A microlens array light type switching system, method, welcome light and vehicle

Abstract

The application belongs to the field of automobile light, and discloses a micro-lens array light type switching system, method, welcome light and vehicle, the system comprises a single micro-lens array and light type switching device;The light type switching device is suitable for dynamically adjusting the coverage area of the projection light type of the micro-lens array according to the change of the distance between people and vehicles, so that the light carpet projected on the ground via the micro-lens array is always located between people and vehicles.The application continuously adjusts the coverage area of the projection light type of the single micro-lens array by the light type switching device, so that the welcome light carpet always follows the steps of the vehicle owner, and a smooth animation effect is obtained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a microlens array light pattern switching system, method, welcome light, and vehicle, belonging to the field of automotive lighting. Background Technology

[0002] Due to their small size and long depth of field, microlens arrays (MLAs) can clearly display images on various types of display surfaces, and are now widely used in automotive lighting systems. For example, vehicle information can be displayed on the ground using MLA projection technology. Take welcome lights as an example: modern high-end cars generally come equipped with welcome lights, installed below the doors or rearview mirrors. When the driver or passenger prepares to get in the car, the welcome light at the bottom of the door illuminates the moment the door is opened. When the vehicle is turned off and the door is opened again, the welcome light is instantly turned on, illuminating the ground.

[0003] Traditional welcome lights can enhance the vehicle's prestige and illuminate the area around the car doors, creating a welcoming driving experience that is increasingly popular among car owners.

[0004] However, projecting patterns using MLAs can only project fixed patterns, meaning it can only display static images and cannot display dynamic patterns. Although some dynamic effects can be achieved by having multiple MLAs work together, lighting up or turning off each MLA in a certain order, the cost is high. Furthermore, the coordination and seamless transition between multiple MLAs remains a technical challenge. More importantly, splicing multiple patterns cannot achieve smooth and continuous dynamic effects; to the naked eye, the display still appears jerky, significantly impacting the user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a microlens array light pattern switching system, method, welcome light, and vehicle. By using a light pattern switching device to continuously adjust the coverage area of ​​the light pattern projected by a single microlens array, the welcome light carpet always moves with the driver's footsteps, achieving a smooth animation effect.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, a first aspect of the present invention provides a microlens array light pattern switching system, comprising a single microlens array and a light pattern switching device; the light pattern switching device is adapted to dynamically adjust the coverage area of ​​the projected light pattern of the microlens array according to the change in the distance between people and vehicles, so that the light carpet projected onto the ground via the microlens array is always located between people and vehicles.

[0007] Furthermore, the length of the light blanket is adapted to vary continuously.

[0008] Furthermore, each row of the microlens array is in a light-emitting state, and the light pattern switching device is adapted to bidirectionally adjust the opening and closing degree of the light projected onto the microlens array by bidirectionally rotating its light-shielding component relative to the microlens array. The light-shielding component is adapted to move bidirectionally up and down along the column direction of the microlens array.

[0009] Furthermore, the light pattern switching device includes a person-vehicle distance detection module, an on-board controller, a switching controller, a drive module, and a light-shielding component. The person-vehicle distance detection module is adapted to detect the distance between people and vehicles in real time and transmit the distance to the on-board controller. The on-board controller is adapted to store two adjacent detected person-vehicle distances, determine the direction of rotation based on the comparison result of the two adjacent detected person-vehicle distances, and transmit the direction of rotation information to the switching controller. The switching controller has a pre-stored correspondence table between person-vehicle distance and the rotation angle of the light-shielding component. The switching controller obtains the corresponding rotation angle of the light-shielding component from the correspondence table and transmits the direction of rotation and the rotation angle to the drive module, so that the drive module drives the light-shielding component to rotate according to the direction of rotation and the rotation angle. The drive module is adapted to feed back its rotation angle value to the switching controller in real time.

[0010] Furthermore, the light pattern switching device also includes an identity recognition module, which pre-stores vehicle owner identity information. It is adapted to determine whether a person is the vehicle owner by detecting the facial information of a person approaching the vehicle and comparing it with the vehicle owner identity information. If the person is the vehicle owner, an enable signal is sent to the switching controller to initiate the dynamic adjustment of the projected light pattern.

