A kind of automobile intelligent headlight system and control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses an intelligent automobile headlight system, wherein the signal output end of the central computing unit is connected to the headlight control drive module and transmits the headlight control instruction to it, the headlight control drive module is connected to the automobile headlight actuator module and transmits the drive signal to it, a camera for collecting the image information in front of the vehicle is fixed at the front of the vehicle, the camera is connected to the central computing unit and transmits the image information to it, a positioning module is installed in the vehicle, the positioning module is connected to the central computing unit and transmits the current position signal to it. The system can automatically control the working condition of the high beam, and cooperate with the distant vehicle to improve the safety of the vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of intelligent vehicles, and in particular to the technical field of automobile headlights. Background Art

[0002] At present, vehicles need to turn on low beam and high beam when driving at night. However, when meeting or following a car at night, if the high beam is not turned off, it will cause glare to the driver's vision, making it difficult to see the road conditions and causing traffic accidents.

[0003] The current intelligent headlight system can detect the target vehicle based on the front-view camera. When the target vehicle is detected, the high beam of the vehicle is turned off. The application of this system has greatly improved the driving safety of the target vehicle at night. However, if the other vehicle does not turn off the high beam, the driver of this vehicle still cannot see the road conditions clearly. When driving manually, the driver flashes the high beam to remind the other driver to turn off the high beam. However, with the continuous application and popularization of intelligent driving vehicles. The intelligent headlight system needs to be continuously improved. While improving the driving safety of the other vehicle, it is also necessary to improve the driving safety of the vehicle itself. This allows intelligent vehicles to communicate with each other through the flashing of high beams like human drivers, improving night driving safety. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that, for the existing intelligent headlight system of intelligent vehicles, when an oncoming vehicle is detected and the high beam of the vehicle may cause glare to the oncoming vehicle, the high beam of the vehicle is turned off. However, if the other vehicle does not turn off the high beam, it will cause glare to the driver of the vehicle, and when driving is dangerous, the control system of the other vehicle can be alerted.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an intelligent headlight system for automobiles, wherein the signal output end of the central computing and processing unit is connected to the headlight control drive module and transmits the headlight control instruction to it, the headlight control drive module is connected to the automobile headlight actuator module and transmits the drive signal to it, a camera for collecting image information in front of the vehicle is fixed at the front of the vehicle, the camera is connected to the central computing and processing unit and transmits the image information to it, and a positioning module is installed in the vehicle, the positioning module is connected to the central computing and processing unit and transmits the current position signal to it.

[0006] The central computing processing unit is connected to the CAN bus to obtain vehicle parameter information, which includes vehicle speed, ignition status (whether the vehicle is currently off or started), external ambient light intensity (a light intensity sensor can be set independently, or the light intensity can be judged by a camera), and headlight on status.

[0007] The headlight actuator module comprises a high beam module, a low beam module, a high beam focus adjustment mechanism, a low beam focus adjustment mechanism, a left fill light module, and a right fill light module.

[0008] According to the control method of the automobile intelligent headlight system, when the vehicle is started and the headlight actuator module is in a working state, the system executes the control method as follows:

[0009] The camera obtains the image information in front. When it detects a vehicle in front, it automatically turns off the high beam module. When there is no vehicle in front, it turns on the high beam module again.

[0010] If the high beam of the vehicle ahead is not turned off, the high beam module is controlled to flash and then turned off.

[0011] The camera determines whether there is a bright spot in front of it by the contrast of the captured video graphics. If there is a bright spot, the center point of the bright spot is obtained. If the center point of the bright spot is lower than the set value, it is defined that the high beam of the oncoming vehicle is not turned off. Because when the bright spot is low, it may be that the high beam of the oncoming vehicle is not turned off, and when the bright spot is too high, it may be a road section or traffic facility (such as a speed flash). This judgment step can avoid mistakenly entering the flashing prompt state;

[0012] The external ambient light intensity is obtained in real time. When the external ambient light intensity is lower than the set value, the high beam module is turned on.

[0013] The vehicle's current position and driving direction information is obtained in real time. If the road section to be traveled is a left / right turning section, the left / right side fill light module is turned on, and the left / right side fill light module is turned off after passing the left / right turning section.

[0014] The vehicle's current position and driving direction information is obtained in real time. If the road section to be traveled is an uphill / downhill section, the set gear is increased / decreased based on the gear currently executed by the high beam focus adjustment mechanism, and the gear executed by the original high beam focus adjustment mechanism is restored after passing the uphill / downhill section.

