Automatic switching method and system for high beam and low beam of vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic switching method and system for a high beam and a low beam of a vehicle, and belongs to the field of vehicle light control. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring information such as global illuminance lux and illuminance callux of an upper half area of a current vehicle, a windscreen wiper gear, a fog lamp state, a light control gear, a vehicle speed and a steering wheel angle; and according to the obtained information, whether the vehicle meets various preset switching conditions of the high beam and the low beam when the vehicle is in the low beam or the high beam is in the high beam is judged, and when the conditions are met, switching of the high beam and the low beam is automatically achieved. According to the method, automatic switching of the high beam and the low beam is optimized in a multi-scene and omnibearing mode, the method is closer to the use expectation of a driver, and meanwhile other road users are prevented from being affected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of vehicle lighting control, and in particular relates to a method and system for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Although the existing automatic switching system for high and low beams can basically meet the needs of intelligent switching and reduce the operational burden of manual switching for the driver to a certain extent, it still has many shortcomings, affecting the driver's field of vision for oncoming vehicles, vehicles without lights on or passing vertically, posing a safety hazard to the driving safety of both parties; or causing trouble to pedestrians on the roadside with sparse street lights.

[0003] The existing high and low beam automatic switching system has the following main defects:

[0004] 1. It is not possible to achieve the effect of switching from high beam to low beam quickly (to avoid dazzling oncoming vehicles when meeting) and switching from low beam to high beam slowly (to avoid frequent switching between high beam and low beam resulting in continuous flashing).

[0005] 2. The speed threshold for turning on high beam is high, and it is difficult to turn on high beam when driving on mountain roads.

[0006] 3. Not suppressing the high beam in heavy rain (wiper gear at high speed) or foggy weather (fog lights on), causing the driver to be dazzled by the reflected high beam.

[0007] 4. The change of lighting status is not suppressed when the steering wheel is turned at a large angle, resulting in flashing lights at sharp turns, which in turn affects the vision of oncoming drivers.

[0008] 5. Only the vehicle lights and illumination are used as the judgment conditions, while point light sources (such as street lights) and whether the vehicles on the road are moving are not used as the judgment conditions. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present invention aims to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and proposes a method and system for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle, the method comprising: obtaining the global illuminance lux of the current vehicle and the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle;

[0011] When the vehicle is in low beam, if it is detected that lux is less than the first global illumination threshold or cal_lux is less than the first upper illumination threshold, it is determined whether, in the first continuous time thereafter, lux is always less than or equal to the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is less than or equal to the second upper illumination threshold. If so, the vehicle is allowed to switch from low beam to high beam.

[0012] When the vehicle is in high beam, if it is detected that lux is greater than the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than the second upper half illumination threshold, it is determined whether, in the second continuous time thereafter, lux is always greater than or equal to the first global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than or equal to the first upper half illumination threshold. If so, the vehicle switches the high beam to the low beam.

[0013] The first global illumination threshold is smaller than the second global illumination threshold, and the first upper half illumination threshold is smaller than the second upper half illumination threshold.

[0014] Preferably, before switching between high and low beams, the method also includes making further judgments based on the steering wheel angle, that is: if the steering wheel angle is greater than or equal to a preset angle threshold, the vehicle maintains the current lighting state unchanged; if the steering wheel angle is less than the preset angle threshold, switching between high and low beams is allowed.

[0015] Preferably, the method further includes: identifying whether there is a moving vehicle in front of the current vehicle through a vehicle front-view camera, and if so, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

[0016] Preferably, the method also includes: identifying through a vehicle front-view camera whether there is a point light source in front of the current vehicle, the point light source including a street lamp; if there is a point light source, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam.

[0017] Preferably, the method further includes: determining whether a soft switch of the vehicle's intelligent high beam control system IHBC is turned on; if not, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

[0018] Preferably, the method further includes: determining whether the light control gear is not in the AUTO gear, and if it is not in the AUTO gear, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

[0019] Preferably, the method further comprises: determining whether the wiper is in a high gear, and if so, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

[0020] Preferably, the method further includes: determining whether the vehicle fog lights are turned on, and if turned on, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

[0021] Preferably, the method also includes: if the current vehicle speed is less than a preset high beam off speed threshold, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam; if the current vehicle speed is greater than a preset high beam on speed threshold, the vehicle is allowed to switch from low beam to high beam.

