Headlights in the vehicle lighting system occupy a central place. They illuminate the road in front of the vehicle and also serve to detect the vehicle and its intentions to other road users. All this provides the necessary level of safety and comfort.
The front headlight combines, as a rule, several lighting devices in one housing: dipped beam headlight, high beam headlight, position lamp, direction indicator lamp, daytime running lights (if any). The combined structure is called block headlight. The main lighting devices in it are the dipped and main beam headlights. The front headlights also include fog lights, which are installed separately.
dipped headlights is essential for driving in the dark. It is characterized by an asymmetric character (the light beam is stretched along the right side), the presence of a cut-off line (the shadow area is higher, the bright area is below a certain border). The dipped beam headlight implements a compromise between reasonably dazzling other drivers and a sufficiently high level of illumination.
high beam headlights provides the maximum range of illumination of the road, tk. has no restrictions. On the other hand, the high beam headlight creates maximum blindness for other drivers, therefore it is limited in use. The adaptive lighting system significantly improves the efficiency of the use of high beams on the car.
The headlights of a modern car are complex technical systems and, in their own way, works of art. They are individual for each new car model. Depending on the configuration, the car may have several headlight designs. The leading manufacturers of automotive lighting are Hella, Al-Automotive Lighting, Philips.
The classic headlight combines a light source, a reflector and a diffuser. The following light sources are used in the headlights: incandescent lamp, halogen lamp, gas discharge lamp, LEDs.
It is a tungsten filament placed in a glass flask. When the lamp is operating, the filament is heated, which is accompanied by the evaporation of tungsten from the surface. The thread thins and burns out over time. In addition, when the tungsten evaporates, the lamp darkens.
IN halogen lamp the tungsten filament is surrounded by a halogen gas (iodine, bromine), which makes it possible to raise the temperature of the filament and increase the level of illumination. The service life of a halogen lamp (up to 1000 hours) is much longer than a conventional incandescent lamp, because. heating of tungsten occurs in a closed cycle. During evaporation, tungsten combines with the gas and circulates through the flask. When in contact with the filament, the compound breaks up, and the tungsten settles on the filament.
IN discharge lamp(High-intensity discharge, HID) the luminous flux is created by heating the gas with high voltage. Automotive discharge lamps use xenon, which has a high luminous efficiency. To ignite and power a xenon lamp, additional equipment is required, which significantly increases the cost of the headlight. The service life of the gas discharge lamp reaches 2000 hours.
(Light Emitting Diode, LED) as automotive light sources are gaining rapid popularity. They have a lifespan of up to 3000 hours or more, consume less power and provide acceptable light levels. Currently, LEDs are widely used as indoor light sources ( instrument lighting, indicator lamps) and external ( rear lights, additional brake lights, Daytime Running Lights) lighting. Since 2007, white LEDs have been used as low and high beam sources.
Light sources are characterized by a number of parameters: voltage, power, luminous flux. The derivative of these parameters is the light output ( luminous flux per unit power), serving as a kind of indicator of the efficiency and economy of the lamp.
The main characteristics of light sources for a 12V network are given in the table:
The reflector, depending on the type of headlight, reflects light from the source directly onto the road or optical lens. The reflector is made of plastic or metal. More versatile plastic reflectors that allow you to create any geometric shape. A thin layer of aluminum is applied to the surface of the reflector. 
The main types of reflectors are: parabolic, free-form and ellipsoidal. used in classic headlights, in which the light level is proportional to the size of the reflector (more reflector more light).
(Homogeneous Numerically Calculated Surface, HNS) is divided into separate sections (vertical, radial), which have their own focal length and are optimized for a certain nature of light reflection. The reflector type HNS ensures high uniformity of illumination. The geometric surface of the reflector is developed using computer simulation.
A parabolic reflector and a free-form reflector form the basis of reflective (reflex) headlights.
