CPC F21S 41/645 (2018.01) [B60Q 1/1423 (2013.01); F21S 41/25 (2018.01); F21W 2107/10 (2018.01)] | 8 Claims |
1. A vehicle lighting system comprising:
a lamp unit disposed in a front section of a vehicle; and
a control unit that controls the operation of the lamp unit;
wherein the lamp unit comprises:
a light source that is controlled by the control unit and emits light;
a liquid crystal element that is controlled by the control unit and uses the light emitted from the light source to form irradiation light; and
a lens that projects a periphery of the vehicle the irradiation light formed by the liquid crystal element;
wherein the light emitted from the light source is made incident to the liquid crystal element at a wide angle including a component in a direction inclined from the normal of a light incident surface of the liquid crystal element;
wherein the light incident surface has at least a first region and a second region, the first region receives more light incident from a direction along a viewing direction of the liquid crystal element than light incident from a direction not along the viewing direction of the liquid crystal element, and the second region receives more of the light incident from the direction not along the viewing direction of the liquid crystal element than the light incident from the direction along the viewing direction of the liquid crystal element; and
wherein the control unit drives the liquid crystal element by setting a first voltage of the first region and a second voltage of the second region such that the first voltage is lower than the second voltage.
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