Lear Touts LED Control Systems

Lear Corp., best known for seating systems, is expanding into electronic controls for interior and exterior LED lighting systems. The company presented its technology at the WardsAuto Interior Conference in Detroit last week.

Gerhard Fleischmann, engineering director for global lighting, tells AutoTech Daily that Lear market research indicates two-thirds of the world's car buyers like the ability to personalize the interior lighting for their vehicles' instrument panel, center console and storage compartments. He says China shows the strongest interest in the option and Japan the least.

Lear has developed LED lighting systems that combine three independent beams, each with variable intensity a feature that enables adjustable color and brightness. The Lear system in the 2012 BMW Mini, which is used to illuminate door handles, door storage compartments and the IP, can generate 10 colors. Lear also supplies variable color/intensity LED system for the Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class large sedans.

The company develops software as well as the electronic controls for such systems. Fleischmann says LED systems Lear is developing for the 2015 model year will integrate a local interconnect network bus, control and brightness functions.

Lear doesn't make LEDs. But the company is working on control systems for organic LEDs, which can be applied as a film to produce a soft glow across an entire surface.

Lear also makes exterior LED systems, including a headlamp constructed of 100 LEDs. The array can be adjusted to alter the light beam pattern. When coupled with a video camera to detect traffic, it can automatically cut off the portion of the beam that shines at the oncoming vehicle without affecting the intensity of the remaining beam.