Headlamp

• The source of light in the gas discharge lamp is

an electric arc, and the actual discharge bulb is
only about 10 mm across. Two electrodes
extend into the bulb, which is made from
quartz glass. The gap between these
electrodes is 4 mm. The distance between the
end of the electrode and the bulb contact
surface is 25 mm – this corresponds to the
dimensions of the standardized bulb.
 LED
• The advantages of LED lighting are clear, the greatest
being reliability. LEDs have a typical rated life of over
50 000 hours, compared with just a few thousand for
incandescent lamps. The environment in which
vehicle lights have to survive is hostile to say the
least. Extreme variations in temperature and
humidity as well as serious shocks and vibration have
to be endured.
• LEDs are more expensive than bulbs but the
potential savings in design costs due to sealed units
 Headlight reflectors
• Light from a source, such as the filament of a
bulb, can be projected in the form of a beam
of varying patterns by using a suitable
reflector and a lens. Reflectors used for
headlights are usually parabolic, bifocal or
homifocal. Lenses, which are also used as the
headlight cover glass, are used to direct the
light to the side of the road and in a
downward direction
Parabolic reflector
A parabola is a curve similar in shape to the curved path of a
stone thrown forward in the air. A parabolic reflector
(Figure 11.5(a)) has the property of reflecting rays parallel
to the principal axis when a
light source is placed at its focal point, no matter where the
rays fall on the reflector. It therefore produces a bright
parallel reflected beam of constant light intensity. With a
parabolic reflector, most of the light rays from the light-
bulb are reflected and only a small amount of direct rays
disperses as stray light.
Bifocal reflector
The bifocal reflector (Figure 11.5(c)) as its name suggests has two
reflector sections with different focal points. This helps to take
advantage of the light striking the lower reflector area. The
parabolic
section in the lower area is designed to reflect light down to improve
the near field area just in front of the vehicle. This technique is not
suitable for twin filament bulbs, it is therefore only used on
vehicles
with a four-headlight system. With the aid of powerful CAD
programs, variable focus reflectors can be made with non-parabolic
sections to produce a smooth transition between each area.
Homifocal reflector
A homifocal reflector (Figure 11.5(d)) is made up of a
number of sections each with a common focal point.
This design allows a shorter focal length and hence,
overall, the light unit will have less depth.
The effective luminous flux is also increased. It can be
used with a twin filament bulb to provide dip and main
beam. The light from the main reflector section
provides the normal long range lighting and the
auxiliary reflectors improve near field and lateral lighting.
• Headlight lenses
• A good headlight should have a powerful far-
reaching central beam, around which the light
is distributed
Lenses work on the principle of refraction – that is, the change in the
direction of light rays when passing into or out of a transparent
medium, such as glass (plastic on some very recent headlights). The
headlight front cover and glass lens, is divided up into a large number
of small rectangular zones, each zone being formed optically in the
shape of a concave flute or a combination of flute and prisms. The
shape of these sections is such that, when the roughly parallel beam
passes through the glass, each individual lens element will redirect
the light rays to obtain an improved overall light projection or
beam pattern. The flutes control the horizontal spread of light.
At the same time the prisms sharply bend the rays downwards to give
diffused local lighting just in front of the vehicle. The action of lenses
is shown as Figure 11.5(b). Many headlights are now made with
clear lenses, which means that all the light directionality is
performed
by the reflector (see Figure 11.4).
 Lighting terms and definitions
• Luminous flux The unit of luminous flux is the
lumen (lm). Luminous flux is defined as the
amount of light passing through an area in
one second. The lumen is defined as the light
falling on a unit area at a unit distance from a
light source, which has a luminous intensity of
one candela.
• Luminous intensity
• This is the power to produce illumination at a
distance. The unit is the candela (cd). it is a
measure of the brightness of the light rather
than the amount of light falling on an object
• Illumination intensity E
• This can be defined on a surface as the luminous flux
reaching it per unit area. The luminous intensity of a
surface such as the road will be reduced if the light
rays are at an angle. The unit is the lux (lx), it is
equivalent to one lumen per square metre or to the
illuminance of a surface one metre from a point
source of light of one candela. In simple terms it
depends on the brightness, distance from, and angle
to, a light source