[0022] At the same time, the present application proposes a system for automatically switching between high and low beam headlights of a vehicle. The system is constructed according to the above-mentioned method for automatically switching between high and low beam headlights of a vehicle, and includes a body controller BCM, a front-view camera, an electric power steering system EPS, and a body electronic stability system ESP. The front-view camera is respectively connected to the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP, and is used to send a high and low beam switching request to the body controller BCM based on the vehicle data sent by the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP, as well as the light intensity data and external environment images collected by itself.

[0023] The technical effect of the present invention is: the present invention optimizes the automatic switching of high and low beam headlights in multiple scenarios and in an all-round manner, which is closer to the driver's usage expectations and avoids affecting other road users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 A structural diagram of an automatic switching system for vehicle high and low beam lights provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following is a further detailed description of the specific implementation of the present invention through the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, the purpose of which is to help those skilled in the art have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention, and to facilitate its implementation. It should be noted that the words "first", "second" and the like described in this application are only for the convenience of describing the technical solution to distinguish different components, and are not used to limit this application. In order to make the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the present invention is explained through the following embodiments.

[0027] This embodiment provides a method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle, and its flow chart is as follows: Figure 1As shown. Most basically, the method of this embodiment includes: obtaining the global illuminance lux of the current vehicle and the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle. In the present application, the global illuminance lux of the vehicle refers to the total illuminance of light from all directions received by the front part of the vehicle; the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle refers to the total illuminance of light from all directions received by the upper half of the front of the vehicle (generally with the joint between the front windshield and the front of the vehicle as the upper and lower dividing line). In the present embodiment, the global illuminance lux of the vehicle and the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle can be obtained by brightness analysis of the image collected by the vehicle's front-view camera. Of course, in other preferred embodiments of the present application, a light intensity sensor such as a photoresistor can also be provided to obtain the global illuminance lux of the vehicle and the illuminance of the upper half of the vehicle.

[0028] A high-beam and low-beam switching condition of this embodiment includes: when the low beam is on, if it is detected that lux is less than the first global illumination threshold or cal_lux is less than the first upper half illumination threshold, then it is determined whether in the first continuous time thereafter: lux is less than or equal to the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is less than or equal to the second upper half illumination threshold, if so, the vehicle is allowed to switch from the low beam to the high beam;

[0029] When the vehicle is in high beam, if it is detected that lux is greater than the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than the second upper half illumination threshold, it is determined whether, in the second continuous time thereafter, lux is always greater than or equal to the first global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than or equal to the first upper half illumination threshold. If so, the vehicle switches the high beam to the low beam.

[0030] The first global illumination threshold is smaller than the second global illumination threshold, and the first upper half illumination threshold is smaller than the second upper half illumination threshold.

[0031] In this embodiment, the first global illumination threshold is set to 8lx, the second global illumination threshold is set to 15lx; the first upper half illumination threshold is set to 1.5lx, and the second upper half illumination threshold is set to 3.5lx. In other preferred embodiments of the present application, each threshold can be flexibly set according to actual conditions.

[0032] In this embodiment, the duration of switching from low beam to high beam and from high beam to low beam is made into two independent parameters, namely the first continuous time and the second continuous time. Among them, the first continuous time of this embodiment is 2 seconds, and the second continuous time is 0.1 seconds, that is, the high beam is turned off quickly and turned on slowly. This can avoid the high beam being turned off slowly when meeting other vehicles and causing them to be dazzled by the oncoming vehicles.

[0033] In addition, before switching between high and low beams, the method of this embodiment further includes making a judgment based on the steering wheel angle, that is, if the steering wheel angle is greater than or equal to the preset angle threshold, the vehicle maintains the current lighting state unchanged; if the steering wheel angle is less than the preset angle threshold, the high and low beams are allowed to switch. The angle threshold of this embodiment is preset to 50 degrees, that is, when the steering wheel angle is greater than or equal to 50 degrees, regardless of whether the vehicle meets other high and low beam switching conditions, the current lighting state is always maintained unchanged to avoid flashing lights at sharp turns (especially on mountain roads), thereby affecting the vision of oncoming drivers and causing safety hazards.

[0034] In addition, the switching of the high and low beam lights provided by the method of this embodiment also includes:

[0035] The vehicle's front-view camera is used to identify whether there is a moving vehicle in front of the current vehicle. If so, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam. The moving vehicles in front of the vehicle usually include vehicles traveling in the same direction as the current vehicle, vehicles traveling in the opposite direction of the current vehicle, and vehicles traveling in a direction perpendicular to the current vehicle's direction. In the actual driving process, in order to avoid the glare and other effects that may be caused by turning on the high beam, the high beam is suppressed as long as there is a moving vehicle in front of the vehicle.

