PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11713859-B2
Application Number: US-202217825495-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Systems with adjustable lights

Abstract:
A vehicle may have lights such as headlights and other vehicle lights for providing vehicle illumination. The lights may be electrically adjustable so that the color and pattern of the illumination may be varied. Sensor data and/or other data may be used in determining how to adjust the lights. A light such as headlight may have a light source such as a white light source or multicolored light source, a light collimator that receives light from the light source, and an adjustable lens array that receives collimated light from the light collimator and outputs corresponding adjustable vehicle illumination. The adjustable lens array may have fixed and/or adjustable lens elements and corresponding electrically adjustable light modulator elements.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A vehicle, comprising:
 a vehicle body; and 
 a headlight supported by the vehicle body that is configured to produce adjustable headlight illumination, wherein the headlight comprises:
 a light source; and 
 an adjustable lens array configured to receive light from the light source and provide corresponding headlight illumination, wherein the adjustable lens array comprises an array of light modulator elements. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  further comprising a light collimator between the light source and the adjustable lens array that collimates the light from the light source before the light from the light source is received by the adjustable lens array, wherein the adjustable lens array comprises an array of lens elements that corresponds to the array of light modulator elements. 
     
     
       3. The vehicle defined in  claim 2  wherein the light source comprises light-emitting devices of different colors that are configured to be pulsed in succession while corresponding adjustments are made to the array of light modulator elements. 
     
     
       4. The vehicle defined in  claim 2  wherein the array of light modulator elements comprises a two-dimensional array of guest-host light modulator elements. 
     
     
       5. The vehicle defined in  claim 2  wherein the array of light modulator elements comprises a two-dimensional array of liquid crystal light modulator elements. 
     
     
       6. The vehicle defined in  claim 2  wherein the array of light modulator elements comprises a two-dimensional array of electrochromic light modulator elements. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the adjustable lens array further comprises:
 a first array of lens elements; and 
 a second array of lens elements, wherein each of the light modulator elements of the array of light modulator elements is located between a respective one of the lens elements in the first array of lens elements and a respective one of the lens elements in the second array of lens elements. 
 
     
     
       8. The vehicle defined in  claim 7  further comprising a mask having openings each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light modulator elements. 
     
     
       9. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the light source comprises a white light source. 
     
     
       10. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the light source comprises multiple light-emitting devices of different colors. 
     
     
       11. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the adjustable lens array comprises multiple layers of light modulator elements each of which is configured to modify light transmission for a different color of light. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the adjustable lens array comprises an array of adjustable-refractive-index lens elements. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle defined in  claim 12  wherein the adjustable-refractive-index lens elements are characterized by electrically adjustable focal lengths. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle defined in  claim 1  wherein the headlight illumination has an illumination pattern, the vehicle further comprising control circuitry configured to control the adjustable lens array to adjust the illumination pattern of the headlight illumination. 
     
     
       15. A vehicle light, comprising:
 a light source; 
 a light collimator configured to receive light from the light source and provide corresponding collimated light; and 
 an adjustable lens array configured to receive the collimated light and provide corresponding vehicle illumination in an adjustable pattern, the adjustable lens array comprising:
 a first array of lenses; 
 a second array of lenses each of which is aligned with a respective one of lenses in the first array of lenses; and 
 an array of electrically adjustable light modulator elements, wherein each light modulator element is between one of the lenses in the first array and a respective one of the lenses in the second array. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The vehicle light defined in  claim 15  wherein the array of electrically adjustable light modulator elements comprises electrically adjustable light modulator elements selected from the group consisting of: guest-host light modulator elements, liquid crystal light modulator elements, and electrochromic light modulator elements. 
     
     
       17. A vehicle light, comprising:
 a light source; 
 a light collimator configured to receive light from the light source; 
 a mask having an array of openings; 
 a two-dimensional array of lens elements each aligned with a respective one of the openings in the array of openings, wherein the two-dimensional array of lens elements is configured to focus collimated light from the light collimator through the openings; and 
 an array of electrically adjustable light modulator elements each of which is aligned with a respective one of the openings and each of which is configured to exhibit an adjustable amount of light transmission for light passing through that opening. 
 
