Koito develop and manufacture lighting systems and their components as light sources, actuators, and electric equipments. They produced their first Xenon headlamp system in 1996. In July 2004, they developed Mercury free Xenon headlamp system and started their mass-production first in the world.
Koito also develop the ballast (controller of Xenon lamp) for D2 and D4 Xenon lamps.
They just introduce a new generation Xenon headlamp system considering D2 and D4 Xenon light.
Indeed, they think D2 and D4 are preferable to D1 and D3 for the users because of less expensive cost for replacing Xenon lamp.
| TOYOTA Mark X, 1 st headlamp equipped with Koito 5 th generation ballast |
Now, Koito has developed and started the production of new 5th-generation ballast, which is integrated into the back cover. It is smaller and less expensive than the 4th generation ballast and is applicable not only for D4 but also D3 Xenon lamps. By integration of ballast into back cover Koito eliminated the existing back cover, and furthermore they eliminated the supply cable by connecting the power line directly to Xenon ballast.
4th generation |
5th generation |
| New concept of ballast packaging (thickness reduction=15mm) | |