It is part of the Poly Ellipsoid System (PES) lighting system. The ellipsoidal reflector, together with the optical lens, can significantly reduce the size of the headlight while maintaining the level of illumination and the direction of the light launch. An ellipsoidal reflector has projection (projector) headlights, in everyday life they are called lensed headlights.
The role of the diffuser in modern headlights is minimal, because. the distribution of light is carried out mainly by the reflector. Since 1992, plastic diffusers have been widely used.
Halogen headlights
Currently, halogen headlights are the most common type of headlights. They use a halogen lamp as a light source. Halogen headlights are used for low and high beams. Structurally, the headlights can be divided and combined, the so-called. bi-halogen. Low beam headlights use free-form or ellipsoid reflectors, high beams use free-form or parabolic reflectors.
Creating a cut-off border of the low beam in combined headlights is done in two ways: a reflective cap on a halogen lamp with two filaments, a light screen in the projection system. Maintaining a certain position of the headlight relative to the plane of the body provides an electromechanical corrector.
xenon headlights
Xenon headlights are very popular due to the high level of illumination. Headlights are offered as standard equipment for business and premium cars, as well as optional for budget cars. Unlike halogen headlights, xenon headlights have a more complex design. In addition to the headlight itself, the system includes an ignition unit and an electronic control unit, which provide gas ignition with an AC voltage pulse of 10-20 kV and power supply during operation.
Xenon headlights can be reflector and projector, while projector headlights are more popular with the consumer. Separately, xenon headlights are rarely used for low and high beams. Bi-xenon headlights are mainly used, in which the low and high beam functions are implemented in one headlight. Creating a cut-off line in bi-xenon headlights is carried out in several ways:
- light screen in projection headlights;
- horizontal movement of a discharge lamp in reflective headlights.
Bi-xenon headlights are usually equipped with a tilt and swivel module. This greatly expands the scope of the headlight. Due to the design features, xenon headlights are necessarily equipped with automatic headlight range control and headlight washer.
LED headlights
LED headlights have been used quite recently and there are not so many examples of their use - a number of Audi, Cadillac, Lexus models. For example, in the Audi R8, the LED headlight consists of three multi-chip LEDs. Each multichip LED includes two simple LEDs, each with its own reflector. The luminous flux from all LEDs is converted in a common projection lens. To create a cut-off line in the LED headlight, a light screen is used. Despite the significant advantages, LED headlights are still very rarely used.
A number of manufacturers offer LED lamps with a base for placing halogen lamps in regular places. Such LED lamps, despite the fact that they shine very brightly, do not provide the required level of illumination.
There are plenty of misconceptions when it comes to headlights. Considering that headlights are one of the most important features of cars, many people think that there is no misinformation about the headlights. After all, it seemed that the car front optics had a simple and understandable design. However, in the automotive industry, there are many types of headlight designs that cause confusion. In this article, I want to clear up all the misconceptions and explain the design of various headlights at the present time.
And so I divided the article into three parts:
- Housing and design of the headlights
- Lamps
- Other relevant information / Miscellaneous
SECTION 1: Body and construction of headlights
The headlight housing is that part of the optics, inside which the lighting lamp is installed. As you know, there are many different lighting lamps in the modern car market, ranging from conventional halogen to laser technology. The design of the headlight housing also depends on which lighting lamp is in the front optics.
Reflector
Headlights with reflectors installed in the front optics housing are by far the most common in the automotive industry. Although at the moment there is a tendency to replace headlights with reflectors with lensed optics. I'm not going to bore you with the science of how a car headlight works. In short, inside the headlight next to the reflector, as a rule, a lighting lamp is installed. The light that the headlight emits is reflected from the chrome paint that is applied to the reflector. As a result, the light of the lamp, reflected from the chrome surface, goes out onto the road.
As a rule, a halogen car lamp also has a small area of chrome or a protective coating made of another material (usually located on the front end of the lamp) that prevents direct rays of light from entering the eyes of oncoming drivers. As a result, the lamp does not emit light directly onto the road, but hits the reflector, which, scattering the rays of light, sends them onto the road.
