Vehicle Loading Conditions’ Influence Over Front Lighting Requirements and Dipped Beam Vertical Leveling Control Method

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of the vehicle body inclination changes on the cut-off (the transition between the lighter and darker portions of the beam) vertical position of dipped beam which is one of the main functions of the headlamp. The functionality of headlamp vertical aiming system and its importance for the driving safety are examined. In case of any change on the vehicle, which effects to the vehicle inclination values, a control method is defined in order to check suitability of cut-off vertical position for every loading conditions defined by regulations. In addition, the calculations are formulated to find required vertical aiming values in order to keep the cut-off position in the range of minimum to maximum values defined by the regulations are formulated. It is concluded that after heavy accessory/configuration changes, major modifications, or new version of model aplications on the vehicle make necessary to be checked availability of actual cut-off vertical positions and output values of the headlamp aiming software. In case of aiming software update necessities, new values based on regulated loading conditions can be defined by following formulations.