     
     
       18. The vehicle light defined in  claim 17  further comprising an additional array of lens elements each of which receives light from a corresponding one of the electrically adjustable light modulator elements. 
     
     
       19. The vehicle light defined in  claim 17  wherein the light source comprises a white light source. 
     
     
       20. The vehicle light defined in  claim 17  wherein the light source comprises light-emitting diodes of different colors. 
     
     
       21. The vehicle light defined in  claim 17  wherein the light source comprises an infrared light-emitting diode.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/220,918, filed Jul. 12, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to systems such as vehicles, and, more particularly, vehicles that have lights. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Automobiles and other vehicles have lights such as headlights. To accommodate different driving conditions, headlights are sometimes provided with adjustable settings such as low beam and high beam settings. 
     SUMMARY 
     A vehicle may have lights such as headlights and other vehicle lights for providing vehicle illumination. The lights may be electrically adjustable so that the color and pattern of the illumination may be varied. Control circuitry in a vehicle may adjust the lights based on sensor data, user input, and other criteria. 
     A light such as headlight may have a light source such as a white light source or multicolored light source, a light collimator that receives light from the light source, and an adjustable lens array that receives collimated light from the light collimator and outputs corresponding adjustable vehicle illumination. 
     The adjustable lens array may have first and second arrays of lens elements that are aligned with each other. The adjustable lens array may have an electrically adjustable light modulator located between the first and second lens element arrays. A mask may have openings aligned with respective adjustable light modulator elements in the adjustable light modulator. 
     The first array of lens elements may receive collimated light from the light collimator. Each of the first lens elements may focus light through a respective opening in the mask and through a corresponding one of the adjustable light modulator elements. Light exiting each adjustable light modulator element may be collimated to form parallel or nearly parallel output light rays. 
     During operation, the light modulator elements in the adjustable lens array may be individually adjusted and the light source may be adjusted. This allows the light to create output illumination with a desired beam pattern and color. The output illumination may serve as headlight illumination or other vehicle illumination. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a side view of an illustrative vehicle and structures in front of the vehicle in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative vehicle light in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative adjustable lens array for a vehicle light in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is a diagram of an illustrative surface illuminated with an adjustable vehicle light in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative light modulator array based on a guest-host liquid crystal layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative liquid crystal light modulator array in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electrochromic light modulator array in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative lens array having electrically adjustable lens elements in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A system such as a vehicle or other system may have components that emit light such as headlights and other lights. Headlights may be used to illuminate roadways and other objects in the vicinity of a vehicle. The illumination provided by the headlights allows vehicle occupants to view the objects at night or in other dim ambient lighting conditions and facilitates the operation of sensors. For example, headlight illumination at visible and/or infrared wavelengths may be used to provide illumination for image sensors that are used by an autonomous driving system or driver&#39;s assistance system. 
     The illumination that is emitted by the headlights may be adjusted. For example, the headlights may have adjustable lens arrays and other adjustable components that allow the pattern of illumination emitted by the headlights to be adjusted. Headlights may, as an example, be adjusted to narrow or widen headlight beams and/or to otherwise adjust the shape of the headlight illumination pattern. If desired, the color of emitted light may be varied. Headlight beam adjustments may be used to switch the headlights between operation in high-beam and low-beam modes, to steer headlight beams to the left and right (e.g., to accommodate curves in a road), to spotlight objects of interest, to enhance headlight performance under particular weather conditions or other operating conditions, to provide alerts to pedestrians or others, and/or to otherwise vary the properties of the headlight output. 
