Adjustable headlight device

An adjustable headlight device for automatically adjusting an angle of headlights includes a headlight housing that is mountable in a headlight space in a forward end of a vehicle. A pair of headlights is pivotally disposed within the headlight housing thereby facilitating each of the pair of headlights to be positioned at a variety of angles in the headlight housing. A tilting unit is integrated into the headlight housing to tilt each of the pair of headlight upwardly or downwardly. A control unit is integrated into the headlight housing to sense an angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane. The control unit actuates the tilting unit to tilt the pair of headlights to emit light downwardly onto a roadway at an optimum angle for enhancing visibility of the driver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to headlight devices and more particularly pertains to a new headlight device for adjusting an angle of headlights. The device includes a headlight housing and a pair of headlights pivotally mounted in the headlight housing and a tilting unit integrated into the headlight housing for tilting the headlights upwardly or downwardly to optimize visibility for a driver.

The prior art relates to headlight devices including a variety of adjustable headlight devices that each includes an accelerometer and a tilting unit for tilting headlights according to acceleration of a vehicle and a variety of adjustable headlight devices that each includes a distance sensor and a tilting unit for tilting headlights according to a distance between a pair of vehicles. In no instance does the prior art disclose an adjustable headlight device that includes a pair of headlights pivotally disposed in a headlight housing and a control unit that senses that angle of a vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane and a tilting unit integrated into the headlight housing for tilting the headlights upwardly or downwardly according to the angle at which the vehicle is oriented.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a headlight housing that is mountable in a headlight space in a forward end of a vehicle. A pair of headlights is pivotally disposed within the headlight housing thereby facilitating each of the pair of headlights to be positioned at a variety of angles in the headlight housing. A tilting unit is integrated into the headlight housing to tilt each of the pair of headlight upwardly or downwardly. A control unit is integrated into the headlight housing to sense an angle of the vehicle with respect to a horizontal plane. The control unit actuates the tilting unit to tilt the pair of headlights to emit light downwardly onto a roadway at an optimum angle for enhancing visibility of the driver.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new headlight device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the adjustable headlight device 10 generally comprises a headlight housing 12 that is mountable in a headlight space 14 in a forward end 16 of a vehicle 18. The headlight housing 12 has a front end 20, a back end 22 and an outer wall 24 extending between the front end 20 and the back end 22; the outer wall 24 has a top side 26, a bottom side 28, a first lateral side 30 and a second lateral side 32. Additionally, each of the front end 20 and the back end 22 is open. The front end 20 corresponding to each of the top side 26 and the bottom side 28 curves forwardly from the back end 22 between the first lateral side 30 and the second lateral side 32 such that the first lateral side 30 has a width that is substantially greater than a width of the second lateral side 32.

The headlight housing 12 has a pivot point 34 which extends downwardly from a lower surface 36 of the top side 26 of the outer wall 24. The pivot point 34 is positioned closer to the second lateral side 32 of the outer wall 24 than the first lateral side 30 of the outer wall 24. A pair of top mounting tabs 38 each comprises a leg 40 extending upwardly from the top side 26 of the outer wall 24 and a foot 42 extending rearwardly from the leg 40. The leg 40 of each of the top mounting tabs 38 is aligned with the back end 22 of the headlight housing 12 such that the foot 42 is directed rearwardly beyond the back end 22. The foot 42 of each of the pair of top mounting tabs 38 has a hole 44 extending through the foot 42 for accommodating a fastener which engages the vehicle 18 for mounting the headlight housing 12 in the headlight space 14 in the forward end 16 of the vehicle 18. Each of the pair of top mounting tabs 38 is spaced from a respective one of the first lateral side 30 and the second lateral side 32 of the outer wall 24 of the headlight housing 12.