[0011] Furthermore, the projected light from each row of projection units in the microlens array covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, and the two rows are connected end to end without overlapping.

[0012] The second aspect of the present invention provides a method for switching the light pattern of a microlens array, comprising the following steps: (1) acquiring the distance L between a person and a vehicle in real time; (2) dynamically adjusting the coverage area of ​​the projection light pattern of the microlens array according to the change of the distance L between the person and the vehicle, so that the light blanket projected onto the ground by the microlens array is always located between the person and the vehicle.

[0013] Furthermore, the length of the light blanket is adapted to vary continuously.

[0014] Furthermore, in step (1), the facial information of the person approaching the vehicle is detected and compared with the pre-stored vehicle owner identity information to determine whether the person is the vehicle owner. If the person is the vehicle owner, step (2) is then executed.

[0015] Furthermore, the initial value of the distance L between the person and the vehicle when the microlens array starts projection is 4m, and the corresponding initial length of the light carpet is 3m; when the distance L between the person and the vehicle decreases to 3m, the dynamic adjustment of the projection light pattern is initiated. As the distance L between the person and the vehicle further decreases, the length of the light carpet is shortened accordingly, and the light carpet is always at a certain distance from the person's feet.

[0016] Furthermore, each row of the microlens array emits light, and from top to bottom, the projected light from each row covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, with the beginning and end connected and not overlapping each other; the dynamic adjustment process of the projected light pattern is as follows: the projected light is blocked by a light-blocking component along the column direction of the microlens array. This light-blocking component is located at the top of the microlens array and is adapted to rotate around the microlens array along the row direction, so that the light-emitting area on the microlens array that can be projected onto the ground without obstruction changes continuously.

[0017] A third aspect of the present invention provides a welcome light, comprising the microlens array light pattern switching system described in any of the technical solutions of the first aspect, and adapted to perform the microlens array light pattern switching method described in any of the technical solutions of the second aspect through the microlens array light pattern switching system.

[0018] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle including the welcome light described in any of the technical solutions of the third aspect.

[0019] By using the above-mentioned technical solution of the present invention, the coverage area of ​​the light pattern projected by a single microlens array can be continuously adjusted by the light pattern switching device, so that the welcome light carpet always moves with the driver's footsteps, thus achieving a smooth animation effect.

[0020] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate embodiments of the present invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the embodiments of the present invention, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 This is a control principle block diagram of an embodiment of the system of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the control software according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the light carpet projection principle in one embodiment of the system / method of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of projection beam pattern switching in one embodiment of the system / method of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the dynamic change in the coverage area of ​​the light blanket in one embodiment of the system / method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0028] An embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention includes a single microlens array and a light pattern switching device; the light pattern switching device is adapted to dynamically adjust the coverage area of ​​the projected light pattern of the microlens array according to the change in the distance between people and vehicles, so that the light carpet projected onto the ground via the microlens array is always located between people and vehicles.

[0029] In one embodiment of the microlens array optical pattern switching system of the present invention, the length of the optical blanket is adapted to be continuously varied.

[0030] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention, each row of the microlens array is in a light-emitting state, and the light pattern switching device is adapted to bidirectionally adjust the opening and closing degree of the light projected onto the microlens array by bidirectionally rotating its light-shielding component relative to the microlens array, and the light-shielding component is adapted to move bidirectionally up and down along the column direction of the microlens array.

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention, the light pattern switching device includes a person-vehicle distance detection module, an on-board controller, a switching controller, a drive module, and a light-shielding component; the person-vehicle distance detection module is adapted to detect the distance between the person and the vehicle in real time and transmit the distance to the on-board controller; the on-board controller is adapted to store two adjacent person-vehicle distances detected, determine the direction based on the comparison result of the two adjacent person-vehicle distances detected, and transmit the direction information to the switching controller; the switching controller has a pre-stored correspondence table between person-vehicle distance and the rotation angle of the light-shielding component, the switching controller obtains the corresponding rotation angle of the light-shielding component from the correspondence table, and transmits the direction and rotation angle to the drive module, so that the drive module drives the light-shielding component to rotate according to the direction and rotation angle, and the drive module is adapted to feed back its rotation angle value to the switching controller in real time. Specifically, the drive module can be a stepper motor, and its rotation angle data can be monitored in real time by installing a Hall sensor on the stepper motor. The rotation angle data is a value relative to the reference zero position, which is a preset absolute value. The torque of the stepper motor is automatically returned to zero each time it is powered on.

