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AUTO DIPPER
Improper lighting
arrangements on road in many of the developing countries like India coupled
with the low sensitivity of human eyes and brain cause difficulty in driving at
night. Bad driving habits and infrequent use of beam shifting/signals further
exaggerates this problem and often remains the main reason for fatal road
accidents at night particularly on highways. Auto Dipper, a device or system,
designed and developed by a private sector industry after successful trials and
experiments to overcome this common problem for driving at night on highways.
The system consists of one sensor to measure the intensity of light and an
electronic circuit to control the shifting switch of the beam light. Main
functions of the device are: (I) headlight beam shifting (high/low beam) after
sensing the light of vehicle approaching from opposite direction; (ii) Giving
stay on left (i.e. Don’t overtake) signal to the vehicle following.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE:
The size of the device is about 2.5 inches cube and can be fitted in any existing vehicle within half an hour only. Auto dipper box can be installed anywhere near steering as per convenience so that "ON-OFF" switch on auto dipper box can be used easily. Sensor Eye is mounted near wiser position near the top edge of wind screen (inside the car) such that it receives the light of the approaching vehicle in proper position. Sensor position can be adjusted slightly by bending the sensor support. The device gets activated only when headlights are in "on" position.
For truck & buses,
Sensor Eye can be placed on lower side of wind shield inside close to the right
hand of driver and for car and jeep etc. the Sensor Eye can be placed using the
Sun wiser support screws.
The device can be operated
with the existing 12 volts battery of the vehicle.
FUNCTIONS
·
Auto
Dipper keeps the head light in "High" beam if there is no vehicle
from opposite direction.
·
While
crossing, first momentry dip is given by the vehicle fitted with the auto
dipper automatically when the two vehicles are at a distance of about 120
meters. Low beam continues till distance between the two is reduced to about 90
meters than this vehicle shifts to "High" beam, which continues till
the two vehicles are 30 meters apart. Now the vehicle fitted with auto dipper
automatically shift to "Low" beam and continues in the
"Low" beam till the two vehicles cross each other.
TESTS & RELIABILITY
The auto dippers developed
were fitted in Swaraj Mazda vehicle by M/s.Punjab Tractors Limited, Mohali and
in Gypsy and 407 Tata vehicle by Border Security Force for test and trial. Both
the firms have recommended the product for use on long distance travel at
night. About 1000 (thousand) pieces have been fabricated and installed in
various vehicles for test purposes. No adverse report has been received. All
the devices are working satisfactorily.
Large number of the tests
have been conducted on the device to study its on-road behaviour. Tests were
carried out taking different speeds of vehicles as relative speeds between two
vehicles is of prime importance.
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE PRODUCT:
|
Voltage |
: |
12 Volts |
|
Contact Current |
: |
20 Amps |
|
Device Wattage |
: |
1 watt |
|
Sensitivity range |
: |
(Adjustable from 0.5 lux to infinity) |
|
Auto dipper can be used for vehicle with headlight. |
: |
rating upto 250 watts. |
RAW-MATERIALS/COMPONENTS REQUIRED
FOR FABRICATION
Plastic box, OEN relay,
printed circuit board, optical sensor, reflecting surface, couplers, resistors,
integrated circuits, diodes, capacitors. All the components are easily
available in the market. Cost of total raw-material and components : Rs.170/-.
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR
FABRICATION
Plastic injection moulding
machine, p.c.b. components mounting machine, soldering iron, metallising
equipment.
TESTING EQUIPMENT:
Adjustable lux meters, testing
tunnel/dark room, variable voltage upto 30 volts d.c., variable current supply
30 Amps d.c.
Status of Technology : The
know-how has been licensed to two parties in India.
NRDC
National
Research Development Corporation, a Government of India Enterprise, is a
premier technology transfer Corporation with four decades of experience. It has
helped establish over one thousand projects in the small and medium scale
sector. The supply of technologies and services to entrepreneurs extend both in
the developing and developed countries like USA, Germany, Malaysia , Myanmar ,
Nepal, Senegal, Madagascar, Indonesia Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka etc
Services offered by NRDC
- Process know-how
- Pre-investment studies
- Feasibility / project reports
- Detailed engineering
- Turn key projects
- Equity capital participation
- Training in operation of plants
- Raw materials and products testing
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