[0036] The vehicle's front-view camera is used to identify whether there is a point light source in front of the current vehicle, such as a street light. If there is a point light source, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam. Taking street lights as an example, their design purpose is to provide sufficient lighting so that drivers can clearly see the road, pedestrians and other vehicles when driving at night. In the case of street lights, the street lights already provide enough light, so there is no need to use high beams, and at the same time, it can avoid interfering with other vehicles with their own high beams.

[0037] Determine whether the soft switch of the vehicle's intelligent high beam control system IHBC is turned on. If not, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switch the vehicle from high beam to low beam. Existing vehicles have all achieved intelligent innovation. On most vehicles, the intelligent high beam control system IHBC has become standard. When the IHBC soft switch is not turned on, the user can only manually switch between high and low beams. Therefore, in order to achieve automatic switching of high and low beams, it is necessary to ensure that the IHBC soft switch is turned on.

[0038] Determine whether the light control gear is not in the AUTO gear. If it is not in the AUTO gear, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam. Similar to the opening of the IHBC soft switch, the high and low beam automatic switching function can only be turned on when the light control gear is in the AUTO gear, that is, automatic gear.

[0039] Determine whether the wiper is in high gear. If it is in high gear, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam. Specifically, the acquisition frame rate of the forward-looking camera is used as a reference to obtain the wiper gear information for 5 consecutive frames. If the wiper is in high gear within 5 consecutive frames, it is considered that the wiper is in high gear. The wiper gear information can be obtained through the body controller BCM.

[0040] Determine whether the vehicle's fog lights are on. If they are on, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam. Similarly, with the acquisition frame rate of the forward-looking camera as a reference, 5 consecutive frames of fog light status information can be obtained. If the fog lights are on in 5 consecutive frames, it is determined that the vehicle's fog lights are on. The fog light status information can also be obtained through the body controller BCM. When the wiper is in high gear or the fog lights are on, it means that the vehicle is in a harsh environment such as heavy rain or fog. In this environment, suppressing the opening of the high beam can avoid the driver's line of sight interference caused by the diffuse reflection of the high beam, thereby ensuring driving safety.

[0041] The high-beam or low-beam switch is judged based on the current speed of the vehicle, that is, if the current speed is less than the preset high-beam switch-off speed threshold, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam; if the current speed is greater than the preset high-beam switch-on speed threshold, the vehicle is allowed to switch from low beam to high beam. In this embodiment, the high-beam switch-on speed threshold commonly used in the industry is lowered from 40km / h to 25km / h; the high-beam switch-off speed threshold commonly used in the industry is simultaneously lowered from 20km / h to 15km / h. A lower threshold means improving the sensitivity or responsiveness of the high-beam switch-off, so that the high beam can be turned on or off in time, especially on roads that require low-speed driving, such as mountain roads, and the use of high beam can also be achieved, ensuring the safety of the driver.

[0042] In summary, when the steering wheel angle is less than 50, the vehicle in high beam mode will switch to low beam when any of the following conditions are met: the vehicle speed is less than 15km / h; there is a moving vehicle or point light source in front of the vehicle; the IHBC soft switch is turned off; the lights are not in AUTO gear; the wipers are in high gear; the fog lights are on; after lux>15lx and cal_lux>3.5lx, within 0.1s continuously: lux≥8lx and cal_lux≥1.5lx.

[0043] When the steering wheel angle is less than 50, the vehicle in low beam mode can switch from low beam to high beam only when all the following conditions are met at the same time: vehicle speed is greater than 25km / h; there are no moving vehicles and point light sources in front of the vehicle; IHBC soft switch is turned on; lights are in AUTO gear; wipers are not in high gear; fog lights are turned off; after lux<8lx or cal_lux<1.5lx, within 2 consecutive seconds: lux≤15lx and cal_lux≤3.5lx.

[0044] At the same time, this embodiment also constructs an automatic switching system for vehicle high and low beam lights according to the above-mentioned method for automatically switching vehicle high and low beam lights, such as Figure 2 As shown, the system includes a body controller BCM, a front-view camera (usually a monocular), an electric power steering system EPS, and a body electronic stability system ESP, wherein the front-view camera is respectively connected to the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP.

[0045] The electric power steering system EPS is used to obtain the steering wheel angle and send it to the front camera.

[0046] The electronic stability system ESP is used to obtain the current vehicle speed and send it to the front camera.

