C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

MODULAR DESIGN FOR LED

GLARE FREE HIGH BEAM
Headlamps and their lighting technology shall give a sense of safety but also have to face demands for high per-
formance, low energy consumption and a great styling potential. Until now, the functionality of safety and assis-
tance glare free high beam was only possible with xenon (HID) technology. In cooperation with Volkswagen,
Valeo developed a new headlamp for the VW Passat (B8) which now fulfils the requirements in LED technology.
It is built-up on a modular basis with use of two modules: one which integrates the glare free high beam func-
tion (multi-functional module) and an additional one (complementary module) for styling and performance.

26 www.autotechreview.com
 A utho r s
LAURENT EVRARD
is Director Research & Development
at Valeo Lighting Systems in
Bobigny (France).
BENOÎT REISS
is Advanced Engineering Research
& Development Manager at Valeo
Lighting Systems in Bobigny (France).
DR JOACHIM RIPPERGER
is Director German Customer Office,
Research & Development at Valeo
Lighting Systems in Munich
(Germany).
DAMIEN CABANNE
is Research & Development
Manager for Southern Europe
Regional Operation at Valeo Lighting
Systems in Martos (Spain).
autotechreview Jun e 2 016
CONSIDERABLE EVOLUTION
Over the last two decades, there has been
considerable evolution in the field of exte-
rior lighting for automobiles. After the
first complex headlamp shapes which
made new stylings possible for the front
end of vehicles, the development of xenon
bulbs opened the door to highper-
formance lamps in compact designs. They
were then followed by white LEDs which
offered new headlamp solutions for high
performance, low energy and a great styl-
ing potential for each automobile brand.
At the same time, multi-functional
front cameras have appeared on vehicles,
making it possible to detect the position
of other vehicles on the road, especially at
night. Combined with adapted xenon
headlamps, this technology has led to the
development of the glare free high beam
or Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB). The
concept of glare free high beam allows to
drive on high beam without glaring other
road users. Its first application of this
function came in 2010, in the market by
Valeo for the VW Phaeton.
Based on a compact xenon headlamp
module the ADB system provides five dif-
ferent light functions:
:: country light
:: city light
:: motorway light
:: high beam
:: glare free high beam with the same
visibility as the normal high beam for
the driver as a new ADB function.
This new glare free function has rapidly
became popular, as it really has
enhanced visibility at night drives signifi-
cantly, while also improving the percep-
tion of other drivers (less glare because
of the automation).
1 LED headlamp with special styling elements for the VW Passat
Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6
Since introducing LED front lighting
systems, several technical solutions have
been developed by lighting engineers to
provide a similar functionality with all the
benefits of LED technology [1]. This counts
now also for the multi-functional module
from Valeo which has been chosen from
among these solutions to equip the glare
free high beam function on the recently
launched VW Passat (model year 2014, B8
[2]). This solution is very close to the one
used up till now with xenon lamps, and
as a result, both the vehicle architecture
and the control parameters can remain
almost the same.
HEADLAMP STYLING AND
E/E ARCHITECTURE
For the past two years, Volkswagen has
defined common styling elements in its
headlamp designs, in order to create a
common signature for all the vehicles in
the range. On the new VW Passat, this
has been translated into the following key
characteristics:
:: two lighting modules, with a lens
appearance
:: Day-time Running Lamps (DRL)
around each module for day time and
night time signatures
:: reduced height.
In 1, the styling elements of the VW
Passat headlamp are shown. Regarding
the sharing of functions between the two
lighting modules, the exterior one (multi-
functional module) manages the main
part of the light beam and also includes
the high beam, while the interior one has
the complementary role of spreading
light when on low beam. The global E/E
architecture of such a headlamp for auto-
mobile technology is based on three
main elements:
:: on the camera, to detect and character-
ise the position of other vehicles in the
field of view
:: on the light control: this ECU which
interprets the data from the camera
sensors and other vehicle sensors (for
example speed, steering wheel angle,
inclination sensors etc.) and sends
orders to the headlamp control units
about which adequate light source
should be lit, and which position the
various motors should be in
:: the headlamps (left and right).
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C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING
Communication between these differ-
ent elements is established through data
buses, such as LIN or CAN depending on
requirements, operating in both directions
in order to carry out diagnostics as well.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MULTIFUNCTIONAL MODULE
The technical principles used for the
multi-functional module are close to these
solutions used on the xenon ADB systems
(for example in VW Passat 2010, Phaeton
2010 or Volvo XC60 2013). A projector
module, composed of several LEDs in a
multi-cavity elliptic reflector, is optically
combined with a lens to project the light
onto the road.