[0015] The high beam module has an irradiation distance adjusted by a high beam focal length adjustment mechanism, and the irradiation distance is divided into 1-n gears from near to far (n is the number of custom gears, for example, if it is divided into 10 gears, then n is equal to 10), and the vehicle speed and external ambient light intensity are obtained in real time. Each gear corresponds to a vehicle speed range and an external ambient light intensity range. The higher the current vehicle speed, the higher the corresponding gear, and the lower the external ambient light intensity, the higher the corresponding gear. When the high beam module is turned on, the average gear of the corresponding two gears is obtained according to the current vehicle speed range and the external ambient light intensity range, and the high beam focal length adjustment mechanism is controlled to execute the irradiation distance of the average gear. This gear control method is simple and easy to implement, avoiding complex algorithms, and can simultaneously take into account the adjustment of the high beam irradiation distance by vehicle speed and ambient light, providing the driver with a suitable lighting distance;

[0016] When the high beam module is turned on, the illumination distance is adjusted once at set intervals. When adjusting the illumination distance, multiple data are continuously obtained and the average value of the data is used as the average value gear. This can avoid frequent distance adjustments, reduce the service life of the equipment, and easily damage the equipment. At the same time, the method of multiple calculations and evaluations can also avoid emergencies that cause the lights to make inappropriate transition operations. For example, when the speed measurement flash is on, a high-brightness environment is obtained and the high beam illumination distance is greatly reduced. This is obviously inappropriate. By taking the average value multiple times, the vehicle and environmental conditions can be more realistically reflected.

[0017] Compared with the existing intelligent headlight system, this intelligent car intelligent headlight system has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. Based on the existing intelligent headlight system, the system adds a high beam flashing reminder by adding software algorithms to remind oncoming vehicles to turn off their high beams, thereby improving the vehicle's nighttime driving safety.

[0019] 2. Based on the existing intelligent headlight system, the system adds software algorithms to automatically turn off the vehicle's high beam when following the vehicle in front, thereby improving the driving safety of the vehicle in front.

[0020] 3. Based on the existing intelligent headlights, the system has added an automatic control and adjustment function for the focal length of the high beam. When the front-view camera detects that there is no oncoming vehicle or no car in front, the focal length of the high beam is automatically adjusted to illuminate farther, thereby increasing the detection distance of the front-view camera and improving nighttime driving safety.

[0021] 4. In addition, based on the positioning module information of the existing smart car, the present invention adds the function of automatically controlling the focal length of the high and low beam lights when going uphill and downhill, thereby improving the risk of visual blind spots caused by insufficient illumination when the smart car goes uphill and downhill at night.

[0022] 5. In addition, based on the positioning module information of the existing smart car, the present invention adds the function of automatically turning on the left and right fill lights when turning left or right, which reduces the risk of visual blind spots caused by insufficient illumination when the smart car turns at night. It not only meets the lighting needs of the front, but also meets the lighting needs of the left or right turning area.

[0023] 6. This system expands the functions of the existing intelligent headlight system by adding software algorithms without increasing hardware costs, solving five pain points for users. It is a technology currently needed by the market and has industrialization and market prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The following is a brief description of the contents expressed in each figure in the specification of the present invention and the marks in the figure:

[0025] Figure 1 This is the structural block diagram of the automotive intelligent headlight system;

[0026] The marks in the above figures are: 1. Camera; 2. Positioning module; 3. Central computing processing unit; 4. Headlight control drive execution module; 5. Headlight actuator module; 31. Front environment detection algorithm; 32. Visual positioning algorithm; 33. Headlight control algorithm; 51. High beam module; 52. Low beam module; 53. High beam focus adjustment mechanism; 54. Low beam focus adjustment mechanism; 55. Left fill light module; 56. Right fill light module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following is a further detailed description of the specific implementation methods of the present invention, such as the shape, structure, relative position and connection relationship between the various components involved, the function and working principle of each part, the manufacturing process and operation method, etc., through the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, so as to help those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 1 In the invention, an intelligent headlight system for an intelligent vehicle includes a camera 1, a positioning module 2, a central computing processing unit 3, a headlight control driving execution module 4 and a headlight actuator module 5.