       FIG.  1    is a side view of a portion of an illustrative vehicle. In the example of  FIG.  1   , vehicle  10  is the type of vehicle that may carry passengers (e.g., an automobile, truck, or other automotive vehicle). Configurations in which vehicle  10  is a robot (e.g., an autonomous robot) or other vehicle that does not carry human passengers may also be used. Vehicles such as automobiles may sometimes be described herein as an example. As shown in  FIG.  1   , vehicle  10  may be operated on roads such as roadway  14 . Objects such as object  26  may be located on or near other structures in the vicinity of vehicle  10  such as roadway  14 . 
     Vehicle  10  may be manually driven (e.g., by a human driver), may be operated via remote control, and/or may be autonomously operated (e.g., by an autonomous driving system or other autonomous propulsion system). Using vehicle sensors such as lidar, radar, visible and/or infrared cameras (e.g., two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional cameras), proximity (distance) sensors, and/or other sensors, an autonomous driving system and/or driver-assistance system in vehicle  10  may perform automatic braking, steering, and/or other operations to help avoid pedestrians, inanimate objects, and/or other external structures such as illustrative obstacle  26  on roadway  14 . 
     Vehicle  10  may include a body such as vehicle body  12 . Body  12  may include vehicle structures such as body panels formed from metal and/or other materials, may include doors  18 , a hood, a trunk, fenders, a chassis to which wheels are mounted, a roof, etc. Windows may be formed in doors  18  and other portions of vehicle body  12  (e.g., on the sides of vehicle body  12 , on the roof of vehicle  10 , and/or in other portions of vehicle  10 ). Windows, doors  18 , and other portions of body  12  may separate the interior of vehicle  10  from the exterior environment that is surrounding vehicle  10 . Doors  18  may be opened and closed to allow people to enter and exit vehicle  10 . Seats and other structures may be formed in the interior of vehicle body  12 . 
     Vehicle  10  may have automotive lighting such as one or more headlights (sometimes referred to as headlamps), driving lights, fog lights, daytime running lights, turn signals, brake lights, and/or other lights. As shown in  FIG.  1   , for example, vehicle  10  may have lights such as lights  16 . In general, lights  16  may be mounted on front F of vehicle  10 , on an opposing rear portion of vehicle  10 , on the left and/or right sides of vehicle  10 , and/or on other portions of body  12 . In an illustrative configuration, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, lights  16  are headlights and are mounted to front F of body  12 . There may be, as an example, left and right headlights  16  located respectively on the left and right of vehicle  10  to provide illumination  20  in the forward direction (e.g., in the +X direction in which vehicle  10  moves when driven forward in the example of  FIG.  1   ). By shining headlights  16  on external surfaces  28  such as roadway  14  and object  26  in front of vehicle  10 , occupants of vehicle  10  may view surfaces  28  even in dim ambient lighting conditions (e.g., at night or in other low-light situations due to weather, tunnels, time of day, etc.). The operation of sensors in vehicle  10  such as image sensors and other sensors that use light may also be supported by providing surfaces  28  with illumination. 
     If desired, headlights or other vehicle lights may be used to assist a user of vehicle  10  who is approaching vehicle  10  and/or may be used to communicate with pedestrians or others nearby. As an example, headlights or other vehicle lights may be used to light up the area around vehicle  10  with illumination  20  whenever sensors in vehicle  10  detect that a user is approaching vehicle  10 . In this way, a user may be able to better view obstacles near the vehicle and can walk around such obstacles. As another example, pedestrians may be waiting to cross in front of vehicle  10  after vehicle  10  has come to a stop at a crosswalk. To help inform the pedestrians that it is safe to cross, vehicle  10  may adjust headlights or other vehicle lights to illuminate the crosswalk. A given color of light (e.g., green light for safe crossing conditions or a red light otherwise), a particular pattern of light (e.g., an arrow orientated along the crosswalk or a stop sign), time-varying light characteristics (e.g., slow flashing at 1 Hz, a chasing light pattern, etc.), and/or any other suitable aspect of illumination  20  may be used to inform the pedestrians when it is safe to cross the street and/or to otherwise provide information to people in the vicinity of vehicle  10 . 
     Vehicle  10  may have components  24 . Components  24  may include propulsion and steering systems (e.g., manually adjustable driving systems and/or autonomous driving systems having wheels coupled to body  12 , steering controls, one or more motors for driving the wheels, etc.), and other vehicle systems. Components  24  may include control circuitry and input-output devices. Control circuitry in components  24  may be configured to run an autonomous driving application, a navigation application (e.g., an application for displaying maps on a display), and software for controlling vehicle climate control devices, lighting, media playback, window movement, door operations, sensor operations, and/or other vehicle operations. For example, the control system may form part of an autonomous driving system that drives vehicle  10  