System and method for controlling patterned skin lighting device of a vehicle

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for controlling a patterned skin lighting device for a vehicle. The method includes generating a plurality of random numbers and accumulating the number of consecutive on-times of each lighting unit in an arrangement of lighting units configuring the patterned skin lighting device. Furthermore, the method includes selecting, among the lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, lighting units whose cumulative number of consecutive on-times is a predetermined reference value or less as on-target lighting units; and activating the light-emitting elements of the selected on-target lighting units.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting technology, and more particularly, to a system and method for controlling a vehicle pattern skin lighting device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, some vehicle lamps have been designed to produce a different lighting image from conventional lamps by arranging multiple light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a single light emitting surface. Such lighting devices have a fixed lighting output pattern by turning on and off light sources such as LEDs.

[0003] The development of autonomous vehicles requires the ability to variably and actively connect and control different spaces within the vehicle, necessitating the design of various vehicle functions and connection methods for this purpose. The diverse lighting devices installed within vehicles to generate light can help meet this demand by enabling a wider range of lighting output forms.

[0004] The above background description is only for helping to understand the background of the present invention and is not intended to mean that the present invention belongs to the scope of the related technologies already known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a system and method for operating a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle, which can actively realize more diverse lighting output forms to generate a lighting pattern image of an aesthetically pleasing design for the vehicle and further, can convey various information.

[0006] The method for controlling the pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to the present invention may include: generating multiple random numbers by a controller; accumulating the number of consecutive connection times of each lighting unit in the arrangement of lighting units configuring the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle by the controller; among the lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, the lighting units whose accumulated value of the number of consecutive connection times is a predetermined reference value or a smaller value are selected as the target lighting units for connection; and turning on the light-emitting elements of the selected target lighting units for connection.

[0007] The controller may be configured to generate a random number within a predetermined range and less than the total number of lighting units in the patterned skin lighting device. The controller may be configured to set a reference value within a range of natural numbers greater than 1. The method further includes: driving, via the controller, the unit cover of the selected target lighting unit. Specifically, the controller may be configured to drive the light-emitting element and unit cover of the selected target lighting unit during a predetermined reference time, and may repeat all steps starting with generating the random number.

[0008] The lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, whose cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times exceed a reference value, can be excluded from the target power-on lighting units, and the cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times of the lighting units excluded from the target power-on lighting units can be initialized to zero.

[0009] In addition, the method for controlling the pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to the present invention may include: determining, by a controller, a mode for driving the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle according to the operating status of the vehicle and the situation near the vehicle; selecting, by a controller, scene data corresponding to the mode according to the determined mode for driving the pattern skin lighting device; and operating, by a controller, the light-emitting elements of each lighting unit of the pattern skin lighting device based on the selected scene data.

[0010] The controller may be configured to simultaneously control the unit cover of each lighting unit of the patterned skin lighting device according to the selected scene data. The vehicle's operating state may include at least one of the vehicle's idling state, turn signal operation state, warning switch on state, charging state, and vehicle off switch operation state. The situation near the vehicle may include at least one of the following: a situation where a welcome function is required due to detection of a user approaching the vehicle, and a situation where a pedestrian passes near the vehicle.

[0011] The method for controlling a vehicle's patterned skin lighting device may further include: using a controller to turn on light-emitting elements of lighting units arranged in a predetermined Nth column of the arrangement of lighting units configuring the vehicle's patterned skin lighting device; and repeatedly increasing N by 1 and turning on the light-emitting elements of the lighting units arranged in the Nth column each time a predetermined turn-on interval has passed. The controller may be configured to set a predetermined number of simultaneously turned-on columns and turn off the turned-off columns, thereby ensuring that only the same number of columns as the number of simultaneously turned-on columns are simultaneously turned on, the turned-off columns corresponding to the Nth column minus the number of simultaneously turned-on columns.

[0012] The method may further include: driving, by a controller, the unit covers of the lighting units in the column requiring unit cover driving, among the lighting units whose light-emitting elements are already turned on. The controller may be configured to associate driving the unit covers of the lighting units with the Nth column, which is the column of lighting units whose light-emitting elements have just been turned on. The controller may be configured to set a predetermined unit cover designation factor, and drive the unit covers of the lighting units in the Mth column, which is the column obtained by subtracting the unit cover designation factor from the Nth column, which is the column of lighting units that have just been turned on.