[0029] Camera 1 is used to detect whether the oncoming vehicle has turned on its high beam, whether there is a vehicle ahead, and the driving environment ahead. When the vehicle is approaching, the front-view camera 1 is used to determine whether the visual system can accurately detect and identify the traffic conditions ahead. If the captured video image is all white and the lane lines, vehicles, and pedestrians in the traffic environment cannot be identified, not only the high beam of the vehicle will be turned off, but also the high beam of the vehicle will be automatically controlled to flash through the control logic until the target vehicle turns off the high beam. The contrast of the video graphics captured by the front-view camera of the vehicle determines whether the high beam of the oncoming vehicle is turned off. In addition, if there is a vehicle ahead, the high beam of the vehicle will also be turned off through the control logic algorithm to improve driving safety.

[0030] The positioning module 2 is combined with the camera 1 to realize visual positioning. The positioning module 2 is GPS or Beidou positioning, which can obtain the vehicle position in real time, and can understand the road information about the upcoming trip based on the positioning information and map information, such as about to enter a curve, about to enter an uphill section, etc.

[0031] The central computing unit 3 is the central control computing unit of the smart car. The present invention uses this computing unit to integrate the control algorithm of the smart headlight.

[0032] The headlight control driving execution module 4 is used to execute the headlight control instructions sent by the central computing processing unit 3, including adjusting the focal length of the high and low beams, turning on the side fill lights, etc., as well as turning on and off the high and low beams.

[0033] The headlight actuator module 5 is the mechanical transmission mechanism and headlight module of the smart headlight, and is the mechanical mechanism execution part of the smart headlight. The mechanism supports the adjustment of the pitch angle and the distance of the illumination. The left and right sides take into account that the road conditions ahead also need to be illuminated while the left and right sides are illuminated, so the headlights are not rotated, but a side fill light module is added, which can improve driving safety more than the traditional follow-up headlights.

[0034] The central computing unit 3 integrates a front camera-based front environment detection algorithm 31 , a visual positioning algorithm 32 , and a headlight control algorithm 33 .

[0035] The headlight actuator module 5 includes a high beam module 51 , a low beam module 52 , a high beam focus adjustment mechanism 53 , a low beam focus adjustment mechanism 54 , a left fill light module 55 , and a right fill light module 56 .

[0036] The front environment detection algorithm 31 can judge whether the current driving environment is dark based on the video information collected by the camera 1. When the light is dark, the headlight control algorithm 33 sends an instruction to automatically turn on the high and low beam lights to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam module 51 and the low beam module 52 to turn on the high beam and low beam lights. At the same time, the focal length of the high beam is adjusted by changing the software algorithm of the body controller. When driving at night, when there are few cars on the road and there are no street lights, the focal length of the high beam is automatically adjusted so that the high beam can shine farther, so that the front-view camera can detect farther road conditions to improve driving safety.

[0037] When a vehicle is detected ahead, in order not to affect the driving safety of the vehicle ahead, the headlight control algorithm 33 sends an instruction to automatically turn off the high beam to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam module 51 to turn off the high beam. When an oncoming vehicle is detected ahead, in order not to affect the driving safety of the oncoming vehicle, the headlight control algorithm 33 sends an instruction to automatically turn off the high beam to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam module 51 to turn off the high beam.

[0038] After the vehicle turns off the high beam, if the camera 1 detects that the oncoming vehicle fails to turn off its high beam in time, which affects the driving safety of the vehicle, the headlight control algorithm 33 periodically sends the command of turning on and off the high beam to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam module 51 to flash to remind the oncoming vehicle to turn off the high beam, thereby improving the driving safety of the vehicle at night.

[0039] The visual positioning algorithm 32 combines the data of the camera 1 and the positioning module 2 to achieve precise visual positioning, and judges the road conditions ahead based on the current position of the vehicle and the precise road condition data of the positioning module. When it is predicted that the road ahead is a left turn, when entering the left turn section, the headlight control algorithm 33 sends a command to turn on the left fill light to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the left fill light module 55 to turn on the left fill light to improve the safety of driving at night on the left turn section. After passing the left turn section, the left fill light is turned off in the same way.

[0040] When it is predicted that the road ahead is a right turn, when entering the right turn section, the headlight control algorithm 33 sends a command to turn on the right fill light to the headlight drive control module 4, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the right fill light module 56 to turn on the right fill light to improve the night driving safety of the right turn section. After passing the right turn section, the right fill light is turned off in the same way. In this way, the left or right fill light is automatically turned on to illuminate the road environment on the side to be turned, which can not only improve the camera 1's pre-perception of the front environment, but also improve the night driving safety.

