IR LIGHT FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

The invention relates to an IR light device for a vehicle, comprising at least one source of IR light, and a control unit for controlling the at least one source of IR light for performing one of a plurality of possible light functions in the operating mode selected. Light function selection information can be supplied from an external source to the control unit for selecting the light function, and operating mode selection information can be supplied from an adjusting device to the control device for selecting the operating mode.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. Infrared light device for a vehicle comprising at least one source of infrared light, a control unit configured for controlling the at least one source of infrared light for performing one of a plurality of possible light functions in an operating mode selected, wherein light function selection information can be supplied from an external source to the control unit for selecting the light function, and wherein operating mode selection information can be supplied from an adjusting device to the control unit for selecting the operating mode.

15. Infrared light device of claim 14, wherein the light device functions include at least two intensity functions and/or at least one blinking function and/or at least one function for emitting an encoded signal.

16. Infrared light device of claim 14, wherein the light function selection information is selectable by using at least one operating element arranged in the vehicle.

17. Infrared light device of claim 14, wherein the infrared light source comprises at least one infrared LED.

18. Infrared light device of claim 17, wherein the at least one infrared LED has an emission wavelength of 880 nm, 840 nm, 850 nm, 890 nm, 940 nm or 950 nm.

19. Infrared light device of claim 14, characterized by an adjusting device configured for selecting an operating mode of the infrared light device as a vehicle front light or a vehicle rear light.

20. Infrared light device of claim 17, wherein the adjusting device includes a switch.

21. Infrared light device of claim 14, wherein the control unit comprises a microcontroller.

22. Infrared light device of claim 14, characterized by an infrared filter which is arranged, seen from the at least one source of infrared light, in the emission direction of the same.

23. Infrared light device of claim 14, characterized by an infrared light source housing with at least one sealing element.

24. Infrared light device of claim 14, wherein a flashlight mode can also be selected as an operating mode.

25. Infrared light device for use as a flashlight is provided, comprising at least one source of infrared light, an adjusting device configured for selecting an operating mode of the infrared light device as a vehicle front light or a vehicle rear light, a control unit configured for controlling the at least one source of infrared light to perform one of a plurality of possible light device functions, a housing adapted to be docked to the infrared light device, an operating element configured for selecting the light device functions of the infrared light device, and an energy source for current supply to the infrared light device, wherein light device function selection information can be supplied from the operating element to the control unit for the selection of a light device function, and wherein operating mode selection information can be supplied from the adjusting device for the selection of the operating mode.

26. Vehicle with the infrared light device of claim 14.

Description

[0033] The invention will be described in detail hereunder with reference to two embodiments and to the drawings. The Figures specifically show:

[0034] FIG. 1 an off-road vehicle with four front lights,

[0035] FIG. 2 a cross section of a first embodiment of the IR light device of the present invention with IR light sources arranged on a circuit board,

[0036] FIG. 3 a top plan view on the circuit board illustrated in FIG. 2 with IR light sources arranged on the circuit board,

[0037] FIG. 4 a rear view of the IR light device with six electrical connectors,

[0038] FIG. 5 a schematic illustration of the IR light device illustrated in FIG. 2, and

[0039] FIG. 6 a second embodiment of the IR light device of the present invention with a flashlight housing.

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates two IR light devices 10 of the present invention installed in an off-road vehicle 12 below two conventional visible light devices 11.

[0041] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of one of the IR light devices 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. In this cross-sectional view four IR light sources 14 are shown which, in this embodiment, are configured as wired LEDs 15a, 15b. These LEDs 15a, 15b are arranged on a circuit board 16. In this embodiment the LEDs 15a, 15b do not differ in structure. They are merely divided into the two sets of the LEDs 15a and the LEDs 15b, since the individual sets of LEDs 15a, 15b can be controlled independently in this embodiment.