A bottom mounting tab 46 is provided which has a leg 48 extending downwardly from the bottom side 28 of the outer wall 24 of the headlight housing 12 and a foot 50 extending rearwardly from the leg 48 of the bottom mounting tab 46. The foot 50 of the bottom mounting tab 46 has a ridge 52 extending upwardly from a top surface 54 of the foot 50 of the bottom mounting tab 46. The ridge 52 releasably engages a retaining element in the headlight space 14 in the forward end 16 of the vehicle 18 for retaining the headlight housing 12 in the headlight space 14. The bottom mounting tab 46 is centrally located along the back end 22 of the headlight housing 12.

A pair of headlights 58 is included and each of the pair of headlights 58 is pivotally disposed within the headlight housing 12 thereby facilitating each of the pair of headlights 58 to be positioned at a variety of angles in the headlight housing 12. In this way each of the pair of headlights 58 can emit light from the forward end 16 of the vehicle 18 at a variety of angles thereby improving visibility of a driver 59 of the vehicle 18 while driving in a darkened environment. Additionally, each of the pair of headlights 58 is in electrical communication with each other. The vehicle 18 may be a passenger vehicle, a cargo vehicle or any other type of motorized vehicle that is commonly driven on public roadways. Additionally, each of the headlights 58 may comprise a halogen light, a light emitting diode or other type of electronic light that is approved for use with motorized vehicles that are driven on public roadways.

Each of the pair of headlights 58 includes a canister 60 which has a rear wall 62 and an exterior wall 64 extending forwardly from the rear wall 62. The exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 has a front edge 66 which defines an opening 68 into the canister 60. The front edge 66 is sloped along a plane which is oriented coplanar to the front end 20 of the headlight housing 12. The pair of headlights 58 includes a first headlight 70 and a second headlight 72.

The exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70 has a diameter that is less than a diameter of the canister 60 of the second headlight 72. The exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70 is attached to the canister 60 of the second headlight 72 at an attachment point 74 that is centrally positioned in the exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of each of the first headlight 70 and the second headlight 72. The canister 60 of the second headlight 72 has a tab 76 extending upwardly from the exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the second headlight 72 at a point that is aligned with the rear wall 62 of the canister 60 of the second headlight 72. Additionally, the tab 76 is pivotally attached to the pivot point 34 on the top side 26 of the outer wall 24 of the headlight housing 12 thereby pivotally retaining each of the first headlight 70 and the second headlight 72 in the headlight housing 12. The canister 60 of the second headlight 72 has an input port 78 that is recessed into the rear wall 62 of the canister 60 of the second headlight 72 thereby facilitating the input port 78 to insertably receive an electrical connection of the vehicle 18 for powering the each of the first headlight 70 and the second headlight 72.

A tilting unit 80 is integrated into the headlight housing 12 and the tilting unit 80 is in mechanical communication with a respective one of the pair of headlights 58. The tilting unit 80 tilts each of the pair of headlights 58 upwardly or downwardly. In this way the pair of headlights 58 can emit light in a desired angle to optimize visibility for the driver 59. The tilting unit 80 comprises a motor 82 that is attached to the lower surface 36 of the top side 26 of the outer wall 24 of the headlight housing 12 at a point located adjacent to the first lateral side 30 of the outer wall 24 of the headlight housing 12.

The motor 82 has an output shaft 84 which is attached to motor 82. The motor 82 rotates the output shaft 84 in a first direction when the motor 82 is actuated to rotate in a first direction. Conversely, the motor 82 rotates the output shaft 84 in a second direction when the motor 82 is actuated to rotate in a second direction. The motor 82 may comprise a two direction electric motor or the like. The tilting unit 80 includes an input port 86 that is recessed into the motor 82 and is electrically coupled to the motor 82 thereby facilitating the input port 86 on the motor 82 to insertably receive an electrical connection for powering and controlling the motor 82. The tilting unit 80 includes a drive gear 88 that is attached to the output shaft 84. The drive gear 88 has an outside surface 90 comprising a plurality of teeth 92 evenly spaced apart from each other and distributed around a full circumference of the outside surface 90.