Recently it seemed that this type of lamp would soon disappear from the automotive industry. Especially after they showed up. But in the end, today, halogen bulbs for cars are still the most common in the automotive world.
Lens
Headlights with lenses inside are currently gradually taking away the popularity of optics with reflectors. Recall that for the first time lined headlights appeared on expensive luxury cars. But then, as the cost of technology became cheaper, front lensed optics began to appear on ordinary, inexpensive vehicles.
What is a linzovannaya front optics? As a rule, this type of headlights uses lenses instead of reflectors (a special optical bulb that does not reflect the emitted light from the lamps onto the road, but, in fact, transmits lighting onto the road with the help of a projection).
At the moment, there are a huge number of different types of lenses and designs of linted headlights.
But the meaning of the work of lensed optics is the same. What is a headlight lens and how does it work?
The fact is that tinted headlights form a beam of light to illuminate the road in a completely different way, unlike optics with reflectors.
For example, there is also a chrome-plated reflector inside the lens that reflects the light from the lamp. But unlike a conventional reflector, the structure of a lensed reflector is designed in such a way that it does not direct light onto the road, but collects it in a special place inside the headlight - on a special metal plate. This plate, in fact, collects the light into a single beam and redirects it to the lens, which in turn projects a directed beam of light onto the road.
Typically, a lensed headlamp provides excellent light output with a sharp cut line and focused light.
SECTION 2: Lamps
As we have said, the most important thing in any headlight is the light source. The most common light sources in car headlights are halogen incandescent bulbs.
In some cases, you will have to purchase new optics. But since LEDs have a very long service life, even today the use of LED road lighting is economically justified.
Lasers (future)
At the moment, a number of automotive companies have already begun to introduce a new generation of optics on some expensive models, which is equipped with innovative lasers as light sources.
True, so far laser optics in the automotive industry is still a rarity due to the high cost of manufacturing such optics.
So how does laser optics work? In fact, LED headlights are also used in laser headlights, which, under the influence of a laser, produce a more uniform and brighter glow. So, the luminous flux of conventional LEDs is 100 lumens, while, as in laser optics, LEDs give out 170 lumens.
The main advantage of laser headlights is their power consumption. So compared to LED automotive optics, laser headlights with LEDs consume half the energy.
Another advantage of laser headlights is the size of the diodes used. For example, a laser LED that is one hundred times smaller than a conventional LED produces the same level of light. As a result, this allows car manufacturers to reduce the size of headlights without compromising the quality of road lighting.
Unfortunately, laser light sources in the automotive industry are very, very expensive these days. So in the near future laser optics will not be widely used. But in the future, most likely, laser headlights will gradually replace all traditional sources of car lighting.
SECTION 3: Other important information / Miscellaneous
Now that we've covered all the different types of front light technology, it's time to talk about some of the issues that arise. So for example, let's find out if xenon lamps can be used in halogen headlights and vice versa?
As a rule, to use xenon lamps, the front optics must be equipped with a lens that projects light onto the road. Also, xenon optics is required, as a rule, it is equipped with a headlight corrector.
Mostly these days, automatic headlight leveling is used, which changes the angle of the lens in order to protect oncoming drivers from the bright daylight of xenon headlights. The angle changes depending on the number of passengers inside. Including all xenon headlights, they must be equipped with an optics washer, since the xenon light source is not effective with dirty headlights.
With regards to halogen lamps, unlike xenon lamps, they can be installed in lensed optics. But what about LEDs? Since LED lamps, as a rule, have a directional light source, it is not safe to install them in a headlight with conventional reflectors, since in this case the efficiency of illuminating the road will be low. Therefore, most automakers equip LED optics with lenses that project the light from the LEDs onto the road. More on this below:
Is it possible to install xenon lamps in conventional headlights with reflectors?