[0032] For example, if two consecutive detection values ​​from the pedestrian-vehicle distance detection module are 1.5m and 1.8m respectively, it can be determined that the person is moving away from the vehicle. Therefore, the stepper motor, acting as the drive module, can be set to rotate forward, corresponding to the upward movement of the light-shielding component, thus lengthening the projected light carpet. Conversely, if two consecutive detection values ​​are 1.8m and 1.5m respectively, it can be determined that the person is moving closer to the vehicle. Therefore, the stepper motor, acting as the drive module, can be set to rotate in reverse, corresponding to the downward movement of the light-shielding component, thus shortening the projected light carpet. The rotation angle of the stepper motor can be determined using a pre-stored correspondence table between pedestrian-vehicle distance and the rotation angle of the light-shielding component. This rotation angle is also relative to a reference zero point. For example, if a pedestrian-vehicle distance of 1.8m corresponds to a rotation angle of 20°, then the stepper motor will rotate 20°.

[0033] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention, the light pattern switching device further includes an identity recognition module, which pre-stores vehicle owner identity information. It is adapted to determine whether the person is the vehicle owner by detecting the facial information of a person approaching the vehicle and comparing it with the vehicle owner identity information. If the person is the vehicle owner, an enable signal is sent to the switching controller to initiate the dynamic adjustment of the projected light pattern.

[0034] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention, the projected light from each row of projection units of the microlens array covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, and the light is continuous and does not overlap. For example, such as Figure 3 As shown, the small circle contains the actual microlens array 1, and the large circle is a magnified view of a portion of it. Figure 3 As can be seen, in this example, the microlens array 1 has five rows of projection units. From top to bottom, rows A, B, C, D and E can project five continuous light carpet patterns 2 with distances relative to the vehicle body ranging from 3m to 2.5m, 2.5m to 2m, 2m to 1.5m, 1.5m to 1m and 1m to 0.5m, respectively.

[0035] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention, the microlens array light pattern switching system is installed below the vehicle door. It uses camera capture information to determine if someone is approaching. When someone approaches, and the distance between the person and the vehicle decreases to 10 meters, the camera captures facial information and compares it with a database to determine if the person is the vehicle owner. If so, the welcome system is activated. Based on the camera's determination of the person's position, when the distance between the person and the vehicle is approximately 4 meters, the projection system based on the microlens array light pattern switching system is activated, projecting a trapezoidal area 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters long. This area forms a welcome light carpet. Based on the camera's determination of the distance between the person and the vehicle, the microlens array light pattern switching system is activated and dynamically adjusts the proportion of the light-emitting area of ​​the projection unit according to the distance, gradually shortening the welcome light carpet while maintaining its length approximately 0.1 meters in front of the person's feet, and always following the person's steps. Figure 5 As shown.

[0036] An embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention includes the following steps: (1) real-time acquisition of the distance L between people and vehicles; (2) dynamic adjustment of the coverage area of ​​the projection light pattern of the microlens array according to the change of the distance L between people and vehicles, so that the light blanket projected onto the ground through the microlens array is always located between people and vehicles.

[0037] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention, the length of the light blanket is adapted to be continuously varied.

[0038] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention, in step (1), the facial information of the person approaching the vehicle is detected and compared with the pre-stored vehicle owner identity information to determine whether the person is the vehicle owner. If the person is the vehicle owner, step (2) is then executed.