The tilting unit 80 includes a rail gear 94 that is integrated into the exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70. The rail gear 94 is elongated to extend substantially between the rear wall 62 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70 and the front edge 66 of the exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70. Additionally, the rail gear 94 is oriented to extend along a line that is sloped downwardly between the rear wall 62 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70 and the front edge 66 of the exterior wall 64 of the canister 60 of the first headlight 70. The rail gear 94 has an outwardly facing surface 96 comprising a plurality of teeth 98 evenly spaced apart from each other and distributed along a full length of the outwardly facing surface 96. The teeth 92 on the outside surface 90 of the drive gear 88 enmesh with the teeth 98 on the outwardly facing surface 96 of the rail gear 94. The drive gear 88 travels forwardly along the rail gear 94 when the motor 82 rotates in the first direction such that each of the first headlight 70 and the second headlight 72 is tilted downwardly. Conversely, the drive gear 88 travels rearwardly along the rail gear 94 when the motor 82 rotates in the second direction such that each of the first headlight 70 and the second headlight 72 is tilted upwardly.

A control unit 100 is integrated into the headlight housing 12 and the control unit 100 is in communication with the tilting unit 80. The control unit 100 senses an angle of the vehicle 18 with respect to a horizontal plane. The control unit 100 actuates the tilting unit 80 to tilt the pair of headlights 58 according to an angle of the vehicle 18 that is sensed by the control unit 100. In this way the tilting unit 80 facilitates the pair of headlights 58 to emit light downwardly onto a roadway 101 at an optimum angle for enhancing visibility of the driver 59.

The control unit 100 comprises a processor 102 that is integrated into the headlight housing 12. The processor 102 receives a tilt up input and a tilt down input and the processor 102 is electrically coupled to the motor 82. The motor 82 is actuated to rotate in the first direction when the processor 102 receives the tilt down input. Conversely, the motor 82 is actuated to rotate in the second direction when the processor 102 receives the tilt up input.

The control unit 100 includes a level sensor 104 that is integrated into the headlight housing 12 and the level sensor 104 is electrically coupled to the processor 102. The processor 102 receives the tilt down input when the level sensor 104 senses that the vehicle 18 is traveling at an upward angle. Conversely, the processor 102 receives the tilt up input when the level sensor 104 senses that the vehicle 18 is traveling at a downward angle. The level sensor 104 may comprise an electronic level sensor or a gravitational level sensor or any other type of level sensor that can determine the angle of the vehicle 18 with respect to a horizontal plane.

The control unit 100 includes a camera 106 which is integrated into the headlight housing 12 to capture imagery in front of the vehicle 18. The camera 106 is electrically coupled to the processor 102 and the processor 102 analyzes imagery captured by the camera 106. In this way the processor 102 can determine when the motor 82 has tilted the pair of headlights 58 at an optimum angle for illuminating the roadway upon which the vehicle 18 is travelling. Furthermore, the processor 102 de-actuates the motor 82 when the processor 102 determines that the motor 82 has tilted the pair of headlights 58 at the optimum angle. The camera 106 may comprise a digital video camera or other type of electronic camera.

In use, the level sensor 104 determines the angle of the vehicle 18 and the tilting unit 80 tilts the headlights 58 until the camera 106 facilitates the control unit 100 to determine the optimum positioning of the headlights 58. In this way the headlights 58 are continuously tilted to illuminate the roadway 101 upon which the vehicle 18 is travelling to optimize the driver's 59 visibility whether the vehicle 18 is travelling upwardly or downwardly along an incline. Additionally, the control unit 100 tilts the headlights 58 downwardly to optimally illuminate the roadway 101 in the event that the vehicle 18 has an elevated suspension which positions the headlights 58 at a height that would otherwise direct light from the headlights 58 directly into oncoming traffic.