on roadways such as roadway  14  autonomously using data such as sensor data. The control circuitry may include processing circuitry and storage and may be configured to perform operations in vehicle  10  using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware and/or software. Software code for performing operations in vehicle  10  and other data is stored on non-transitory computer readable storage media (e.g., tangible computer readable storage media) in the control circuitry. The software code may sometimes be referred to as software, data, program instructions, computer instructions, instructions, or code. The non-transitory computer readable storage media may include non-volatile memory such as non-volatile random-access memory, one or more hard drives (e.g., magnetic drives or solid-state drives), one or more removable flash drives or other removable media, or other storage. Software stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage media may be executed on the processing circuitry of components  24 . The processing circuitry may include application-specific integrated circuits with processing circuitry, one or more microprocessors, a central processing unit (CPU) or other processing circuitry. 
     The input-output devices of components  24  may include displays, light-emitting diodes and other light-emitting devices, haptic devices, speakers, and/or other devices for providing output. Output devices in components  24  may, for example, be used to provide vehicle occupants and others with haptic output, audio output, visual output (e.g., displayed content, light, etc.), and/or other suitable output. The input-output devices of components  24  may also include input devices such as buttons, sensors, and other devices for gathering user input, for gathering environmental measurements, for gathering information on vehicle operations, and/or for gathering other information. The sensors in components  24  may include ambient light sensors, touch sensors, force sensors, proximity sensors, optical sensors such as cameras operating at visible, infrared, and/or ultraviolet wavelengths (e.g., fisheye cameras, two-dimensional cameras, three-dimensional cameras, and/or other cameras), capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, ultrasonic sensors (e.g., ultrasonic distance sensors), microphones, radio-frequency sensors such as radar sensors, lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors, door open/close sensors, seat pressure sensors and other vehicle occupant sensors, window sensors, position sensors for monitoring location, orientation, and movement, speedometers, satellite positioning system sensors, and/or other sensors. 
     During operation, the control circuitry of components  24  may gather information from sensors and/or other input-output devices such as lidar data, camera data (e.g., two-dimensional images), radar data, and/or other sensor data. This information may be used by an autonomous driving system and/or driver&#39;s assistance system in vehicle  10 . This information may also be used in determining the shape of roadway  14 , the location of objects such as objects  26  and/or other characteristics of surfaces  28 . Based on these measurements, user input, or other information, vehicle  10  may adjust headlights  16 . For example, beam shape may be adjusted when oncoming headlights are detected, beam direction may be adjusted to accommodate detected curves in roadway  14 , beam shape may be adjusted to help enhance visibility in rain or other weather conditions, beam shape may be adjusted to spotlight detected objects such as object  26 , suitable patterns and/or colors of illumination may be output when it is desired to use headlights  16  and/or other vehicle lighting to provide output to nearby pedestrians or others, output light may be adjusted to provide illumination near vehicle  10  as a user walks towards vehicle  10  at night, etc. 
     A vehicle occupant or other user of vehicle  10  may provide user input to the control circuitry of vehicle  10 . Cameras, touch sensors, physical controls, and other input devices may be used to gather the user input. Using wireless communications with vehicle  10 , remote data sources may provide the control circuitry of components  24  with database information. If desired, headlights  16  and/or other vehicle lighting may be adjusted based on user input and/or information from a remote data source. For example, information on road conditions (e.g., road size, road type, road shape, road surface, etc.) may be stored in a remote database and this information may be provided to vehicle  10  over a wireless communications link. During operation, vehicle  10  may adjust headlights  16  based on the road condition information. 
     Headlights  16  may have two-dimensional arrays of components. Headlights  16  may, for example, have arrays of light-emitting diodes and/or other light sources and corresponding arrays of lenses (sometimes referred to as microlens arrays or lens arrays) that control the directions in which light is emitted from the headlights. Headlights  16  may also have light modulator arrays (e.g., arrays of individually adjustable light modulator elements that adjust the amount of light passing through corresponding lenses). If desired, lens elements may be formed from liquid crystal material and/or other material having optical properties (e.g., electrically adjustable refractive index values) that can be adjusted to change lens element focal lengths and/or other lens element optical characteristics. 