In principle, it is possible, but nothing good will come of it. Firstly, according to Russian legislation, the use of xenon lamps in headlights with reflectors is strictly prohibited, since this creates a danger for oncoming drivers on the road who can be blinded by the bright light source of xenon lamps scattered by headlight reflectors.
As a result, by installing xenon lamps in headlights with reflectors, you will get only an external beautiful glow. But the illumination of the road will be much worse than with halogen lamps, since xenon light sources require lensed optics. In addition, the xenon lamps installed in the reflector are disgustingly illuminating the road in rainy weather.
In particular, we want to note that xenon lamps will burn out the chrome coating of your reflectors in a short time. As a result, even if you later install halogen lamps again, your headlights will no longer shine as efficiently as before.
What is the responsibility for installing xenon lamps in headlights with reflectors?
As we have already said, the installation of xenon light sources in car headlights equipped with reflectors for halogen lamps is prohibited.
So, in accordance with Part 3 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, driving a vehicle on the front of which there are light devices with red lights or red retroreflective devices, as well as lighting devices, the color of the lights and the mode of operation of which do not comply with the requirements of the Basic Provisions for the Admission of Vehicles for Operation and obligations of officials to ensure road safety entails the deprivation of a driver's license for a period of 6 months to 1 year with confiscation of xenon equipment and lamps.
That is, in other words, if you illegally install xenon lamps in your car in headlights that are not designed for this type of light source, then you will not be fined, but immediately deprived of a driver's license, and after the expiration of the deprivation period, you will have to retake the theoretical exam.
Is it possible to install LED lamps in a xenon headlight lens?
Theoretically possible. But you will have to buy and install either the Chinese version, which is unlikely to please you with the quality of road lighting and durability, or you have to disassemble the headlight and install another block lens. In the latter version, the lighting quality will indeed be better and possibly even more efficient than xenon light sources. But then again, if you buy high-quality LED lamps and a block lens for them, which costs a lot of money.
With regards to legislation, at the moment there is no direct ban on the use of LED dipped and high beam lamps in conventional headlights. Also, there are no unified standards and GOSTs yet that would prescribe the rules for the installation and use of LED sources of low and far lighting on vehicles.
At the moment, rules and standards are only being developed. So in the near future, most likely, everything will happen just like xenon lamps. Remember what happened on Russian roads 10 years ago, when every second car was equipped with non-factory xenon. Today is the same picture.
Every day there are more and more cars on the road with non-factory LED dipped and high beam lamps, when, like most owners of cars equipped with headlights with conventional reflectors, they no longer use xenon light sources for fear of losing their rights (although many have already realized that “collective farm” xenon really reduces safety on the road).
So using LED lamps in reflectors or lenses for xenon is just as dangerous as "collective farm" xenon, since the LED lamp will not effectively illuminate the road in a reflector or lens designed for a xenon lamp.
Remember that LEDs also need a special spotlight (a block lens with special equipment that collects light from an LED lamp into a beam and directs it into a glass lens).
What is Bi-Xenon?
The term Bi-Xenon means that the vehicle is equipped with a single xenon bulb that does the job of both the low beam and the high beam. The same cars that are not equipped with Bi-Xenon headlights are usually equipped with either halogen lamps or combined light sources (low beam: xenon lamps, high beam: conventional halogen incandescent lamp).
Two types of Bi-xenon headlights are common in the automotive industry.
The first type uses a special shutter in the lens, located outside the bulb of the xenon lamp. As a result, when the high beam is turned on, the shutter directs the light source into the reflector, which then sends light into the lens in the high beam glow spectrum.
In the second type of Bi-xenon headlights, a special Bi-xenon lamp is used, which, for example, when the high beam is turned on, independently shifts the bulb of the lamp glow relative to the reflector built into the lens. As a result, light is projected onto the road in the near-light spectrum.
Which headlights are better: Halogen, Xenon or LED?
There is a lot of controversy about this at the moment. As they say, how many people, so many opinions. However, today it is already known for sure that halogen lamps do not stand up to any competition compared to xenon and LED artificial light sources.
