Search Results

The primary purpose of vehicle forward lighting is not to see the world but to see the road! In their simplest form, headlights help drivers negotiate a safe path on the road. They do this by lighting the roadway according to (a multitude of) specific standards. For decades, discussions concerning the niceties of illuminating potential obstacles in the roadway were little more than an academic pursuit as there simply were not sufficient lumens available from filament light sources to achieve all of the desired tasks no matter how worthy they might be. Not unexpectedly, the technology has evolved with the introduction of high output metal-halide sources, multi-task standards combined with multilevel lighting devices and discrete LED sources offering high luminous efficiencies and the means to deliver the light where it can be most useful. The question now becomes one of determining where the available light should be directed.

The primary purpose of vehicle forward lighting is not to see the world but to see the road! In their simplest form, headlights help drivers negotiate a safe path on the road. They do this by lighting the roadway according to (a multitude of) specific standards. For decades, discussions concerning the niceties of illuminating potential obstacles in the roadway were little more than an academic pursuit as there simply were not sufficient lumens available from filament light sources to achieve all of the desired tasks no matter how worthy they might be. Not unexpectedly, the technology has evolved with the introduction of high output metal-halide sources, multi-task standards combined with multilevel lighting devices and discrete LED sources offering high luminous efficiencies and the means to deliver the light where it can be most useful. The question now becomes one of determining where the available light should be directed.

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to motor vehicle Forward Illumination Devices which incorporate limited adaptive beam pattern capabilities. This document is to be used in conjunction with other forward lighting standards and/or recommended practices which define the base beam procedures, requirements, and guidelines.

Headlamps should illuminate the traffic scene ahead of the vehicle in such a way that the driver can operate the vehicle safely and in a relaxed manner. At the same time, negative effects on drivers of other vehicles, pedestrians and other people should be minimized. Various technical parameters such as beam pattern, mounting height, headlamp aiming, and source spectrum can be tuned to find the necessary compromise. The physiology of the vision system under specific night time conditions strongly influences these factors and how headlamps can be best optimized for visibility and comfort. The SAE Improved Roadway Illumination task force collected and reviewed relevant research on these topics. This document is a comprehensive summary of this information. The goal is to enable lighting experts, advocacy groups, and non-experts (journalists, consumer organizations, car drivers) to better understand the benefits and tradeoffs of improved roadway lighting with modern headlamp technology.

Headlamps should illuminate the traffic scene ahead of the vehicle in such a way that the driver can operate the vehicle safely and in a relaxed manner. At the same time, negative effects on drivers of other vehicles, pedestrians and other people should be minimized. Various technical parameters such as beam pattern, mounting height, headlamp aiming, and source spectrum can be tuned to find the necessary compromise. The physiology of the vision system under specific night time conditions strongly influences these factors and how headlamps can be best optimized for visibility and comfort. The SAE Improved Roadway Illumination task force collected and reviewed relevant research on these topics. This document is a comprehensive summary of this information. The goal is to enable lighting experts, advocacy groups, and non-experts (journalists, consumer organizations, car drivers) to better understand the benefits and tradeoffs of improved roadway lighting with modern headlamp technology.

The Mounting Height Task Force was tasked to determine the extent of the problem(s) associated with vehicle headlamps mounted at or above the level of the mirror(s) in passenger vehicles; the level of glare exposure caused by high-mounted headlamps; the appropriate height differential needed to maintain a glare level consistent with past and/or current passenger vehicle headlamp mounting; and the necessary headlamp mounting height necessary to control mirror glare at an accepted/acceptable level. The report herein addresses these passenger vehicle mounting height issues.

The Mounting Height Task Force was tasked to determine the extent of the problem(s) associated with vehicle headlamps mounted at or above the level of the mirror(s) in passenger vehicles; the level of glare exposure caused by high-mounted headlamps; the appropriate height differential needed to maintain a glare level consistent with past and/or current passenger vehicle headlamp mounting; and the necessary headlamp mounting height necessary to control mirror glare at an accepted/acceptable level. The report herein addresses these passenger vehicle mounting height issues.

This SAE Information Report should be used as a supplement to SAE J1383 (Reference 2.1.1). It is intended to provide additional information which is important to the automotive designer and engineer in the process of designing, developing, and engineering the headlamps of motor vehicles which will take into account the effects of the aging process on the driver.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides headlamp beam pattern test points for harmonized low and high beam headlamp beam patterns that incorporate elements of European, Asian, and U.S. photometric tables. These photometric tables are optional to those found in SAE J1383.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides headlamp beam pattern test points for harmonized low and high beam headlamp beam patterns that incorporate elements of European, Asian, and U.S. photometric tables. These photometric tables are optional to those found in SAE J1383.

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to motor vehicle Distributed Lighting Systems (DLS) which use light generated by remote sources. It provides test methods, requirements, and guidelines applicable to these systems. This document is intended to be a guide to standard practice and is subject to change dependent upon additional experience and technical advances. This document covers Headlamp, Fog lamp, Auxiliary lamp, plus Signal and Marking lamp functions.

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to motor vehicle forward illumination systems and subsystems generated by discharge sources. It provides test methods, requirements, and guidelines applicable to the special characteristics of gaseous discharge lighting devices which supplement those required for forward illumination systems using incandescent light sources. The document is applicable to both discharge forward lighting systems, subsystems and components. This document is intended to be a guide to standard practice and is subject to change to reflect additional experience and technical advances.

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to motor vehicle forward illumination systems and subsystems generated by discharge sources. It provides test methods, requirements, and guidelines applicable to the special characteristics of gaseous discharge lighting devices which supplement those required for forward illumination systems using incandescent light sources. The document is applicable to both discharge forward lighting systems, subsystems and components. This document is intended to be a guide to standard practice and is subject to change to reflect additional experience and technical advances.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for the 41/2 and 53/4 inch general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for the 41/2 and 53/4 inch general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for the 114mm (4½ inch) and 146mm (5¾ inch) general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Recommended Practice provides dimensional specifications for general service sealed lighting units, intended for use in such applications as motorcycle headlamps, military headlamps, industrial machinery headlamps, fog lamps, spot lamps, etc. See Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 1 and 2.

This SAE Standard provides test procedures, performance requirements and guidelines for auxiliary high beam lamps.