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Surprise: computer pioneer devised partial high beam for cars – decades ago

Surprise: computer pioneer devised partial high beam for cars – decades ago

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By Christoph Hammerschmidt



Konrad who? One is tempted to ask. In fact, Konrad Zuse is one of the inventors of the digital computer. During WWII, Zuse developed and built what is known as the world’s first programmable computer. The machine, baptized Z3, utilized relays instead of electronic switches and thus was not very fast, but it was entirely program-controlled. Likewise, Zuse developed a high-level programming language for its machine. Unlike the computers more or less concurrently developed in Great Britain and the United States, the Z3 was not designed for military purposes but to offload the engineer from boring routine calculations. After the war, Zuse launched a company dedicated to build computers, with moderate success: After having completed 257 computers, he sold his company to Siemens.

Apparently Zuse’s genius was not restricted to the world of digital computers. In 1958 he filed a patent that can be regarded as the precursor of today’s partial high beam headlights. The title, “Fotoelektrisch durch Gegenlicht steuerbare Beleuchtungseinrichtung”, or “Lighting system that can be controlled by means of photoelectric devices through backlight” suggests that the invention would well suit automotive applications. Its intention was illuminating the road in the best possible way without dazzling oncoming traffic. Zuse partitioned the light field ahead into six segments that were illuminated by the same number of light sources; any of these sources could be dimmed if a photoelectric sensor detected oncoming traffic. “This was pretty much the same idea we had when we started developing our first concepts for partrial light systems”, explains Jörg Moisel, head of Light Technologies for carmaker Daimler. However, with the technology available at the time, a practicable implementation was not possible; the light bulbs in use in automotive headlamps simply were too voluminous. Thus, patent number 1190413 has been prey to the faint of oblivion. Until the German patent office recently digitized its archives, that is.

When the patent was re-discovered recently, Daimler already had introduced its own development. “We started in 2002, initially using xenon lamps and mechanical apertures”, Moisel said. “But the real breakthrough was only possible with the introduction of the LED”. In today’s high-end models, up to 84 LEDs are combined to illuminate the same number of segments, and a microprocessor controls the dimming process within milliseconds.

The discovery of the old patent has no legal consequences for Daimler; the patent has been expired many years ago. Nevertheless, “we were amazed to see that Zuse was half a century ahead with his ideas”, a Daimler spokesperson said. Now the carmaker is in talks with the Konrad Zuse Gesellschaft who runs a museum dedicated to the inventor; Daimler plans to add some new highlights to the museum’s exhibits. 

 

More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Zuse

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