[0042] An adjusting device 18 is also mounted on the circuit board 16, the device being designed as a DIP switch 19 in the present embodiment. The DIP switch 19 illustrated is s bipolar DIP switch 19 with a first lever switch 20 and a second lever switch 22. Each of the two lever switches 20, 22 can assume two positions. Thus, the bipolar DIP switch 19 can be switched between a total of four different states. In the present embodiment of the IR light 10 of the present invention the different states can correspond to four different operating modes. The operating modes can, for instance, include a front light mode, a rear light mode and a flashlight mode. It is also possible that the operating modes comprise a plurality of front light modes, rear light modes or flashlight modes.

[0043] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the essential components of the IR light device 10, namely the LEDs 15a, 15b, the circuit board 16 and the DIP switch 19 are situated in a light device housing 24. The light device housing 24 has an opening at one side, which is closed by a protective glass 26. In operation of the IR light device 10, the light generated by the LEDs 15a, 15b can exit through the protective glass 26. As an alternative, the protective glass 26 can also be replaced by an IR filter described above.

[0044] The light device housing 24 has a light device housing male thread 28 serving for connection with a vehicle or a flashlight housing. Using the light device housing male thread 28, the IR light device 10 can be connected with e.g. a vehicle 12 in short time and without requiring tools.

[0045] Further, a connector plug 29 is illustrated at the bottom side of the IR light device 10, in which plug individual connector terminals are arranged for voltage supply to and control of the IR light device 10.

[0046] FIG. 3 illustrates a top plan view on the circuit board 16 illustrated in FIG. 2. As can be seen in this Figure, a total of fourteen wired LEDs 15a, 15b and, in addition, four SMD LEDs 30 are arranged on the circuit board 16. Thus, a total of 18 LEDs 15a, 15b, 30 are located on the circuit board 16, which can be controlled as desired. For adjusting the total brightness of the IR light 10, it is possible to adjust the brightness of all LEDs or, as an alternative, to vary the total brightness by activating or deactivating individual LEDs 15a, 15b, 30. Since the wired LEDs 15a, 15b typically have a significantly higher output, these are preferably controlled when great brightness is desired. On the other hand, the SMD LEDs 30 are preferably controlled when only low outputs are desired, e.g. when the IR light device 10 is operated in the rear light mode and therefore, a low output is sufficient.

[0047] FIG. 4 shows a rear view of the IR light device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2. It can be seen in this Figure that the IR light device 10 has six electrical connectors on its rear side. In the present embodiment only four of these connectors are used to control the IR light sources. These four connectors A, B, C, D are externally supplied with light device function selection information for selecting the light device function. This information may e.g. be provided by connecting one or a plurality of the connector terminals A, B, C, D used to a ground potential. The light device function selection information is transmitted to a control unit not illustrated in FIG. 4. Depending on the light device function selection information, as well as on the operating mode selection information, the control unit can then provide the desired light device function.

[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates the principle of the control of the IR light device 10. As can be seen, the IR light device 10 comprises a microcontroller 32 which is supplied with operating mode selection information 33 and light device function selection information 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d. In the present embodiment, the operating mode selection information depends on the position of the two lever switches 20, 22 of the DIP switch 19. Further, in this embodiment, the light device function selection information 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d depends on the switching states of the switches M1, M2 and M3. It may e.g. be provided that, while the light device function selection information 33a always supplies a constant value, the values of the light device function selection information 33b, 33c, 33d depend on the switching positions of the switches M1, M2 and M3. These switches can e.g. be mounted on the vehicle and can be opened or closed by actuating operating elements located inside the vehicle. For example, switches M1, M2, M3 can be opened and closed by actuating an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a direction indicator or an operating element specifically designed for operating the IR light device 10. Depending on the operating mode selection information 33 and the light device function selection information 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, the microcontroller 32 is able to control the drivers 34, 36, 38 such that the respective LEDs emit the desired brightness or the desired signal. In the present embodiment the drivers are configured such that the first driver 34 controls the brightness of the seven LEDs 15a, whereas the second driver 36 controls the brightness of the seven LEDs 15b and the third driver 38 controls the brightness of the four SMD LEDs 30.