[0039] Specifically, such as Figure 2As shown, an embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention includes the following steps: S101 Determine whether the camera has detected a person. If yes, proceed to step S102; otherwise, repeat this step. S102 Process the image of the person obtained by the camera and extract the facial information. S103 Determine whether the facial information corresponds to the car owner. This can be determined by comparing it with a pre-stored car owner facial information database. If the person is the car owner, proceed to step S104; otherwise, return to step S101, i.e., the subsequent light pattern switching function is not executed. This function is customized for car owners. S104 Obtain the current distance between the person and the vehicle and the current angle of the drive module. Based on this, determine the direction and angle of the drive module. The drive module drives the light-shielding component to rotate according to this direction and angle. When a stepper motor is selected for the drive module, when... The angle at which the stepper motor is located refers to the angular position of the stepper motor's shaft. The distance between the person and the vehicle requires two adjacent detection values ​​to determine the direction of the stepper motor. The rotation angle of the stepper motor is determined according to a pre-stored correspondence table between the distance between the person and the vehicle and the rotation angle of the light-shielding component. In step S105, it is determined whether the distance between the person and the vehicle has reached the preset upper or lower limit. If so, the current execution process ends and returns to the starting step S101 for looping. If not, it returns to step S104 and adjusts the position of the light-shielding component according to the constantly changing distance between the person and the vehicle until the distance between the person and the vehicle reaches the preset upper or lower limit. The lower limit corresponds to the closest distance between the person and the vehicle. If it is lower than this value, step S105 ends and returns to the starting step S101. The upper limit corresponds to the farthest distance between the person and the vehicle. If it is higher than this value, step S105 ends and returns to the starting step S101.

[0040] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention, the initial value of the distance L between the person and the vehicle when the microlens array starts projection is 4m, and the initial length of the light carpet is 3m. When the distance L between the person and the vehicle decreases to 3m, the dynamic adjustment of the projection light pattern is started. As the distance L between the person and the vehicle further decreases, the length of the light carpet is shortened accordingly, and the light carpet is always at a certain distance from the person's feet.

[0041] In one embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention, each row of the microlens array emits light. From top to bottom, the projected light of each row covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, and the two rows are connected end to end without overlapping. The dynamic adjustment process of the projected light pattern is as follows: the projected light is blocked by a light-blocking component along the column direction of the microlens array. The light-blocking component is located at the top of the microlens array and is adapted to rotate around the microlens array along the row direction of the microlens array, so that the light-emitting area on the microlens array that can be projected onto the ground without obstruction changes continuously.

[0042] The pedestrian-vehicle distance detection module can be implemented using ultrasonic radar. This detection method can be accurate to the centimeter level. As you mentioned in the correspondence table, it can also be refined to the centimeter or millisecond level, meaning that a pedestrian-vehicle distance value corresponds to a rotation angle. The drive module can be implemented using a stepper motor. The stepper motor's step value corresponds one-to-one with the rotation angle. For example, if the pedestrian-vehicle distance is 3 meters, the stepping speed is 100 steps; if the distance is 2.5 meters, the stepping speed is 90 steps. Therefore, whether approaching or moving away, only the absolute value of the pedestrian-vehicle distance is judged. That is, each change in the degree of shading by the light-blocking component is independent of the pedestrian-vehicle distance. Even if the distance changes drastically, it only corresponds to a change in the rotation angle. As for the rotation speed, it is related to the stepper motor parameters and can certainly keep up with the speed of human movement, for example, it can rotate 180 degrees in 0.5 seconds.

[0043] In the embodiments of the welcome light of the present invention, any embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching system of the present invention described above may be included, and any embodiment of the microlens array light pattern switching method of the present invention described above may be executed, and the technical effects or advantages of any of the above embodiments may be achieved, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] The embodiments of the vehicle of the present invention may include any of the above-described embodiments of the welcome light of the present invention, and have the technical effects or advantages of any of the above-described embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0045] The optional embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the embodiments of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0046] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the embodiments of the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0047] Furthermore, various different implementations of the present invention can be combined arbitrarily, as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in the present invention.