     The arrays of components in headlights  16  may be arranged to form two-dimensional arrays with rows and columns or may be arranged with other two-dimensional layouts. Array components such as lenses and/or light modulator elements may have rectangular outlines or other suitable shapes (e.g., hexagonal footprints, etc.). In an illustrative configuration, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, lens and light modulator elements have rectangular shapes and are arranged in rows and columns in a two-dimensional array (e.g., an N×M array, where the values of N and/or M are at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, less than 50, less than 20, less than 15, and/or less than 10). 
       FIG.  2    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative headlight for vehicle  10 . Headlight  16  of  FIG.  2    may be mounted to body  12 . Body  12  may have a cavity that receives headlight  16 , headlight  16  may be attached to an outer surface of body  12 , and/or headlight  16  may be otherwise supported by body  12 . As shown in  FIG.  2   , headlight  16  may include headlight housing  30 . Light may be produced by light source  32 . Light source  32  may have multiple light-emitting devices  34  such as light-emitting diodes, lasers, lamps, etc. Light-emitting devices  34  may, as an example, be light-emitting diodes such as white light-emitting diodes. If desired, light-emitting devices  34  may include infrared light-emitting diodes that are configured to emit infrared light, may include colored light-emitting diodes (e.g., red, yellow, blue, and/or green light-emitting diodes), and/or may include other light-emitting components. In arrangements in which source  32  includes devices  34  of different colors, light color may be adjusted by selectively activating and deactivating devices  34 . 
     Light source  32  may emit light that travels in the +X direction of  FIG.  2    in the interior of housing  30 . Headlight  16  may include a light concentrating component such as light collimator  36  that helps collimate the light emitted by light source  32 . Light collimator  36  may be formed from one or more optical components such as illustrative collimating lens  40  and/or a reflective structure that helps concentrate light from light source  32  such as conical mirror  38 . Light from light source  32  that has been partly or fully collimated by light collimator  36  passes through adjustable lens array  42  before being emitted as headlight illumination  20  (e.g., a headlight beam that can produce illumination on surfaces  28 ). 
       FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative adjustable lens array for headlight  16 . As shown in  FIG.  3   , adjustable lens array  42  may have one or more arrays of lens elements such as lens array  50  and lens array  58 . The lenses of arrays  50  and  58  may be organized in rows and columns or other suitable patterns (e.g., columns extending parallel to the Z axis and rows extending parallel to the Y axis in the example of  FIG.  3   ). Each lens of array  50  may be aligned with a respective lens of array  58 . 
     An array of light modulator elements such as light modulator array  54  may be interposed between lens array  50  and lens array  58 . Array  54  may be separated from lens arrays  50  and  58  by air gaps or gaps  52  and/or  56  between light modulator array  54  and array  50  and/or array  58  may be filled with clear polymer or other transparent material. Light modulator array  54  may have an array of electrically adjustable light modulators elements  54 E, which may be individually controlled (e.g., elements  54 E may be arranged in a two-dimensional array having columns parallel to the Z axis of  FIG.  3    and having rows parallel to the Y axis of  FIG.  3   ). By adjusting the amount of light passing through each light modulator element  54 E, the pattern of light passing through lens array  42  can be controlled to adjust the headlight beam pattern emitted by headlight  16 . 
     If desired, array  54  may be provided with a masking grid. For example, each element  54 E may have a light modulator cell  62 E covered by a portion of an opaque mask  64 . Mask  64  may be configured so that there is a mask opening  60  that is aligned with the center of each light modulator cell  62 E. Mask  64  may help block stray light and thereby reduce or eliminate light rays passing through structures at the boundaries between adjacent cells  62 E and may therefore help ensure that the light passing through each light modulator element  54 E is passing through a desired active area of that element. Masks such as mask  64  may be provided on the entrance face and/or exit face of array  54  and/or may otherwise be incorporated into array  54 . 