[0047] The body controller BCM is used to obtain the vehicle's fog lamp status, wiper gear, IHBC soft switch status, light control gear and other information and send it to the front camera. At the same time, it responds to the front camera's high and low beam switching request.

[0048] The front-view camera includes a perception SOC chip and a regulation and control MCU chip. The perception SOC chip is used to obtain vehicle data sent by the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP, as well as the light intensity data and external environment images collected by itself, and to make a judgment on the switching of high and low beam lights. The judgment result is reflected in the perception high beam flag and sent to the regulation and control MCU chip; the regulation and control MCU chip is used to sense the value of the high beam flag and send a high and low beam switching request to the body controller BCM.

[0049] The present invention first obtains the global illuminance lux of the current vehicle, the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle, the wiper gear, the fog lamp status, the light control gear, the vehicle speed, the steering wheel angle and other information; through the obtained information, it is determined whether the vehicle meets the preset switching conditions of various high and low beams when it is in low beam or high beam, and automatically switches the high and low beams when the conditions are met. The present invention optimizes the automatic switching of high and low beams in multiple scenarios and in all directions, which is closer to the driver's usage expectations and avoids affecting other road users.

[0050] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned methods. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention; or the above concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle, characterized in that: The method comprises: obtaining the global illuminance lux of the current vehicle and the illuminance cal_lux of the upper half of the vehicle; When the vehicle is in low beam, if it is detected that lux is less than the first global illumination threshold or cal_lux is less than the first upper illumination threshold, it is determined whether, in the first continuous time thereafter, lux is always less than or equal to the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is less than or equal to the second upper illumination threshold. If so, the vehicle is allowed to switch from low beam to high beam. When the vehicle is in high beam, if it is detected that lux is greater than the second global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than the second upper half illumination threshold, it is determined whether, in the second continuous time thereafter, lux is always greater than or equal to the first global illumination threshold and cal_lux is greater than or equal to the first upper half illumination threshold. If so, the vehicle switches the high beam to the low beam. The first global illumination threshold is smaller than the second global illumination threshold, and the first upper half illumination threshold is smaller than the second upper half illumination threshold.

2. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before switching between high and low beams, the method also includes making further judgments based on the steering wheel angle, namely: if the steering wheel angle is greater than or equal to a preset angle threshold, the vehicle maintains the current lighting state unchanged; if the steering wheel angle is less than the preset angle threshold, switching between high and low beams is allowed.

3. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further includes: identifying whether there is a moving vehicle in front of the current vehicle through a vehicle front-view camera, and if so, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

4. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method also includes: identifying whether there is a point light source in front of the current vehicle through a vehicle front-view camera, the point light source including a street lamp; if there is a point light source, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam.

5. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to any one of claim 1, characterized in that: The method also includes: determining whether a soft switch of an intelligent high beam control system (IHBC) of the vehicle is turned on, and if not turned on, not allowing the vehicle to switch from low beam to high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from high beam to low beam.

6. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to any one of claim 1, characterized in that: The method further includes: determining whether the light control gear is not in the AUTO gear, and if not in the AUTO gear, not allowing the vehicle to switch from the low beam to the high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from the high beam to the low beam.

7. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to any one of claim 1, characterized in that: The method further includes: determining whether the wiper is in a high gear, and if so, not allowing the vehicle to switch from a low beam to a high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from a high beam to a low beam.

8. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to any one of claim 1, characterized in that: The method further includes: determining whether the vehicle fog lamp is turned on, and if turned on, not allowing the vehicle to switch from the low beam to the high beam, or immediately switching the vehicle from the high beam to the low beam.

9. The method for automatically switching between high and low beam lights of a vehicle according to any one of claim 1, characterized in that: The method also includes: if the current vehicle speed is less than a preset high beam off speed threshold, the vehicle is not allowed to switch from low beam to high beam, or the vehicle is immediately switched from high beam to low beam; if the current vehicle speed is greater than a preset high beam on speed threshold, the vehicle is allowed to switch from low beam to high beam.

10. An automatic switching system for vehicle high and low beam lights, characterized in that: The system is constructed according to a method for automatically switching between high and low beams of a vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, and includes a body controller BCM, a front-view camera, an electric power steering system EPS, and a body electronic stability system ESP, wherein the front-view camera is respectively connected to the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP, and is used to send a high and low beam switching request to the body controller BCM based on vehicle data sent by the body controller BCM, the electric power steering system EPS, and the body electronic stability system ESP, as well as light intensity data and external environment images collected by itself.

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