[0013] The controller may be configured to repeatedly turn on the light-emitting elements of the lighting units configuring the Nth column while increasing N by 1 until a predetermined maximum value MAX is reached. When N is greater than MAX, the columns remaining on may be configured to be turned off sequentially, starting with the previously turned-on column, at predetermined turn-off intervals.

[0014] The present invention can actively realize more diverse lighting output forms on the exterior of a vehicle body, thereby forming a lighting pattern image that improves the design of the vehicle appearance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description presented in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a pattern skin lighting device for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 is a diagram showing a configuration according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of an illumination unit of a patterned skin illumination device;

[0018] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a unit cover of each lighting unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention based on Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the states of rotating at different angles;

[0019] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a lighting unit in a state of

[0020] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a method of controlling a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 This is an example based on Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a state where a patterned skin lighting device of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment realizes a STAR CLOUD image;

[0022] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 8 This is an example based on Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a scene of a scene set of a patterned skin lighting device for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment, the scene generating a situation where a pedestrian passes near the vehicle;

[0024] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 10 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 Schematic diagram of an operation example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] It should be understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar terms used herein generally include motor vehicles, such as passenger cars including sport utility vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including various boats, ships, aircraft, etc., and include hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from energy sources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more power sources, such as both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

[0027] Although the exemplary embodiments are described as using multiple units to perform the exemplary processes, it is understood that the exemplary processes can also be performed by one or more modules. Furthermore, it is understood that the term "controller / control unit" refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store the modules, and the processor is specifically configured to execute the modules to perform one or more processes described further below.

[0028] Furthermore, the control logic of the present invention can be implemented as a non-volatile computer-readable medium, which is a computer-readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller / control unit, etc. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also be distributed among networked computer systems so that the computer-readable medium is stored and executed in a distributed manner (e.g., via a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN)).

[0029] The terms used in this article are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular "one", "an" and "said" are intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates that plural forms are not included. It will also be further understood that when the terms "comprise" and / or "comprising" are used in this specification, it is indicated that there are the features, numerical values, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, numerical values, steps, operations, elements, components and / or their groups are not excluded. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related enumeration items.

[0030] Unless otherwise stated or apparent from the context, the term "approximately" as used herein is understood to be within normal tolerances in the art, such as within 2 standard deviations of the mean. "Approximately" can be understood to mean within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the term "approximately" modifies all numerical values ​​provided herein.

[0031] Reference Figures 1 to 4 The vehicle pattern skin lighting device 100, to which the present invention is applicable, is configured such that lighting units 1, configured as described below, can be arranged in a plane to form a regular pattern. Each lighting unit 1 may include: a light-emitting element 3; a unit housing 5; a unit cover 7; and an actuator 9. The unit housing 5 surrounds the light-emitting element 3; the unit cover 7 surrounds the light-emitting element 3 within the unit housing 5 and is rotatably mounted relative to the unit housing 5; and the actuator 9 is configured to rotate the unit cover 7 relative to the unit housing 5.

[0032] In other words, each lighting unit 1 of the patterned skin lighting device 100 according to the present invention can be configured so that the light emitted by the light-emitting element 3 mounted within the unit housing 5 can be varied by adjusting the light-emitting element 3, and the externally displayed lighting state can be varied according to the rotational state of the unit cover 7. Furthermore, each lighting unit 1 can be configured so that the light radiation state of each lighting unit 1 can be individually adjusted to achieve a so-called nebula-like lighting state. The lighting state can also be varied in any manner to form a lighting pattern image that enhances the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle. For reference, a nebula-like image refers to an image in which localized bright and dark areas are mixed, such as a cosmic nebula. The light-emitting element 3 can be configured as an LED, etc.

[0033] The unit cover 7 can be installed so as to be rotatable relative to the unit housing 5 within a predetermined range. A unit rod 11 can be connected to the interior of the unit cover 7 to enable the unit cover 7 to rotate relative thereto, and the unit rod 11 can be installed so as to linearly slide within a predetermined range in a direction from the unit housing 5 toward the unit cover 7. Therefore, while the unit cover 7 is rotatable relative to the unit housing 5, the unit rod 11 can adjust the position of the unit cover 7 relative to the unit housing 5.

[0034] Therefore, as described above, the predetermined range within which the unit rod 11 can linearly slide in the unit housing 5 can be set to a desired level for adjusting the relative position of the unit cover 7 of each lighting unit relative to the unit housing 5 to ensure smoother rotation operation of the unit cover 7. Figure 2 In the embodiment, the end portion of the unit rod 11 on the unit case 5 side or the like may include a not-shown stopper protrusion or the like to limit the linearly slidable range of the unit rod 11 relative to the unit case 5 .