     Vehicle  10  may use sensor input, user input, or other information in determining how to adjust array  42 . Consider, as an example, the arrangement of  FIG.  4   . As shown in  FIG.  4   , headlight  16  may illuminate surfaces  28  in front of vehicle  10 , such as the surface of object  26  and/or the surface of roadway  14 . During operation of vehicle  10  (e.g., while vehicle  10  is being driven along roadway  14 ), vehicle  10  may determine that the output of headlight  16  should be provided in a high-beam mode and may therefore adjust array  42  to produce illumination in high-beam pattern  80 . In other conditions such as when oncoming headlights are detected or rain is sensed, vehicle  10  may determine that the output of headlight  16  should be provide in a low-beam mode and may therefore adjust array  42  to produce illumination in low-beam pattern  82 . In other situations, the beam output by headlight  16  may be adjusted to have a pattern such as illustrative pattern  84 , illustrative pattern  88 , and/or any other suitable pattern that illuminates a desired portion or portions (e.g., discontinuous portions) of the surface in the vicinity of vehicle  10 . Patterns such as these may assist a user in viewing objects of interest (e.g., by highlighting the object with spot illumination) and may be used in assisting the user in difficult lighting conditions (e.g., illumination attributes may be adjusted to enhance roadway and obstacle visibility by angling illumination  20  downwardly, by adjusting the color of illumination  20 , and by increasing the intensity of illumination  20  during inclement weather where beam direction, intensity, color, and/or other factors tend to reduce visibility). If desired, headlights  16  may be adjusted to provide pedestrians and others in the vicinity of vehicle  10  with information on vehicle status, planned vehicle operations, and/or other vehicle attributes. As an example, illumination  20  may be red and flashing and may be provided in pattern  84  or  80  to inform people near vehicle  10  that vehicle  10  is moving or is about to move. In general, the illumination from headlight  16  may be controlled to have any suitable shape (circular, oval, rectangular, etc.) and may be steered up/down and/or left/right. If desired, the pattern of light that is emitted may convey information to nearby observers. For example, a particular type of illumination (e.g., vertical or horizontal stripes, spots, icon shapes, and/or other patterns of illumination, illumination of a given color, and/or illumination characterized by a given time-varying intensity) may serve as an indicator that vehicle  10  is about to turn, slow down, stop, or accelerate, may serve as an indicator that a pedestrian or other person has been recognized by vehicle  10 , may serve as an indicator that vehicle  10  is driving autonomously or manually, and/or may serve as an indicator that other conditions are present, etc. 
       FIGS.  5 ,  6 , and  7    are cross-sectional side views of illustrative light modulator arrays for adjustable lens array  42 . 
     In the example of  FIG.  5   , light modulator array  54  has an array of individually adjustable light modulator elements  54 E based on guest-host liquid crystal modulator devices. Array  54  may, as an example, have first and second transparent substrates  90  with respective sets of transparent light modulator electrodes  92  (e.g., electrodes formed from transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, etc.). Each element  54 E in the example of  FIG.  5    has first and second respective electrodes. If desired, a shared ground electrode may span multiple elements  54 E. The arrangements of  FIGS.  5 ,  6 , and  7    where a pair of element-specific electrodes is used for each element  54 E are illustrative. 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , guest-host liquid crystal layer  94  may be interposed between substrates  90 . By supplying a desired (and potentially different) voltage to the electrodes  92  of each element  54 E, the magnitude of the electric field across guest-host liquid crystal layer  94  may be adjusted as a function of position within array  54  (e.g., the amount of light transmission may be independently varied as desired for each light modulator element  54 E). Each element  54 E may, as an example, be placed in an opaque state, a transparent state, or one or more intermediate transmission states in which the element is characterized by an intermediate amount of light transmission between the opaque and transparent state levels. By adjusting each of the light modulator elements  54 E in array  54  in this way, the amount of light output from each element  54 E may be adjusted so that the pattern of light emitted by headlight  16  is controlled as described in connection with the examples of  FIG.  4   . 
     In one illustrative configuration, guest-host liquid crystal layer  94  has black absorbing dyes so that elements  54 E exhibit neutral transmission. Elements  54 E may, for example, appear clear, gray, or black, allowing headlight illumination  20  to appear neutral in color with no color cast when light source  32  emits white light illumination. The transmission dynamic range of array  54  may, as an example, be 1:20 and array  54  may have a response time on the order of milliseconds. 
     In other illustrative configurations, there are multiple guest-host liquid crystal layers and associated substrates in array  54 . For example, multiple guest-host liquid crystal light modulator structures may be stacked on top of each other to form array  54 . Each guest-host liquid crystal light modulator layer in this type of stacked configuration may have a dichroic dye or other guest material that is configured to pass light of a different color. For example, a first layer may have an array of red guest-host liquid crystal light modulator elements that pass a selected amount of red light, a second layer may have an array of green guest-host liquid crystal light modulator elements that pass a selected amount of green light, and a third layer may have an array of blue guest-host liquid crystal light modulator elements that pass a selected amount of blue light. 
