Automobile headlamps are highly controlled products that must meet various performance standards to be commercialized. The combination of the bulb and lens must emit acceptable color and light output. Commercially available headlamps use different types of bulbs but usually a clear or slightly tinted lens. In the past few years, high performance bulbs have been used. These are known as HID or xenon lamps and are characterized by their bluer color compared to standard halogen bulbs. This paper explores some of the possibilities that new lens material can offer in terms of design and aesthetics with little or no impact on lighting performance as tested per the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1383. Light stability of these new lens materials is also discussed. In addition, this paper illustrates the possibility of creating a system based on halogen bulbs in which the beam chromaticity appears to be similar to a HID system in all angles of the beam pattern that are not in direct view. The potential benefits of such systems with regard to improved road visibility and glare is also discussed. The edge glow lens materials presented offer a unique opportunity to differentiate headlight lenses by allowing designers to create new styles and add a new color dimension to an application that was limited to clear and blue tint variations. In addition, the testing of beam photometry and color demonstrates that such lenses produce a beam pattern that meets photometrics, and a chromaticity that falls well within the white box defined by the SAE J578 standard. By developing the appropriate headlamp-lens combination (i.e. bulb and lens material), it can be envisioned to achieve a system where the emitted beam could have increased light output and HID-like color in the peripheral region of the beam pattern while retaining a chromaticity similar to a standard halogen system in direct view. Such system may exhibit some of the visual benefits of the HID systems and may create a more comfortable experience for oncoming drivers.
Lens material development for improved halogen headlamp visibility
Die Entwicklung von Linsenmaterial für eine verbesserte Sichtweite von Halogenlampen
2003
8 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 6 Tabellen, 14 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Linse (Optik) , Kraftwagen , Scheinwerfer , Glühbirne , Output , Xenonlampe , SAE-Norm , Farbintensität , Sichtweite , Blendempfindung , Beleuchtung , Gestaltung , Farbe
Lens material development for improved halogen headlamp visibility
Kraftfahrwesen | 2003
|Lens Material Development for Improved Halogen Headlamp Visibility
SAE Technical Papers | 2003
|2003-01-0991 Lens Material Development for Improved Halogen Headlamp Visibility
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|