[0035] The unit cover 7 is rotated by using the position connected to the unit rod 11 as a rotation axis so that the unit cover 7 can be relatively rotated, and the predetermined range in which the unit cover 7 can be rotated relative to the unit case 5 can be set by the angle limiting protrusion 7-1 extending from the inner side of the unit cover 7 toward the unit rod 11. Figure 2 As shown, the unit cover 7 can be installed so that the light from the light emitting element 3 passes only through the gap formed between one side end portion (for example, the first side end portion) of the unit cover 7 and the unit housing 5. In other words, as shown in the figure, the light generated from the light emitting element 3 can pass through the unit housing 5 and the unit cover 7 surrounding the light emitting element 3 without being directly radiated outward, but can be radiated outward only through the gap formed between the unit housing 5 and the unit cover 7 as described above.

[0036] The unit housing 5 may include a first reflector 13 that reflects light traveling from the light emitting element 3 to the gap between the unit cover 7 and the unit housing 5 and emits the light to the outside of the lighting unit 1. Furthermore, the unit cover 7 may include a second reflector 15 that reflects the light reflected by the first reflector 13 again and emits the light to the outside of the lighting unit 1. The outer surface of the unit cover 7 may be formed in a shape in which at least two or more planes meet or intersect each other at regular angles.

[0037] exist Figure 2In the embodiment, the outer surface of the unit cover 7 can be formed into a shape in which two planes intersect or converge with each other at a regular angle at a position adjacent to the rotation axis of the unit cover 7, and the second reflector 15 can be arranged on the surface of the plane adjacent to the gap of the unit shell 5 of the two planes outside the unit cover 7. Therefore, the illumination image exposed to the outside of the lighting unit 1 can be changed by adjusting the brightness of the light-emitting element 3 within the lighting unit 1, and various lighting states that continuously change can be formed by adjusting the amount and angle of light reflected by the first reflector 13 and the second reflector 15 based on the rotation angle of the unit cover 7, thereby providing a gradient lighting effect to the outside of the unit cover 7.

[0038] For reference, Figure 1 The state in which the appearance of each unit cover 7 is formed into a rhombus is shown, and the unit cover 7 is installed to be rotatable around the longest diagonal of the rhombus. At the same time, the actuator 9 can be configured to include an electromagnet installed to change the magnetic force acting between the unit cover 7 and the unit housing 5.

[0039] Electromagnets may be disposed on both the unit cover 7 and the unit housing 5 to adjust the rotation angle of the unit cover 7 relative to the unit housing 5 by adjusting the strength and direction of the magnetic force of the two electromagnets. Alternatively, an electromagnet may be included only on one side (e.g., the first side) of the unit cover 7 and the unit housing 5, and a permanent magnet capable of responding to the magnetic force of the electromagnet may be provided on the opposite side (e.g., the second side) to adjust the electromagnet on the first side, thereby adjusting the rotation angle of the unit cover 7. Furthermore, the actuator 9 may include various devices for forming a linear displacement or a rotational displacement to form a rotation angle of the unit cover 7 relative to the unit housing 5.

[0040] As described above, the pattern skin lighting device 100 of a vehicle to which the present invention can be applied can install each lighting unit 1 configured as described above to the outside of the vehicle body, and can be arranged in a plane while forming a regular pattern as described above, and all lighting units arranged as described above can be individually adjusted separately in the controller, thereby changing various lighting images on the outside of the vehicle body in real time.

[0041] Figure 5is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of the pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle as described above operating according to the present invention, and the method may include: generating a plurality of random numbers by a controller (step S10); accumulating the number of consecutive turns-on of each lighting unit in the arrangement of lighting units configuring the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle by the controller (step S20); selecting, among the lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, a lighting unit whose cumulative value of the number of consecutive turns-on is a predetermined reference value or less as a turn-on target lighting unit (step S30); turning on the light-emitting element of the selected turn-on target lighting unit (step S40). In other words, this embodiment can allow the controller to randomly flash the various lighting units arranged in the pattern skin lighting device by the generated random numbers, thereby producing a nebula image such as stars flashing in the night sky.

