Abstract:
The headlamp system of the present invention provides a reduced amount of illumination adjacent a driver&#39;s line of sight while providing a maintained or increased level of illumination from a source that is offset from the driver&#39;s line of sight.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention is related to the field of headlight systems for vehicles. More specifically, this invention is directed to a vehicle headlight system that improves visibility from the vehicle.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    Conventional vehicle headlight systems include a variety of headlights that each provides similar amounts of illumination. When such a vehicle encounters reduced visibility conditions, such as in fog, the driver of a vehicle may only adjust the brightness of the entire headlight system.  
           [0005]    Some conventional vehicle headlight systems include “fog lamps” that are positioned generally lower on the vehicle than the corresponding set of headlamps. Presumably, moving the source of illumination to a lower position reduces the amount of glare that a driver experiences when faced with fog or other conditions of reduced visibility. However, all of the conventional vehicle headlight systems place the source of illumination directly in front of the driver.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The inventor of the present invention discovered that a source of light that is offset from the line of sight a driver provides increased visibility when compared to a light that is positioned substantially directly along the line of sight of a driver in reduced visibility conditions. The present invention provides a headlamp system for a vehicle where the majority of the illumination power is shifted transversely away from the line of sight of a driver. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a dual headlamp system of a conventional motor vehicle includes the ability to reduce the illumination of a driver side headlamp to reduce the amount of light being reflected back at the driver while maintaining the degree of illumination provided by the passenger side headlamp.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of light rays being scattered by drops of moisture in an atmosphere;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a simple conventional headlamp system; and  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a headlamp system in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of one possible explanation of the reaction of light rays incident upon spheres of water in a moisture-laden atmosphere. The moisture-laden atmosphere includes spheres of water  10  upon which light rays  12  impact. The light rays  12  impact the surface of the water spheres  10  and are generally reflected back in the direction of the source of the light rays  12 . The larger the number of water spheres  10  in the atmosphere, the more the light rays  12  are reflected back toward the source of the light.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 shows a schematic of a conventional headlamp system  20 . The headlamp system  20  includes a driver side headlamp  22  and a passenger side headlamp  24 . The system  20  also includes a power source such as a battery  26 , an on/off switch  28  and a high/low switch  30 . The headlamp system  20  is shown in a configuration where the headlamps are in the high beam configuration. Drivers typically use the high beam configuration in areas of reduced visibility to project a large amount of illumination in front of the vehicle. However, in a heavily moisture laden atmosphere, this additional degree of illumination can actually reduce the visibility of the driver because of the lack of penetration of the illumination through the moisture laden atmosphere and the degree that the illumination is reflected back into the driver&#39;s line of sight as explained in reference to FIG. 1.  
         [0013]    The present invention reduces the degree of illumination that is generally aligned with a driver&#39;s line of sight. One embodiment of the present invention provides a lower amount of illumination from the driver side of the vehicle to maintain the visibility of the vehicle to oncoming drivers while still maintaining the amount of illumination from the passenger side headlamp.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a headlamp system  40  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The headlamp system  40  includes a driver side headlamp  42 , a passenger side headlamp  44 , a power supply or battery  46 , an on/off switch  48 , and a high/low beam switch  50  similar to the headlamp system  20  of FIG. 2. The headlamp system  40  also includes a double pole/double throw switch  52  and a resistor  54 . FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the headlamp system  40  such that the high beams of both headlamps  42  and  44  are illuminated. If a user of the headlamp system  40  switches the switch  52  to the fog position, then power is supplied to the low beam of the driver side headlamp  42  and the low beam of the passenger side headlamp  44 . However, because a resistor  54  is in line with the circuit of the low beam system of the driver side headlamp  42  a reduced amount of current is delivered to the driver side headlamp  42 . Therefore, the driver side headlamp  42  delivers a reduced amount of illumination in comparison with the passenger side headlamp  44 . The switch  52  overrides the high/low switch  50  to provide a difference of illumination in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]    Those of ordinary skill in the art understand that many variations of the present invention may be provided, as long as a reduced amount of illumination is provided near the line of sight of a driver of a vehicle in comparison to the passenger side of the vehicle. For example, the on/off switch  48  of the headlamp system  40  of FIG. 3 may be positioned immediately after the battery  46 . Also, one of ordinary skill in the art understands that a reduced amount of illumination may be obtained by many different methods such as, for example, shading the driver side headlamp  42 . It is also understood that the amount of illumination of the passenger side headlamp  44  may be increased and still form a part of the present invention.  
         [0016]    Another embodiment of the invention, not shown, may include a kit that may be retrofitted to an existing vehicle to provide the capability of reducing the illumination of the driver side headlamp  42 . A retrofit kit for after-market applications may include a double throw switch as shown in FIG. 3 along with a resistor or other voltage line device that leads to the driver side headlamp. Such a system could easily be retrofitted into an existing headlamp system at a very low cost and would require a minimal amount of time for installation.  
         [0017]    Although this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations are apparent to those who are skilled in the art. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention set forth above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.