Claims

1. A microlens array optical pattern switching system, characterized in that, It includes a single microlens array and a light pattern switching device; the projected light of each row of projection units of the microlens array covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, and the light patterns are connected end to end without overlapping; the light pattern switching device includes a human-vehicle distance detection module, an on-board controller, a switching controller, a drive module, and a light-shielding component; the human-vehicle distance detection module is adapted to detect the distance between the human and the vehicle in real time and transmit the distance between the human and the vehicle to the on-board controller; The vehicle-mounted controller is adapted to store the distance between two consecutive detected pedestrians and vehicles, determine the direction of rotation based on the comparison of the distances between these two consecutive detected distances, and transmit the rotation information to the switching controller. The switching controller has a pre-stored correspondence table between the distance between pedestrians and vehicles and the rotation angle of the light-shielding component. The switching controller obtains the corresponding rotation angle of the light-shielding component from the correspondence table and transmits the direction of rotation and the rotation angle to the drive module. The drive module then drives the light-shielding component to rotate according to the direction of rotation and the rotation angle. The drive module is adapted to provide real-time feedback of its rotation angle value to the switching controller to adjust the coverage area of ​​the projected light pattern of the microlens array, so that the light blanket projected onto the ground by the microlens array is always located between pedestrians and vehicles. The light pattern switching device is adapted to bidirectionally adjust the opening and closing degree of the light projected by the microlens array by bidirectionally rotating its light-shielding component relative to the microlens array. The light-shielding component is an arc-shaped structure that does not bend in the column direction of the microlens array and blocks the light projected from the microlens array to the ground along the column direction of the microlens array. The light-shielding component is located on the top of the microlens array and is adapted to rotate around the microlens array along the row direction of the microlens array, so that the light-emitting area on the microlens array that can be projected to the ground without obstruction changes continuously.

2. The microlens array optical pattern switching system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length of the light blanket is suitable for continuous variation.

3. The microlens array optical pattern switching system according to claim 1, characterized in that, During the dynamic adjustment process, each row of the microlens array is in a light-emitting state.

4. The microlens array optical pattern switching system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light pattern switching device also includes an identity recognition module, which stores vehicle owner identity information. It is adapted to determine whether a person is the vehicle owner by detecting the facial information of a person approaching the vehicle and comparing it with the vehicle owner identity information. If the person is the vehicle owner, an enable signal is sent to the switching controller to initiate the dynamic adjustment of the projected light pattern.

5. A method for switching the optical pattern of a microlens array, characterized in that, The microlens array optical pattern switching system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 includes the following steps: (1) Real-time acquisition of the distance L between people and vehicles; (2) The coverage area of ​​the projection light pattern of the microlens array is dynamically adjusted according to the change of the distance L between the person and the vehicle, so that the light blanket projected onto the ground through the microlens array is always located between the person and the vehicle. In this system, each row of projection units in the microlens array emits light. From top to bottom, the projected light from each row of projection units covers a continuous distance on the ground from far to near, and the two rows are connected end to end without overlapping. The dynamic adjustment process of the projected light pattern is as follows: the projected light is blocked by a light-blocking component along the column direction of the microlens array. This light-blocking component is located at the top of the microlens array and is adapted to rotate around the microlens array along the row direction, so that the light-emitting area on the microlens array that can be projected onto the ground without obstruction changes continuously.

6. The microlens array optical pattern switching method according to claim 5, characterized in that, In step (1), the facial information of the person approaching the vehicle is detected and compared with the pre-stored vehicle owner identity information to determine whether the person is the vehicle owner. If the person is the vehicle owner, step (2) is then executed.

7. The microlens array optical pattern switching method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The initial value of the distance L between the person and the vehicle when the microlens array starts projection is 4m, and the initial length of the light carpet is 3m. When the distance L between the person and the vehicle decreases to 3m, the dynamic adjustment of the projection light pattern is started. As the distance L between the person and the vehicle further decreases, the length of the light carpet is shortened accordingly, and the light carpet is always at a certain distance from the person's feet.

8. A welcome light, characterized in that, The system includes the microlens array light pattern switching system according to any one of claims 1-4, and is adapted to perform the microlens array light pattern switching method according to any one of claims 5-7 through the microlens array light pattern switching system.

9. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the welcome light as described in claim 8.

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