Between the reflector and the lens,
there is a multi-position light shield (aper-
ture) which can appear in different
shapes. These shield shapes are projected
onto the road by the lens. The different
shapes are located on a rotating drum
which is activated by a stepper motor. On
the headlamp module used on the VW
Passat, for example, there are five differ-
ent shield shapes, corresponding to the
light shield’s five different positions. In 2
the beam patterns of the five different
shield shapes are shown (glare free high
beam left and right counts as one).
The headlamp module itself is
mounted on a swivelling bracket, similar
to the solution used for dynamic bending
light. A stepper motor is used to move
this bracket. With 300 steps over a range
of ±15°, it is thereby possible to achieve
a very high level of accuracy which makes
the dark gap between the detected vehicle
and the lighted area almost invisible for
the driver. By way of comparison, if a less
accurate system was used, for example
with a 1° resolution, the minimum gap
would be 2 m for a vehicle 100 m away,
or around 4 m for a vehicle 200 m away.
With this resolution, neither the oncom-
ing lane nor the sidewalk would be lit up
which would significantly reduce the
improvement in visibility compared to an
analogical system.
As regards photometric performance,
this module provides 315 lm luminous
flux for the low beam function and 950 lm
for the high beam function. Even if the
maximum illumination value (respectively
50 lx for low beam and 125 lx for high
28
beam) is in line with high range xenon
performances, the total quantity of light is
well below.
COMPLEMENTARY MODULE FOR
MORE LUMINOUS FLUX
That – along with the need to comply
with styling requirements – is the reason
why a complementary module has been
integrated in this headlamp. This module
is also 40 mm high and is designed to add
about 600 lm of luminous flux in the
beam pattern of each function. This addi-
tional light is mostly “balanced spread
light” which enhances driver’s visibility
comfort and visibility conditions on nar-
row roads.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
To ensure overall optimal light functions,
and to avoid any visible separation
between the two modules, they must be
aligned with a precision of ±0.1°. This
is the reason why they are mounted on
the same bracket inside the headlamp,
with an adjustment made during head-
lamp assembly.
Between the headlamp housing and
the main bracket, there is another stepper
motor, the third one in this headlamp
which is used for automatic levelling con-
trol system (automatic adjustment on
beam pattern according to vehicle load
and its inclination, in order to optimise
the beam pattern position in every condi-
tion to avoid glare for other drivers). Like
the other stepper motors, this one is also
2 Beam patterns for the five different shield shapes respectively light functions
(glare free high beam left and right counts as one shape and function)
driven by the light control unit which
contains all the data and parameters,
linked to information from the camera
and other vehicle sensors.
As well as these three stepper motors,
the system also contains one fan which
is necessary to cool down the LEDs
(35W) used on the multi-functional mod-
ule. All of them are located on the same
compact heat sink and interconnected
through a combination of flat circuit
boards and flexible connections. The
compact fan has been specifically devel-
oped for automotive applications in order
to take all the thermal, environmental
and reliability constraints into account. It
has already been used on several head-
lamp applications.
BENEFITS FOR DRIVERS
As for any glare free high beam system
like the LED headlamp presented here,
the primary benefit for the driver is the
possibility to drive on high beam with-
out glaring other traffic participants.
This means, first of all, improved visibil-
ity in all traffic conditions. For instance,
a recent study conducted by Darmstadt
Technical University [3] showed that the
use of glare free high beam improved
the detection distance for obstacles by
50 %, compared to a similar vehicle
equipped with a xenon low beam. The
same study also showed that this signif-
icant increase in detection distance is
obtained without any increase in dis-
comfort due to glare, for either the
equipped vehicle or other vehicles.
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 LED
Country light
City light
Motorway light
High beam
Glare free high beam
3 Illumination level comparison of the new LED system (left) to xenon system (right)
The same type of effect is also visible
with the motorway function: this is acti-
vated when the speed exceeds 110 km/h.
Here, the left limit of the beam is raised
from 70 to 120 m. This can be transferred
to a difference which represents 1.5 s
when driving at 120 km/h. 3 shows a
illumination level comparison of the new
LED system with a conventional xenon
system. This is presented for the five dif-
ferent driving situations country light, city
light, motorway light, high beam, and
glare free high beam. The xenon light is
autotechreview Jun e 2 016 Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6
Xenon
more yellow and has a not so long range.
Since the module is embedded on a
swivelling bracket, it also offers the possi-
bility of having the dynamic bending light
functionality with each of the functions
(country light, city light, high beam,
motorway and glare free high beam).