- The most popular devices in the field of auto lighting.
- Headlights emit the highest quality and brightest light with.
- Lamps work due to the presence in the bulb of a mixture of inert gases, including xenon.
- This type of headlight comes with premium and business class cars. Can optionally be installed in budget cars.
- Compared to halogen headlights, this type of headlight has a more complex design.
- The system includes not only a headlight, xenon lamps, but also ignition units. kindle lamps that need the proper voltage level. The voltage is 10-20 kV. Ballasts also maintain a glow charge as long as the lamps are on.
- There are two types of xenon headlights. The first type of headlights is reflex. The second type is a projector. These headlights are the most popular among consumers in the market.
- Headlights can be divided into near and far lighting modes. But in most cases, bi-xenon headlights are used: the functions of the near / far lighting modes are implemented in one headlight.
- Cut-off lines in bi-xenon optics can be reproduced in several ways.
Method one: light screen in projection headlights.
Method two: Move the discharge lamp horizontally in reflective headlights. - Bi-xenon type headlights are mostly equipped with a special turning module: vertical, horizontal plane.
- Due to the nature of xenon headlights, they should always be combined with
Usage: a projection type headlight intended for self-propelled vehicles, in which between the screen 3 and the lens 4 at the bottom side of the latter there is a reflective segment 5, the reflective surface of which is located at the side of the lens 4 and is inclined at an angle (i 5) in vertical section. The objective 4 is followed by a refractor provided with strip lenses 62 of diameter (R) and width (H), the lenses covering the reflective surface 51 of the segment 5. The reflective surface 51 is either circularly symmetrical or planar. 5 z.p. f-ly, 4 ill.
SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a projection-type headlamp intended for self-propelled vehicles, wherein the headlamp has an increased intensity of illumination by a passing light beam above the border of light and darkness and an increased penetration of light into fog. In the case of well-known elliptical diopter headlamps comprising an elliptical reflector, a screen and a lens, the lens is designed to divert the light beam from the reflector in such a way that it is almost completely directed below the horizontal plane, so that the illumination intensity above said plane is minimal. This makes it possible to reduce the glare of drivers of passing vehicles, but on the other hand, due to poor illumination, the perception of vertical traffic signs or signals is limited, since the brightness of the transmitting surfaces of such signs when illuminated by such headlights is relatively low. This reduced illumination intensity above the light-dark boundary does not allow the driver to sufficiently control his activities in the upper part of the operating space. This can have a negative effect on any movement on unpaved and unlit roads, in particular in the absence of the so-called silhouette visibility created by the light of passing cars. Known headlight for self-propelled vehicles, containing a concave reflector for light integration, a light source located in the inner part of the reflector, a lens, a refractor, and a screen located between the reflector and the lens. The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as mentioned above and to provide an improved headlight comprising a concave reflector which is designed to integrate the light generated by the light source. A screen is provided in front of the reflector to establish and form the upper part of the beam of transmitted light or light in the fog, and a lens to display the contrast of the brightness of the dark surface of the background screen of the light reflector on the road. On the underside of the lens according to the present invention, a reflective segment is provided, the reflective surface of which faces the lens. In a vertical section, the reflective surface has a slope of the radius of the lens focal hole and forms a circularly symmetrical, flat or arbitrarily formed surface. Light from the face of the reflector hits the reflective surface of the reflective segment, and the lens creates an image of said surface in the upper half of the space. In the case where the headlamp is provided with a refractor placed behind the lens, the light beam coming from the reflective segment is propagated to the sides by means of a strip lens zone which is formed on the refractor and which covers the lower part of the lens. In this case, it is possible to provide an optimal level of illumination intensity above the border of light and darkness, both in terms of illumination and glare, and improving the visibility of vertical road signs and road markings, as well as any possible obstacles and