[0049] The following table is an exemplary illustration of an assignment layout for the IR light device.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 assignment layout DIP switch M1 + M2 M1 + M3 M1 + M2 + M3 pole 1/pole2 M1 (C) (C + B) (C + D) (C + B + D) off/off low beam high beam blinking emergency (front light) light light light signal (20% LED) (100% LED) off/on reserve reserve reserve reserve off/on reserve reserve Reserve reserve on/on rear light brake light blinking emergency (rear light) (50% SMD) (1% LED) light light

[0050] As is evident from Table 1, in this embodiment only two of the four possible switching states of the bipolar DIP switch are assigned. The other switching states are provided as reserve states, wherein one of the reserve states can be provided for the above mentioned flashlight mode. It is further evident from table 1 that four different light device functions can be selected in dependence on the states of the switches M1 to M3. Moreover, in this embodiment four different functions can be selected in the operating mode as a vehicle rear light. Specifically, it can be seen that in the operating mode as a vehicle rear light, significantly lower outputs are provided, namely e.g. 1% of the maximum LED power or 50% of the SMD LED power. The assignment layout is of purely exemplary nature. It is self-evident that the invention is not restricted to an assignment layout as illustrated in Table 1.

[0051] FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the IR light device 10 of the present invention which additionally comprises a flashlight housing 40. Here, the light device housing 24 is adapted to be threaded to the flashlight housing 40 by the male thread 28 of the light device housing and the female thread 42 of the flashlight housing. As an alternative, it is also possible that the light device housing 24 can be joined to the flashlight housing 40 by a bayonet lock. Thus, the IR light device 10 can be connected with the flashlight housing 40 in a simple and fast manner, and the IR light device 10 provided or a vehicle 12 can be converted into a flashlight within short. As illustrated in FIG. 6, an energy storage device 44 is located inside the flashlight housing 40, which device is designed as a battery 45 in this embodiment. The battery 45 is pressed against the connection plug 29 of the light device housing 24 by a helical spring 46, so that the first pole 48 of the battery 45 is pressed against the helical spring 46 and the second pole 50 of the battery 45 is pressed against the connection plug 29. The supply lines leading from the helical spring 46 and from the second pole 50 of the battery 45 to the corresponding connector terminals are not explicitly shown in FIG. 6.

[0052] In this embodiment an operating element 52 is arranged at one side of the flashlight housing 40, which element serves to select the light device function in the flashlight operating mode. By actuating the operating element 52, it is possible e.g. to select between different brightness levels, a stroboscope function and a warning light function. The supply lines leading from the operating element 52 to the corresponding connector terminals A, B, C, D are also not shown explicitly in FIG. 6.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0053] 10 IR light device [0054] 11 visible light device [0055] 12 vehicle [0056] 14 IR light source [0057] 15a LED [0058] 15b LED [0059] 16 circuit board [0060] 18 adjusting device [0061] 19 DIP switch [0062] 20 lever switch [0063] 22 lever switch [0064] 24 light device housing [0065] 26 protective glass [0066] 28 male thread of light device housing [0067] 29 connection plug [0068] 30 SMD LED [0069] 32 microcontroller [0070] 33 operating mode selection information [0071] 33a light device function selection information [0072] 33b light device function selection information [0073] 33c light device function selection information [0074] 33d light device function selection information [0075] 34 driver [0076] 36 driver [0077] 38 driver [0078] 39 control unit [0079] 40 flashlight housing [0080] 42 female thread of flashlight housing [0081] 44 energy storage device [0082] 45 battery [0083] 46 helical spring [0084] 48 first pole of the battery [0085] 50 second pole of the battery [0086] 52 operating element [0087] M1 switch [0088] M2 switch [0089] M3 switch [0090] A connector terminal [0091] B connector terminal [0092] C connector terminal [0093] D connector terminal