Patent ID: 7114828

Claim:
A vehicular headlamp used for a vehicle, comprising: an infrared light source for generating red light and infrared light, wherein the infrared light source comprises a semiconductor infrared light emitting element for generating red light and infrared light; a visible light source for generating visible light, wherein the visible light source comprises a semiconductor light emitting element which emits light having wavelengths different from that of said red light; an optical system for directing said red light and visible light towards a substantially same emission area in front of said vehicle; and a lighting circuit for turning on said infrared light and visible light sources with strength in order that chromaticity in said emission area based on said red light and visible light can correspond to white light within a predetermined range in chromaticity coordinates, wherein the optical system comprises a reflector for reflecting the light emitted from the infrared light source and the light emitted from the visible light emitting element towards the substantially same emitting area in front of the vehicle, and wherein the infrared light source and the visible light source are located in the vicinity of a common focal point of the reflector.