High beam headlamp according to claim 1, in which the light sources of the light source array (1) can be controlled individually or in subgroups.

3. High beam headlamp according to claim 1, in which the light source array (1) is designed as a one-dimensional light source array along a first spatial direction (x) and the first and second far field segments (5a, 5b) fan apart along the first spatial direction.

4. high beam headlamp according to claim 3, in which an entry-side honeycomb lens array (3) of the honeycomb condenser has in a second direction (y) perpendicular to the first spatial direction (x) extending entry-side honeycomb lens columns which in the first spatial direction (x) with each other a repetition distance (D c ) are arranged equidistant from one another, and an exit-side honeycomb lens array (4) of the honeycomb condenser extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first spatial

device (y) extending exit-side honeycomb lens columns, which in the first spatial direction (x) to each other with the repetition distance (Dc) equidistant from each other and to the exit-side honeycomb lens columns so that through each of the entry-side honeycomb lens columns the collimated light of the first light source (1a) into a associated one of the exit-side honeycomb lens columns is bundled, are arranged.

5. High beam headlamp according to claim 4, in which the entry-side honeycomb lens of a predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column differs from the exit-side honeycomb lens of the exit-side honeycomb lens column associated with the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column with regard to the arrangement of lens openings and / or lens vertices along the second spatial direction (y).

6. High beam headlamp according to claim 4, in which the entry-side honeycomb lens of a predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column of exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens column associated with the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column with regard to the arrangement of lens openings and / or lens vertices along the second spatial direction (y) deviate with which light intensity the first high beam segment (5a) via the entry-side honeycomb lenses of the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column and the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens column assigned to the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column is illuminated by the collimated light from the first light source (1 a),has a wider angular distribution in the second spatial direction (y) than in the case of an alignment of the entry-side honeycomb lenses of the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens gaps with those of the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens gaps associated with the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens gaps with regard to the arrangement of lens openings and lens apexes.

7. High beam headlamp according to claim 5 or 6, in which the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens columns associated with the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens column have mutually congruent lens openings which are mutually equidistant.

8. High beam headlamp according to one of claims 5 to 7, in which the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the predetermined exit-side honeycomb lens gaps are mutually congruent lens openings which are mutually equidistant and each have centered lens vertices.

9. High beam headlamp according to one of claims 5 to 8, in which at least one of the entry-side honeycomb lenses of the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens gaps and / or exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens gaps associated with the predetermined entry-side honeycomb lens gaps has a lens vertex decentered to its lens opening along the second direction (y).

10. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, in which each entry-side honeycomb lens of an entry-side honeycomb lens array (3) of the honeycomb condenser is assigned an exit-side honeycomb lens of an exit-side honeycomb lens array (3) of the honeycomb condenser, in which the collimated light from the first light source (1 a) through the respective entry-side honeycomb lens is bundled to form a channel of the honeycomb condenser together, whereby for each of the at least one second light source the collimated light of the respective second light source (1 b) through the entry-side honeycomb lens array (3) of the honeycomb condenser cross-channel into the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side Honeycomb lens arrays (3) is bundled.

11. high beam headlamp according to claim 10, in which

the collimated light from a predetermined second light source (1 b) passes through the honeycomb condenser with a maximum crosstalk order below the at least one second light source, and

the entry-side honeycomb lenses of the entry-side honeycomb lens array (3) of the honeycomb condenser opposite a plane in which the exit-side honeycomb lenses of the exit-side honeycomb lens array (4) of the honeycomb condenser are arranged, for the collimated light of the first light source are arranged more defocused than for the collimated light with a collimation of the collimated light of the first light source and that of the collimated light of the predetermined second light source (1 b).

12. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, in which the collimator (2) to improve the collimation of the collimated light of the at least one second light source (1b) is designed aspherically compared to a spherical configuration.

13. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, with a field lens which cooperates with the collimator (2) in order to illuminate the honeycomb condenser with the collimated light of the plurality of light sources.

14. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, in which the honeycomb condenser is designed as a monolithic tandem array.

15. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, which is designed to be glare-free.

16. High beam headlamp according to one of the preceding claims, which is provided for use in a motor vehicle.

17. Motor vehicle with a high beam headlight according to one of the preceding claims.