[0042] For reference, Figure 6 A scene in which a nebula image is generated as described above is shown, and the flashing portion can be randomly changed over time. The controller can be configured to generate the number of random numbers within a predetermined range and less than the number of all lighting units of the pattern skin lighting device. In other words, if the number of all lighting units of the pattern skin lighting device is, for example, 50, then the controller generates the random number in the predetermined range. Figure 5 The number of random numbers generated in step S10 may be 10, 20, etc., which is less than 50. In addition, for example, if unique numbers from 1 to 50 are sequentially assigned to all lighting units, the range of the generated random numbers may be limited to 1 to 50, so that each random number generated as described above may represent one lighting unit.

[0043] Therefore, when the random number is generated by the controller as described above, the accumulation of the number of consecutive turns-on of each lighting unit will increase the number of consecutive turns-on of the lighting unit corresponding to the generated random number by 1. Therefore, the controller can be configured to compare the increased number of consecutive turns-on with a reference value, and when the increased number of consecutive turns-on is the reference value or less, select the corresponding lighting unit as the turn-on target lighting unit, thereby turning on the lighting unit.

[0044] For example, if the number of consecutive on times of the fifth lighting unit is 2, the number of consecutive on times of the seventh lighting unit is 1, and the number of consecutive on times of the thirteenth lighting unit is 0, these numbers are the values ​​accumulated so far. If the generated random numbers are 5, 7, and 13, the number of consecutive on times of the fifth lighting unit is 3, the number of consecutive on times of the seventh lighting unit is 2, and the number of consecutive on times of the thirteenth lighting unit is 1.

[0045] Furthermore, if the reference value is set to 2, the seventh and thirteenth lighting units are selected as target lighting units for the period in which they are turned on because the number of consecutive turns on of the seventh and thirteenth lighting units is less than the reference value 2. However, since the fifth lighting unit is selected as target lighting units for the period in which they are turned on because the number of consecutive turns on of the fifth lighting unit is 3, which is greater than the reference value 2, the fifth lighting unit is excluded from the target lighting units for turning on. The controller may be configured to set the reference value within a range of natural numbers greater than 1, and may be configured to adjust the reference value so that the corresponding lighting unit can be repeatedly turned on within a range of at least one.

[0046] As described above, among the lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, the lighting units whose cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times exceed the reference value can be excluded from the target lighting units to be powered on, and the cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times of the lighting units excluded from the target lighting units to be powered on can be initialized to zero.

[0047] At the same time, this exemplary embodiment may further include: driving the unit cover of the selected lighting unit (step S50) by the controller. By driving the unit cover of the lighting unit turned on as described above, an appearance more similar to twinkling stars can be presented. The controller may be configured to operate the light-emitting element and unit cover of the selected lighting unit during a predetermined reference time and repeat all steps starting from generating the random number.

[0048] The reference time may be the time for maintaining the lighting unit in the on state, and may be appropriately selected within a range of seconds, and the controller may be further configured to change the reference time in each cycle. Furthermore, the controller may implement the nebula image for a predetermined generation time (e.g., approximately 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes) while repeating the steps described above, and may then be configured to gradually reduce the number of lighting units to be turned on, thereby terminating the generation of the nebula image.

[0049] Therefore, when the controller wishes to terminate the generation of the nebula image, it can be configured to exclude lighting units whose cumulative value of consecutive ON times exceeds a reference value from the target lighting units to be turned on, and to omit initializing the cumulative value of the consecutive ON times of the lighting units excluded from the target lighting units to zero, thereby gradually reducing the number of lighting units to be turned on and ultimately achieving a completely off state. Furthermore, by reducing the number of random numbers gradually generated when generating random numbers, the controller can ultimately achieve a completely off state.

[0050] Figure 7A second exemplary embodiment of a method for controlling a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to the present invention is shown, and the method may include: determining, by a controller, a mode for driving the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle based on the operating state of the vehicle and conditions near the vehicle (step S100); selecting, by a controller, scene data of a corresponding mode based on the determined mode for driving the pattern skin lighting device (step S110); and operating, by a controller, a light-emitting element of each lighting unit of the pattern skin lighting device based on the selected scene data (step S120).

[0051] In other words, the present exemplary embodiment configures scene data that is capable of implementing a flow of a series of lighting states to be produced by the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle for each mode, and the method may include: selecting, by a controller, scene data corresponding to the determined mode suitable for the current situation (the scene data is stored in a separate storage device or controller), thereby operating the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle according to the selected scene data.

[0052] The vehicle's operating state may include at least one of an idle state, a turn signal operation state, a warning switch on state, a charging state, and a vehicle shutdown switch operation state. In other words, the controller may be configured to determine whether the vehicle is in an idle state by, for example, sensing the vehicle's accelerator pedal or engine operating state, and to determine whether the vehicle's operating state is in an idle mode, a turn signal mode, a warning mode, a charging mode, a vehicle shutdown mode, or the like by sensing whether the driver has operated the turn signal switch, whether the driver has operated the warning switch, whether the vehicle is charging, and whether the driver has turned off the vehicle's start switch.

