Visteon – a Leader in Innovative Lighting Technologies
Visteon, an innovative supplier of front and rear lighting technologies, has a broad range of products within its portfolio. From LED Front Lighting and Rear Combination Lamps to Advanced Front Lighting Systems and High Intensity Discharge (HID)/Xenon Projector Headlamps, Visteon has exterior lighting products to fit almost any vehicle platform.
LEDs – 'lighting the way'
It's no secret that light emitting-diode (LED) technology is the preferred choice for long-life applications where efficiency, durability, space constraints and style are priorities. LEDs are in use everywhere – from traffic signals, to surgical lamps, to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., where 17,000 LEDs illuminate the interior of the monument.
Visteon is at the forefront in using LEDs in automotive lighting applications. As an early adopter of LED technology for external light sources, Visteon looked to LED technology as a front lighting solution after recent gains in lumen output made white LED lighting sources feasible. Visteon's advances in this area proved to automakers how LED lights can be configured to provide never-before-seen style – peaking interest in those looking to differentiate their vehicles.
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LED “white” front lights will provide high-performance and never-before-seen styling flexibility that makes a vehicle stand out, night or day. |
Technology Challenges
While LEDs have made their way onto the vehicle in rear lighting applications, moving them to the front is a different ballgame. A new approach to the opto-mechanical system, including unique optics and a new method of source placement, is needed to direct the white light into a legal beam pattern. In addition, LEDs need to be thermally managed for heat dissipation, withstand engine-compartment temperatures and also require precise electronic current control over their operating range. Visteon has addressed these challenges and proven the viability of the technology with its LED Front Lighting solutions.
How LED Front Lighting Works
An LED is a compact, solid-state semiconductor device that converts electrical energy into light. The LED elements are associated with specialized optics to create a beam pattern for high beam, low beam, daytime running or fog lamps that meet federal requirements. While LED Front Lighting can be customized to complement traditional Halogen or High Intensity Discharge (HID)/Xenon lighting, Visteon has demonstrated LED Front Lighting technology comprised entirely of LED light sources.
Scaleable Performance
With LED-based systems, automakers can adapt operating conditions and change the number of LEDs to gain scaleable illumination output.
Packaging Improvements
LED-based headlamps are up to 55-percent thinner than their non-LED counterparts. This frees up valuable space in the engine compartment or in the grille to add styling options.
Reduces Power Consumption and Long Lasting
Depending on configuration, LED-based front lighting sources require up to 40-percent less power than traditional lighting sources. This allows automakers to apply the saved energy to other comfort or safety features. Unlike some HID/Xenon systems, LEDs are a Mercury-free technology, making them an environmentally friendly, high-efficiency light source. And LED has a source life of more than 10,000 hours, meaning the headlamps can outlive the life of the vehicle.
Revolutionary Design Flexibility
It's true that other lighting systems offer a degree of styling flexibility, but Visteon's LED Front Lighting Systems may very well revolutionize the way designers think about front headlamp design. Arrayed LEDs not only look unique, their flexibility may eventually help designers "break out of the box" of the traditional, two-headlamp front-end design approach. For example, since LED front lamps do not require a single packaging unit – or “capsule" – designers could potentially conceal the lights in the grille design so that no lighting source is recognizable during daylight hours. Unlike HID/Xenon lamps, LED-based front lamps can be distinctive by design, creating a unique appearance during either day or night. Because they are much thinner than traditional headlamps packages, designers have much more flexibility to design increasingly dramatic overall front-end styling.
Additional Information
Product Specifications -
Light Emitting Diode (LED) Front Lighting
Product Specifications -
Light Emitting Diode (LED) CHMSL
Feature Story - Styling Strength Leads to Lighting Innovations