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AT 17503 – Automotive
Electrical and Electronics
SESSION 16
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Recap of session 15
Lightning circuit
Interior & exterior
Gas discharge lamp
Xenon lamps
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LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows
through it.
Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons.
The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is determined by the energy
required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor.
White light is obtained by using multiple semiconductors or a layer of light-emitting phosphor on the
semiconductor device.
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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.
LEDs are more expensive than bulbs but the potential savings in design costs due to sealed units
being used and the greater freedom of design could outweigh the extra expense.
A further advantage is that they turn on quicker than ordinary bulbs.
This ‘turn-on’ time is important; the times are about 130 ms for the LEDs, and 200 ms for bulbs.
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Headlight reflectors
Light from a source, such as the fi lament 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.
The objective of the headlight reflector is to direct the random light rays produced by the
bulb into a beam of concentrated light by applying the laws of reflection.
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Bulb filament position relative to the reflector is important, if the desired beam direction
and shape are to be obtained. 8
First, the light source (the light filament) is at the focal point, so the reflected beam will
be parallel to the principal axis.
If the fi lament is between the focal point and the reflector, the reflected beam will
diverge – that is, spread outwards along the principal axis.
Alternatively, if the fi lament is positioned in front of the focal point the reflected beam
will converge towards the principal axis.
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A reflector is basically a layer of silver, chrome or aluminium deposited on a smooth and
polished surface such as brass or glass. 9
Consider a mirror reflector that ‘caves in’ – this is called a concave reflector. The centre
point on the reflector is called the pole, and a line drawn perpendicular to the surface from
the pole is known as the principal axis.
If a light source is moved along this line, a point will be found where the radiating light
produces a reflected beam parallel to the principal axis.
This point is known as the focal point, and its distance from the pole is known as the focal
length.
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Parabolic reflector
Parabolic reflector 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.
The intensity of reflected light is strongest near the beam axis,
except for light cut-off by the bulb itself.
The intensity drops off towards the outer edges of the beam.
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Bifocal reflector
The bifocal reflector 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.
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Homifocal reflector
A homifocal reflector 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.
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Poly-ellipsoidal headlight system (PES)
It allows the light produced to be as good, or in
some cases better than conventional lights, but with
a light-opening area of less than 30 cm2.
This is achieved by using a CAD designed elliptical
reflector and projection optics.
A shield is used to ensure a suitable beam pattern.
This can be for a clearly defined cut-off line or even
an intentional lack of sharpness.
These lights are only used with single filament bulbs
and must form part of a four-headlamp system.
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End of Session 16
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