pedestrians, and, in addition, improving the orientation of the driver when driving on unlit roads and control the position and movement of the vehicle in the forward direction. The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section A-A of a headlight; figure 2 shows a view of the P phase in the direction of the light beam; figure 3 shows a horizontal section B-B refractor headlights; figure 4 shows the projection of the light rays of the headlights on the roadway. As can be seen from the drawings and, in particular, from figure 1, the light source 2 of the headlamp is located on the axis 12 and close to the top 11 of the concave (parabolic) reflector 1. The light source 2 is formed by a transversely or axially oriented body of approximately cylindrical shape, for example spiral filament of an incandescent lamp or other discharge tube. The reflector 1 is followed by a screen 3, the edge 31 of which is on the same horizontal line with the fog lamp and at the same time diverges from the dipped beam headlamp. Further from the screen 3 at a distance X F from it is a lens 4 with a diameter D (figure 2), which is designed to collimate the beams 13, 14 coming from the reflector 1. Closer to the lens 4 at its lower side is a reflective segment 5 having a reflective surface 51, located close to the mentioned lens 4, and its angle of inclination i 5 corresponds to the equation: i 5 (2 -1/2 -2 1/2) ags tg (D/X F , (1) where D is the diameter of the lens 4; X F distance between the screen 3 and the lens 4. The angle i 5 is either constant in the longitudinal direction or varies in a given range along the length, while the vertical size of the light beam formed by it can be adjusted.The reflective surface 51 of the reflective segment 5 is either symmetrical in the circular direction with respect axis 52 of this segment 5, or planar.Farther from the lens 4 is a refractor 6, equipped with strip lenses 62. In FIG. 2 shows an objective 4, a reflective segment 5 and a refractor 6 with a zone 61 of a strip lens 62, said zone 61 completely or partially covering the reflective surface 51 of the reflective segment 5. The strip lenses 62 of the refractor 6 are arranged approximately in a vertical position. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the B-B section of the refractor 6 in zone 61 shows the reflective profile of the lenses 62, the width H of which corresponds to the equation H (0.2 2 1/2)R, (2) where R is the diameter of the strip lenses 62. On a roadway comprising a centerline 81, a left shoulder 82 and a right shoulder 83, Figure 4 shows a beam of light 7 having a horizontal left side portion 71 of a light/dark boundary and a right side portion 72 breaking at this boundary when the light passes, as well as a horizontal portion 73 with fog light. Rays 15, 16 coming from the edge of the reflector 1 are directed by the reflective segment 5 and the lens 4 to the upper half of the space, where they form a beam of light 91. The strip lenses 62 of the refractor 6 develop the said beam 91 into a beam 92. By changing the lateral dimension of the said beam 92 it is possible to adjust the light intensity from the optimum value both in terms of illumination and glare. The headlight according to the invention is designed for any self-propelled vehicles operating on land.
Claim
1. A projection-type headlight intended for self-propelled vehicles, comprising a concave reflector for integrating light, a light source located in the interior of the reflector, a lens, a refractor and a screen located between the reflector and the lens, characterized in that it is provided with a reflective segment with a reflective surface on the side of the lens, located between the screen and the lens, and the angle of inclination of the reflective surface i 5 in vertical section corresponds to the following relationship i 5 = (2 -1/2 2 1/2)arctgD/x F , where D is the diameter of the lens; x F distance between screen and lens. 2. The headlight according to claim 1, characterized in that the refractor is equipped with a zone of strip lenses, which overlaps the lower part of the lens, and the width H of the strip lenses corresponds to the ratio
H = (0.2-2 1/2) R,
where R is the diameter of the strip lenses. 3. Headlight according to paragraphs. 1 and 2, characterized in that the reflective surface of the reflective segment is symmetrical in shape in a circular direction. 4. Headlight according to paragraphs. 1 and 2, characterized in that the reflective surface of the reflective segment is planar. 5. Headlight according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the angle of inclination i 5 of the reflective surface of the reflective segment is made variable in the longitudinal direction. 6. Headlight according to claim 1, characterized in that the axis of rotation of the reflective surface of the reflective segment is identical to the axis of the lens.
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