Vehicle lighting control and method
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsMichael Robertson, Aaron Bradley Johnson, Segundo Baldovino, Venkatesh Krishnan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle has a navigation device for detecting a geographic location of the vehicle, a beam shaping lamp configured to illuminate light in a light beam pattern, and a controller configured to process the geographic location and to determine a geographic region. The controller determines a light beam pattern in compliance with lighting regulations associated with the determined geographic region. The controller configures the beam shaping lamp to generate the light beam pattern in compliance with the lighting regulations.
Claims20
A vehicle comprising:
- a navigation device for detecting a geographic location of the vehicle;
- a beam shaping lamp configured to illuminate light in a light beam pattern;
- and
- a controller configured to process the geographic location and to determine a geographic region, the controller determining a light beam pattern in compliance with lighting regulations associated with the determined geographic region, wherein the controller configures the beam shaping lamp to generate the light beam pattern in compliance with the lighting regulations.
A method of controlling a beam pattern of a beam shaping lamp on a motor vehicle, the method comprising:
- activating the beam shaping lamp to generate light illumination in a first light beam pattern;
- determining a geographic location of the motor vehicle;
- determining whether the motor vehicle travels from a first geographic region to a second geographic region having different lighting regulations;
- selecting a second light beam pattern in compliance with the lighting regulations associated with the second geographic region;
- and
- controlling the beam shaping lamp to change the light illumination to the selected light beam pattern in compliance with the lighting regulations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.