This means that all the best lighting
performances can be maintained on
every type of road, 4. Such a solution
adds functionalities and enhances perfor-
mance compared to previous systems,
without compromising the existing func-
tions which drivers are familiar with. A
less measurable advantage, but one
which is also very beneficial in terms of
driver comfort, is the “smoothness” of
the transitions between functions. This is
due to the combination of both the mod-
ule principle and the continuity offered
by the stepper motors and the different
system laws coming from the vehicle
itself, including filtering of information
from the camera.
BENEFITS FOR OEMS
In order to propose vehicles combining
improved aerodynamics for better power
efficiency with enhanced styling, OEMs
are looking for increasingly compact light-
ing modules. This is presented here with
the multi-functional module which offers
various advanced lighting functionalities
within one single unit. In addition, the 40
mm height of the module (compared to
the more usual 60 mm on most products
with similar functionalities) leaves room
around it so that the DRL can be inte-
grated around it.
This means that the OEM’s brand
awareness is clearly visible and fully com-
patible with the headlamp design. The
module also offers the possibility of hav-
ing a bezel with a heat sink styling
directly mounted around it thus the over-
all design is enhanced, to provide a more
technical look. Another significant benefit
is the standardisation of the module
which can be used on different vehicle
platforms. It could be exactly the same
module (including DRL and style bezels),
or the same module with different exterior
elements (for example for vehicles with a
completely different optical key differenti-
ators). In both cases, significant savings
can be made in terms of development,
since no new styling and no new module
validation are required.
For most vehicles today, the head-
lamps come in several versions: usually a
low range, and a high range with
improved styling and performance. In the
case of headlamps with the ADB function-
ality, it is also common to have three ver-
sions. For example, there is the base ver-
sion first of all, with performances equiv-
alent to halogen systems today which can
also use LED as an energy saving light
source. Then there is a mid-version with
29
C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING
4 Projected beam patterns as road isolux lines [lx] on a colour scale for the five different light functions,
specifications in m
improved performances (like xenon level),
usually with enhanced styling (for exam-
ple with lens modules instead of having a
reflector). Between these two versions, a
number of elements inside the lamp are
changed, and that could entail a complete
new design with a new tooling set for the
inner components.
In general for the third high-value ver-
sion, the OEMs add only light functions
such as the glare free high beam whereas
30
the common low beam and high beam
functions are usually similar.
In these cases, solutions are preferred
which avoid new tooling and an excessive
development effort. This is possible with
this type of modular approach described
here: While the high version uses multi-
functional beam, the mid-version could
use a bi-function module (low beam and
high beam) only. All the other elements,
such as complementary light module,
DRL, brackets, style bezels, etc. would
remain the same.
CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK
With this type of new multi-functional
module by Valeo, it is been demonstrated
in the new VW Passat that it is possible to
offer a differentiated appearance with a
sleek lens only 40 mm high, and at the
same time provide full high-performance
lighting with the Adaptive Driving Beam
(ADB) using the latest generation of LEDs.
Thanks to its concept of a rotating drum
activated by a stepper motor to create five
different beam patterns, the overall sys-
tem architecture is fully compatible with
what has previously been developed for
xenon bulbs. The development and inte-
gration into series production vehicle
applications is therefore easier and faster.
So one might imagine that such a mod-
ule could be deployed on several applica-
tions – with the same styling signature or
with slight updates. This sort of approach
to standardisation is key to providing
more technology at a reasonable cost,
while keeping a considerable degree of
flexibility in styling, and thereby giving
the designer considerable freedom.
For future evolutions of modular
approach for glare free high beam func-
tions, the engineers have several perspec-
tives in mind, such as power efficiency
improvement, size reduction for easier
integration, and new functionalities
thanks to new beam patterns.
REFERENCES
[1] Fleury, B.; Evrard, L.; Ravier, J.-P.; Reiss, B:
Expanded Functionality of Glare Free High Beam
Systems. In: ATZworldwide 114 (2012), No. 6, pp.
44-49
[2] Burkert, A.: Der Passat B8 fährt sich besser
bayerisch. In: http://www.springerprofessional.de/
der-passat-b8-faehrt-sich-besser-bayer-
isch/5393018.html of 22 October 2014
[3] Zydek, B.; Schiller, C.; Polin, D.; Khanh, T. Q.:
Evaluation of Headlamps with a Glare-free high
Beam Function. In: ATZworldwide 116 (2014), No.
6, pp. 46-51
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