     During operation, white light illumination from light source  32  that has passed through light collimator  36  may be supplied to this stacked structure. A masking layer with an array of openings such as mask  64  of  FIG.  3    may be associated with each stacked structure (layer). The openings in each mask and the layout of the elements  54 E in each corresponding layer of the stacked structure may be configured to avoid interference between layers. As an example, the green and blue layers may have openings that permit red light from the red layer to pass after this light has been adjusted in intensity by the red-light modulator elements and the red layer may have openings that permit white light to reach the green and blue light modulator elements in their respective layers. 
     Depending on the settings of the red, green, and blue light modulator elements in the stack of array  54 , desired patterns of red, green, and blue light may be emitted from headlight  16 . The red, green, and blue light may merge when projected onto surface  28 , so that the relative intensity contributed by each color will influence the resulting color of the headlight illumination. By mixing the emitted red, green, and blue light, different non-neutral colors of headlight beams may be created and/or different portions of headlight beams may be provided with different colors. Colored light may also be mixed where there is overlap between the output of different array elements, thereby forming mixed-color areas and/or white light areas. 
     If desired, light source  32  may have multiple light-emitting devices  34  of different colors. Light source  32  may include, for example, red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes or other non-neutrally colored light-emitting devices. In this type of arrangement, a single layer of light modulator elements  54 E may be used to provide colored output for headlight  16 . Red light, green light, and blue light may be provided in a series of discrete pulse (e.g., pulses of less than 1/60 s or other short time period to avoid visible flicker effects). Light modulator array  54  may be configured to pass a first pattern of light when the red-light source is active, a second pattern of light when the green light is active, and a third pattern of light when the blue light is active. In this way, headlight beams with desired patterns and colors may be created. As an example, if red light output is desired, the blue and green light sources may be turned off and if white light output is desired, the red, blue, and green sources may all be activated. These types of arrangements and/or other arrangements may be used for providing headlight  16  with the ability to produce colored light illumination regardless of the type of light modulator elements  54 E that are used. If desired, light source  32  may include one or more infrared light-emitting devices  34 . This allows desired patterns of infrared light to be emitted (e.g., the light-modulator elements of array  54  may be used to modify the pattern of emitted infrared light in addition to modifying the patterns of emitted red, blue, and green light). 
     Color may be imparted to white light passing through array  54  using colored dyes in guest-host liquid crystal layers or may be provided using other color filter arrangements. For example, in light modulator arrays based on liquid crystal light modulators or electrochromic modulators, color filter structures such as bandpass thin-film interference filters and/or colored ink structures may be used to impart red, green, and blue colors to different layers of modulator elements. 
     In the example of  FIG.  6   , light modulator array  54  has an array of light modulator elements  54 E based on liquid crystal modulator cells. Substrates  90  of  FIG.  6    are sandwiched between polarizers  95 . Electrodes  92  may be formed on substrates  90 . Liquid crystal layer  96  may be interposed between substrates  90  and between electrodes  92 . The voltage applied to the pair of electrodes  92  in each element  54 E controls the amount of electric field applied across the portion of liquid crystal layer  96  associated with that elements  54 E. In turn, the amount of electric field in the liquid crystal layer of each element  54 E controls the amount of liquid crystal molecule rotation in that element, the corresponding amount of light polarization rotation exhibited by that element, and therefore the amount of light transmission through that element. The transmission dynamic range in this type of light modulator array may be, as an example, 1:200. Response times may be on the order of milliseconds or faster. If desired, two or more liquid crystal light modulator structures (e.g., two or more liquid crystal layers  96  and associated substrates  90 , polarizers  95 , and electrodes  92 ) may be stacked on top of each other as descried in connection with the illustrative stacked modulator arrangement of  FIG.  5   . Each stacked structure may have a respective mask  64  or a single mask may be shared among layers in the stack. 
