IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,668,174
Granted Patent B2
US 12,668,174 · App. 18/711,701 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

Vehicle headlight

Inventors: Mitsuharu Mano (Shizuoka, JP); Toshiyuki Tsuchiya (Shizuoka, JP)
Assignee: KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
B60Q1/143H05B45/18H05B47/17B60Q2300/146
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,668,174
App. No.
18/711,701
Granted
Jun 30, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A vehicle headlight ( 1 ) includes: a second light source unit ( 40 ) that includes second light emitting units ( 43 ); an actuator ( 50 ) that adjusts a direction of light emitted from the second light source unit ( 40 ); and a controller (CO), in which the controller (CO) switches the second light emitting unit ( 43 ) that emits the light having the highest intensity to another second light emitting unit ( 43 ), and controls the actuator ( 50 ) to change a direction of second light emitted from the second light source unit ( 40 ) in such a way that a region ( 110 ) where the intensity of the light is highest in a light distribution pattern ( 103 ) after the switching approaches a region ( 110 ) where the intensity of the light is highest in the light distribution pattern ( 103 ) before the switching.

Claims (12)

1 . A vehicle headlight comprising:

a light source unit that includes a plurality of light emitting units that emit light for forming a light distribution pattern to a front of a vehicle;

an actuator that adjusts a direction of the light emitted from the light source unit; and

a controller,

wherein the controller switches the light emitting unit that emits the light having a highest intensity to another light emitting unit, and controls the actuator to change the direction of the light emitted from the light source unit in such a way that a region where the intensity of the light is highest in the light distribution pattern after the switching approaches a region where the intensity of the light is highest in the light distribution pattern before the switching.

2 . The vehicle headlight according to claim 1 , wherein

the controller switches the light emitting unit that emits the light having the highest intensity to another light emitting unit when performing temperature derating on the light source unit based on a temperature of the light source unit.

3 . The vehicle headlight according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein

the controller switches the light emitting unit that emits the light having the highest intensity to another light emitting unit that is located farther away from the light emitting unit as a temperature of the light source unit is higher.

4 . The vehicle headlight according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein

the plurality of light emitting units are arranged in a matrix, and

the light forms an additional light distribution pattern to be added to a low beam light distribution pattern to form a high beam light distribution pattern.