Abstract
The latest developments in front lighting technology increase not only night driving safety through better luminous beam performance, but also all day safety by their better fit to pedestrian impact safe headlamps designs. Best suited new principles are characterized by a reduced depth for a given light output. Valeo proposes to use either LEDs in projector modules derived setups or halogen bulbs in a lens / complex shape special combination. In both cases the overall depth can be reduced to around 60 mm, with a high luminous efficiency (more than 50%). Both systems provide or will provide wide beams, increasing potential obstacles detection, and their reduced depth makes the integration of pedestrian impact safety systems inside the overall volume of today's headlamps possible. The proposed LED module creates a beam with a maximum intensity point just below the cutoff line. Its sensitivity to the LED type and positioning is minimized. Its small footprint is a consequence of the small size of the light source.
The halogen bulb system collects light like a projector module, but being deprived of shield, it has a high efficiency and it can use an essentially diverging lens, directly fixed to the mirror, hence the depth reduction. Both systems will provide fog lamp, fixed bending light or low beam functions.