WHAT IS AN AUTO DIPPER?

An Auto Dipper is a device capable of changing over the circuit of head light without the intervention of the driver given a particular set of objective road conditions. Its primary aim is to reduce the dazzle for the observer approaching ahead of the vehicle while ensuring that the user will not be put to inconvenience.

The basic function of an auto dipper is to maintain the head lamps in either driving beam or meeting beam automatically depending on the opposing traffic.

It has to bring into operation the driving beam if there is no oncoming vehicle. Necessarily this means the auto dipper must be immune to the signals from; street lamps, moonlight, road reflectance, solar radiation during the late dusk and early dawn.

It has to bring into operation the meeting beam from both headlights whenever an oncoming vehicle approaches to within about say 250 meters with its headlights in driving beam until the vehicle is about to pass. The auto dipper, after bringing into operation the dip beam, should logically be capable of continuing the operation of the headlights in dip beam, if the headlights of the oncoming vehicle were also shifted to the dip beam.

The ability is to restore the driving beam, when the oncoming vehicle approaches with its head lights in driving beam position during the safe stopping sight distance. This ability will result in increasing the luminance towards the objects in the visual field and will result in an improved visibility against a high background luminance. The above said ability will have its relevance and utility (even if one assumes that all the vehicles are equipped with an auto dipper) due to the following reasons:

1. A wrongly aligned meeting beam can sometimes cause as much dazzle as is caused by a driving beam.
2. The road geometry in a particular situation can be such that even a properly aligned meeting beam can cause disability glare.
3. The meeting beam's light distribution pattern can get totally disturbed if proper bulbs are not used.
4. The most important factor is that this ability will bring into operation an auto dipper fitted to an opposing vehicle at a longitudinal distance which is higher than the safe stopping sight distance, which ensures that both vehicles will pass in meeting beam during the safe stopping sight distance.

If the road is lit the visibility of the user will be aided by the road lighting and his dependence on the vehicle lighting system will be drastically reduced. Consequently when the automobile is traveling on a lit road the auto dipper can maintain the head lamps in dip beam. This functional behavior will also help the other road users like cyclists, rickshaws  and other non motorized traffic. In order to ensure the above the auto dipper should be provided with the capability to assess the road lighting status. The above ability of assessing the road lighting status will enable the auto dipper to change it's operational behavior automatically in accordance with the road lighting status.

In fact there is an inseparable inter-relationship between efforts in areas like uniform head light systems, restrictions on use of non-standardized headlight, alignment practices a properly designed dip beam etc to derive full advantage of auto dipping.

RAKSHA^® is designed based on the above conceptual framework and is believed to cater to the actual road conditions in a way convenient to the user and is expected to relieve him from the repetitive task of operating the dipper switch. The auto dipper is not to replace the human judgment but only to assist the user and the ultimate control is left with the user.

RAKSHA^® head lamp relay based on a new SOLID STATE technology offering a host of features.

RAKSHA^® Head Lamp Relay comes with a special sold state switching mechanism to offer easy method of installation in any four wheeler. It also offers the following additional protective features which are unique.

1. Built in Automatic trip and automatic reset for Short Circuit, Over Load, Over Temperature and Over Voltage.

2. Fuse Free protection.

3. Automatic  beam failure detection and auto shift to the available beam.

4. Universal model suitable for 12 and 24 volt systems.

5. Universal model suitable for Low Side and High Side switching systems.

6. Universal model suitable to work with RAKSHA^® auto dipper.