     An illustrative electrochromic light modulator array is shown in  FIG.  7   . Electrochromic light modulator array  54  of  FIG.  7    has an array of electrochromic light modulator elements  54 E. Array  54  has a layer of electrochromic structures  98  between substrates  90 . Electrodes  92  associated with each of elements  54 E may be individually supplied with desired voltages to adjust the movement of ions in structures  98 . The movement of the ions in each element  54 E adjusts the light transmission through that element. The response time of this type of modulator may be about 1 s to several minutes, depending on operating temperature. If desired, two or more electrochromic modulator layers (and associated masks  64 ) may be stacked to form electrochromic light modulator array  54 . 
     In lens array arrangements of the type shown in  FIG.  3   , each of the lens elements in input lens array  50  focuses collimated light so that the focused light passes through a corresponding modulator cell  62 E (and a corresponding aligned mask opening  60 ). After passing through element  54 E, the light focused by the input lens element is collimated to form parallel or nearly parallel output by a corresponding output lens element in output lens array  58 . The lens elements of arrays  50  and  58  may, as examples, be plano-convex lens elements with their planar faces oriented towards each other. Other types of lens shapes may be used, if desired. 
     In some illustrative configurations, the optical properties of the lenses in lens array  42  may be electrically adjusted. Consider, as an example, adjustable lens elements  100  of the two-dimensional lens array of  FIG.  8   . Lens elements (lenses)  100  may be formed from liquid crystal material  102  or other material with an electrically adjustable refractive index that is located between first and second transparent substrates  104 . By applying electric fields to liquid crystal material  102 , the birefringence of material  102  in each lens element  100  may be individually adjusted. A polarizer may be used to polarize light from light source  32  before this light passes through material  102  in each lens element  100 , so that the adjustable birefringence results in a desired adjusted value of refractive index for the light passing through that element  100 . 
     Lens elements  100  may be adjusted using signals applied to transparent electrodes  106 . The pair of transparent electrodes  106  in each lens element  100  may, for example be supplied with a potentially different desired voltage, thereby controlling the electric field across the liquid crystal material of that lens element  100 . In this way, the electric field strength in the liquid crystal material of each lens element  100  adjusts the refractive index of that material and thereby changes the focal length and/or other refractive optical property of that lens. Lens elements  100  may have any suitable shape (e.g., the input and output surfaces of the lenses may include concave and/or convex lens surfaces, may include spherical surfaces, planar surfaces, and/or aspheric surfaces, the lenses may have rectangular outlines, circular outlines, hexagonal outlines, and/or other outlines to allow the lenses to be packed into a desired array, etc.). By adjusting the refractive optical properties of lenses  100  electrically, light can be focused and/or defocused, can be steered, and/or can otherwise be controlled to adjust the pattern of illumination provided by headlight  16  (see, e.g., the adjustable illumination patterns of  FIG.  4   ). 
     The array of adjustable lens elements  100  of  FIG.  8    may serve as adjustable lens array  42  (e.g., light modulator array  54  may be omitted from array  42 ) or the array of adjustable lens elements  100  of  FIG.  8    may form a part of adjustable lens array  42 . For example, a two-dimensional array of rows and columns of adjustable lens elements  100  may be used in place of lens array  50  and/or lens array  58  of  FIG.  3   . In this type of configuration, adjustments to the output of headlight  16  may be made by adjusting lenses  100 , by adjusting light modulator array  54 , and/or by adjusting light source  32 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20220526
Publication Date: 20230801
Grant Date: 20230801
Priority Date: 20210712
Inventors: MAZUIR, Clarisse
CHILD, CHRISTOPHER P
TANG, XIAOFENG
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "F21Y2113/30", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21Y2113/30", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/635", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/143", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/25", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/29", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/645", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21Y2113/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/645", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/635", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/143", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/151", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/29", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/645", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/143", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21S41/25", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 84890977