Safety Improvements to Headlamps
AssigneeSandra McNiell Asquith
InventorJulian Peter Asquith
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Abstract
A headlamp system for a vehicle comprises: at least one headlamp which is switchable between at least a high beam mode and a low beam mode, in which the headlamp emits a high beam and a low beam respectively, and wherein said high beam is of higher intensity than said low beam; a biased actuator which is movable by a driver of the vehicle between a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position to said off position; and a headlamp which is arranged to emit a safety flash when said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position; wherein the overall duration of the safety flash is automatically limited to a value which is less than 2 seconds.
Claims20
A headlamp system for a vehicle comprising:
- at least one headlamp which is switchable between at least a high beam mode and a low beam mode, in which the headlamp emits a high beam and a low beam respectively, and wherein said high beam is of higher intensity than said low beam;
- a biased actuator which is movable by a driver of the vehicle between a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position to said off position;
- and
- a headlamp which is arranged to emit a safety flash when said biased actuator is moved to said temporary-on position;
- wherein the overall duration of the safety flash is automatically limited to a value which is less than 2 seconds;
- and
- wherein a first force applied by said driver to said biased actuator is sufficient to initiate said safety flash, and wherein a second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force is sufficient to initiate a high beam flash, being a flash which is not automatically limited to a duration of less than 2 seconds.
(canceled)
(canceled)
A method of producing a safety flash of at least one headlamp of a vehicle having a driver, said method including:
- providing a biased actuator having a temporary-on position and an off position, and which is biased from said temporary-on position towards said off position;
- in response to a first force applied by said driver to said biased actuator,
- initiating a safety flash of said at least one headlamp;
- and
- automatically ending said safety flash at the end of a limited duration, if the safety flash has not ended earlier, so that the overall duration of said safety flash is limited to said limited duration;
- wherein said limited duration is a value which is less than 2 seconds;
- and
- in response to a second force of greater magnitude than said first force applied by a driver in the same direction as said first force initiating a high beam flash, being a flash which is not automatically limited to said limited duration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.