• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.369-375
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• 2019

This paper presents a new method on how to calculate the thrust forces acting on an auto-leveling device in headlamps for passenger vehicles. The leveling device is used to lower the angle of lights when a load in the trunk of the vehicle lifts it. In the process of the headlamp design, it is imperative to predict the external forces so that the designers can decide whether to proceed or not. The device is composed of three pivot joints with no reaction moment, a plate that holds the lamp, and a leveling motor that changes rotation to linear motion. In this study, force balance, moment balance, and geometric compatibility are applied to the leveling device system so that a nonlinear system of equations can be derived; the multi-dimensional Newton-Raphson algorithm is then used to solve these. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to verify which design variables affect the system the most: the mass of the lamp and the height between the pivot and leveling device affect the thrust forces the most. Then, considering the friction forces between the moving parts, the hysteresis of the forces are derived. An experimental apparatus, designed and developed in this study, is used to verify the exactness of the derived equations. The results from experiments coincide well with the calculated results. The friction hysteresis, in particular, proves this upon analysis.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1404-1411
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• 2002

A newly developed high intensity discharge (HID) automotive headlamp results in a high luminous gradient at the cutoff line, and proves the superior concept in safer and more com-fortable nighttime driving. This new headlamp technology Provides drivers expanded night vision by a significantly improved light pattern. However, the HID headlamp may dazzle other traffics during traversing a rough road or encountering an unexpected bump. To resolve this problem, an automatic headlamp leveling device is necessary. A preview control is presented for the design of the leveling system. The proposed control algorithm is capable of attenuating a dynamic glare which is one of the major detractors to a driving in dark roads. Computer simulations using ADAMS are carried out to confirm the effectiveness on the control system.