[0041] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is an uphill section, when entering the uphill section, a control instruction is sent to the headlight drive control module 4 through the headlight control algorithm 33, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam focus adjustment mechanism 53 and the low beam focus adjustment mechanism 54 to adjust the focal length of the high and low beam lights, and increase the pitch angle, so that the high and low beam lights illuminate a farther range of the uphill road, thereby improving the safety of driving at night on the uphill section.

[0042] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is a downhill section, when entering the downhill section, a control instruction is sent to the headlight drive control module 4 through the headlight control algorithm 33, and the headlight drive control module 4 controls the high beam focus adjustment mechanism 53 and the low beam focus adjustment mechanism 54 to adjust the focal length of the high and low beam lights, lower the pitch angle, so that the high and low beam lights illuminate a farther range of the downhill road, thereby improving the safety of driving at night on the downhill section.

[0043] When the positioning module 2 determines that the road ahead is an uphill or downhill road, the focal length of the high beam is automatically adjusted, and the pitch angle of the high beam is adjusted to make up for the lighting blind spots of traditional vehicles when driving uphill or downhill at night.

[0044] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the 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. An intelligent automobile headlight system, wherein the signal output end of the central computing unit is connected to the headlight control drive module and transmits the headlight control instruction to the headlight control drive module, and the headlight control drive module is connected to the automobile headlight actuator module and transmits the drive signal to the headlight actuator module, characterized in that: A camera for collecting image information in front of the vehicle is fixed at the front of the vehicle, the camera is connected to the central computing and processing unit and transmits image information to it, and a positioning module is installed in the vehicle, the positioning module is connected to the central computing and processing unit and transmits a current position signal to it; According to the positioning information and map information, the information of the road to be driven is understood. When it is predicted that the road ahead is a left turn, when entering the left turn section, the headlight control algorithm sends a command to turn on the left fill light to the headlight drive control module. The headlight drive control module controls the left fill light module to turn on the left fill light to improve the night driving safety of the left turn section. After passing the left turn section, the left fill light is turned off in the same way. The headlight actuator module includes a high beam module, a low beam module, a high beam focus adjustment mechanism, a low beam focus adjustment mechanism, a left fill light module, and a right fill light module; The vehicle's current position and driving direction information is obtained in real time. If the road section to be traveled is an uphill / downhill section, the set gear is increased / decreased based on the gear currently implemented by the high beam focus adjustment mechanism, and the gear implemented by the original high beam focus adjustment mechanism is restored after passing the uphill / downhill section; The high beam module has an irradiation distance adjusted by the high beam focal length adjustment mechanism. The irradiation distance is divided into 1-n gears from near to far. The vehicle speed and the external ambient light intensity are acquired in real time. Each gear corresponds to a vehicle speed range and an external ambient light intensity range. The higher the current vehicle speed, the higher the corresponding gear. The lower the external ambient light intensity, the higher the corresponding gear. When the high beam module is turned on, the average gear of the corresponding two gears is obtained according to the current vehicle speed range and the external ambient light intensity range, and the high beam focal length adjustment mechanism is controlled to execute the irradiation distance of the average gear. When the high beam module is turned on, the irradiation distance is adjusted once at a set interval. When the irradiation distance is adjusted, multiple data are obtained continuously and the average value of the data is used as the average gear.

2. The intelligent automobile headlight system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central computing processing unit is connected to the CAN bus to obtain vehicle parameter information, and the vehicle parameter information includes vehicle speed, ignition status, external ambient light intensity, and vehicle light on status.

3. The control method of the automobile intelligent headlight system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When the vehicle is started and the headlight actuator module is in working state, the system execution control method is as follows: The camera obtains the image information in front. When it detects a vehicle in front, it automatically turns off the high beam module. When there is no vehicle in front, it turns on the high beam module again. If the high beam of the vehicle ahead is not turned off, the high beam module is controlled to flash and then turned off.

4. The control method of the automobile intelligent headlight system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The camera determines whether there is a highlight spot in front through the contrast of the captured video graphics. If there is a highlight spot, the center point position of the highlight spot is obtained. If the center point position of the highlight spot is lower than the set value, it is defined that the high beam of the oncoming vehicle is not turned off.

5. The control method of the automobile intelligent headlight system according to claim 4, characterized in that: Get the external ambient light intensity in real time. When the external ambient light intensity is lower than the set value, turn on the high beam module.

6. The control method of the automobile intelligent headlight system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The vehicle's current position and driving direction information is obtained in real time. If the road section to be traveled is a left / right turning section, the left / right side fill light module is turned on, and the left / right side fill light module is turned off after passing the left / right turning section.

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