Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved
vehicle light control system for operating the low beams
of an automotive vehicle and including two switching
devices whereby one device conditions the other to supply
a reduced voltage to the low beams of headlights of a
vehicle
Description of Prior Art
It is known to provide automatic light control
systems for daylight driving such as described, for
example, in U.S. Patent 3,832,597 granted on August 27,
1974. In the particular circuit described, the headlights
are activated only when the transmission is set in the
forward drive position. U.S. Patent 3,706,005 teaches
another such system utilizing a three-phase generator. It
also teaches the reduction of the voltage on the filaments
of the headlights to obtain lower intensity of these
running lights U.S. Patent 3,341,736 describes a still
further system.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION:
It is a feature of the present invention to
provide an improved vehicle light control system which is
easy to install, utilizes component parts readily avail-
able, and which does not require any modification to
existing component parts of an automotive vehicle, and
wherein the circuit automatically cuts off when the car
headlight switch is switched on
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Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an improved vehicle light control system which
feeds a supply voltage to the low beam of the headlights,
the tail lights, the marker lights, and the license plate
light of a vehicle as soon as the vehicle is in operation.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an improved vehicle light control system and
wherein the supply operating voltage of the system is
obtained from the alternator of the vehicle whereby the
control system automatically cuts out when the battery
charging system is not functioning in order to protect the
battery charge so that the engine of a vehicle will run as
long as possible.
According to the above features, from a broad
aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle light
control system comprising a first and a second switching
device, The first switching device is in a normally
conductive state while the second switching device is in a
normally non-conductive state, The first switching device
has an input connection securable to a terminal of an
alternator of the automotive vehicle. The alternator is
connected to a car battery and provides a supply voltage
when the engine of the vehicle is operated. The first
switching device further has an output connection
connected to the second switching device to change the
operating state thereof when the supply voltage is present
on the input connection, The second switching circuit has
a low beam connection to which the car battery supply
voltage is connected and fed to a low beam filament of
headlights of the vehicle, The first switching device has
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a third connection which is securable to a vehicle head-
light switch at high beam position so that when the
headlight switch is placed to a high beam position the
first switching device is placed in a non-conductive state
which, in turn, automatically places the second switching
device in a non-conductive state to cut off the supply
voltage to the low beam connection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
A preferred embodiment of the present invention
will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings which is a schematic illustration of the improved
vehicle headlight control system of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS :
Referring now to the drawing, the vehicle light
control system comprises a first and a second switching
device 10 and 11, respectively. These switching devices
are herein represented as single arm relays but equivalent
semiconductor switching circuits may be substituted to
effect the same function as will be described hereinbelow.
The first switching device 10 is normally in a conductive
state while the second switching device ll is normally in
a non-conductive state. These switching devices are
operated whereby to apply a reduced voltage to the low
beam filament 12 of the vehicle headlights 13 and to
disconnect this low voltage therefrom automatically when
the dash headlight switch 14 in the vehicle (not shown) is
actuated to an RON" position.
The first switching relay 10 is provided with a
relay coil 15 and a normally closed contact arm 16. The
terminal 17 of the contact arm has a wire input connection
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18 secured thereto and which is securable at an opposed
end to a terminal 19 of the alternator 20 of the
vehicle. Alternator 20 is connected to the car battery 21
through connection 22. When the engine of the vehicle is
operated the alternator is placed in operation and the
battery voltage, namely 14.5 volts, is present on the
alternator terminal 19 and thus on the contact arm 16
which is normally closed. Accordingly, this supply
voltage is fed to the switching relay 11 via the output
connection 24 from the engageable terminal 25 of the
switch arm 16 of the first relay 10.
It can therefore be seen that once the engine is
placed into operation, voltage is immediately applied to
the relay coil 23 of the second switching relay 11 thus
closing its normally open contact arm 26. This contact
arm 26 has a low beam connecting wire 27 connected thereto
and directly to the battery 21 or any other point in the
electrical system of the vehicle where the 14.5-volt
supply is present. This supply voltage is then fed to an
output connection 28 from the engageable terminal 29 of
the contact 26. A zener diode 30 is connected in this
output connection 28 whereby to reduce the input voltage
of 14.5 volts to an output voltage of 12 volts. This
output voltage is connected directly to the low beam fila-
ment 12 of the headlights 13. Accordingly, as soon as the
engine is started the low beam filaments are fed this
reduced voltage toactivate the low beams and prolonging
the life of the low beam filament, as compared to applying
the full votage to that filament.
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A secondary light lighting connection 31 is also
connected to the output connection 28 or the engageable
terminal 29 of the second switching relay 11 and it
connects the 14.5 volts to other lights of the vehicle
such as the tail lights, side or marker lights, and
license place lights, all of which are represented by the
lamp 32
The light switch of the vehicle on the dash
panel (not shown) thereof is nearly always provided with a
first switch position as herein represented by switch
contact 33 and that switch contact or connection is
branched to the secondary lamps 32 through connection 34
This switch contact 33 feeds an auxiliary supply voltage
of 14 5 volts from any suitable tapping in the vehicle to
the secondary lamps 32 when the supply voltage at the
output connection 28 is not present. In order to prevent
this auxiliary supply voltage on connection 34 to be fed
back to the low beam filament 12, a blocking diode 35 is
placed between the connection 34 and connection 31. This
diode 35 only permits the voltage to flow in the direction
from the second switching relay 11 to the secondary lamps
32.
When the main switch 14 is placed to the "HI"
beam position to switch on the headlights, high-beam fila-
ment 36, immediately the 14.5-volt supply is applied to
the relay coil 15 of the first switching relay 10 through
the connection 37. This automatically opens the contact
arm 16 and both switching relays 10 and 11 are in a non-
conductive state thereby removing the supply to the low
beam and auxiliary lights which are now fed by the normal
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wiring of the electric circuit of the automotive vehicle.
When the switch 14 is displaced from the "HI" position the
low beams are automatically activated again, as long as
the engine is running. Thus, the low beams are always
"on" if the engine is running and the "HI" beam switch
position is "off n .
It should be appreciated that the light control
system of the present invention is economical to
construct, and easy to install. The circuit may also
include a further auxiliary connection leading to the tail
lights of a trailer vehicle so that as soon as the auto-
motive vehicle is started, the trailer tail lights are
actuated. Also, the fact that many of the vehicle lights
are always "on" while the engine is running helps in
preventing the user from forgetting to switch off the
lighting system. That is to say, when the occupant leaves
the vehicle he becomes more aware that the vehicle lights
are in an "ON" position. This circuit can also support a
30-amp charge. Still further, it is believed that the use
of such circuits will reduce car accidents, particularly
before sunset when often a person will forget to switch on
the vehicle headlights.
It is within the ambit of the present invention
to include any obvious modifications of the circuit as
herein described, provided such modifications fall within
the scope of the appended claims.