[0053] In addition, the situation near the vehicle may include at least one of the following situations: a situation in which a welcome function needs to be implemented in response to detecting that a user is approaching the vehicle from outside the vehicle, and a situation in which a pedestrian passes near the vehicle or is near the vehicle (for example, within a predetermined distance around the vehicle). In other words, the controller may be configured to determine a welcome mode by sensing the approach of a user using the vehicle's smart key or remote control key, and to determine a pedestrian guidance mode by sensing pedestrians passing near the vehicle using a camera or other imaging device. Of course, the controller may be configured to determine a welcome mode by sensing the approach of a user using a smartphone owned by the user other than the smart key, other near-field communication (NFC) devices, etc., and to determine a pedestrian guidance mode by sensing pedestrians passing near the vehicle using various sensors other than the camera, such as ultrasonic sensors.

[0054] The scene data of each mode can be configured to express intuition, beauty and luxury. For example, Figure 8A scenario in which a vehicle's patterned skin lighting device is driven according to a pedestrian guidance mode is shown. This scenario can be configured such that the on-state portion gradually and continuously moves along the direction of movement of the pedestrian, as described above. In this case, the controller can be configured to simultaneously operate the unit covers of each lighting unit of the patterned skin lighting device according to the selected scenario data, thereby achieving a more elegant and beautiful lighting image (e.g., improving the lighting aesthetics).

[0055] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing a third exemplary embodiment of a method for operating a pattern skin lighting device of a vehicle according to the present invention, and the method may include: turning on, by a controller, the light-emitting elements of a lighting unit configured in a predetermined Nth column in an arrangement of lighting units configuring the pattern skin lighting device of the vehicle (step S200); and repeatedly increasing N by 1 and turning on, by the controller, the light-emitting elements of the lighting unit configured in the Nth column each time a predetermined turn-on interval has passed (step S210).

[0056] In other words, this exemplary embodiment can create a scenario similar to the pedestrian guidance mode described above. For example, when the columns of lighting units are arranged in increasing order from left to right, it is possible to gradually and sequentially turn on the columns from the left to the right. In other words, when the leftmost column is called the first column and N starts at 1, each time a turn-on interval passes, the columns to the right can be gradually and sequentially turned on, starting from the leftmost column.

[0057] Therefore, the on-interval is the time from when the current column is turned on until the adjacent column is turned on, and can be appropriately changed by the controller, for example, it can be set to about 0.5 seconds, 1 second, etc. The controller can be configured to set a predetermined number of simultaneous on-times and turn off the off column, thereby ensuring a state where the same number of columns as the number of simultaneous on-times are simultaneously turned on, the off column corresponding to the Nth column minus the number of simultaneous on-times (step S230).

[0058] Figure 10 This example illustrates the operation of this exemplary embodiment, where N is incremented by 1 each time. This creates the following appearance: Since the number of simultaneous ONs is 5, starting with the first column, when the sixth column is turned on, the first column, acting as an OFF column, is turned OFF, allowing the second to sixth columns to be turned on. Then, in the next cycle, the third to seventh columns can be turned on. This creates the effect of a state where only five consecutive columns are turned on, gradually shifting from left to right over time.

[0059] The controller can be configured to ignore situations where the calculated off columns are negative. In addition, when the controller sets the number of simultaneous ons to MAX (which is the total number of columns to be regulated), all columns can be turned on sequentially without turning off any columns until the last column turned on is substantially on (e.g., to the maximum value).

[0060] This exemplary embodiment may further include: driving, by the controller, the unit covers of the lighting units in the column requiring the unit covers to be driven, among the lighting units whose light-emitting elements have been turned on (step S220). The controller may be configured to associate the driving of the unit covers of the lighting units with the Nth column, which is the column of the lighting units whose light-emitting elements have just been turned on.

[0061] In other words, the controller may be configured to select a predetermined unit cover designation factor and drive the unit covers of the lighting units of the Mth column, the Mth column being a column obtained by subtracting the unit cover designation factor from the Nth column (which is the column of the lighting units just turned on). Figure 10 In the operation, when the first column from the left is turned on, when the third column is turned on, the unit cover designation factor is 2, so the Mth column is 1, so that the unit cover of the first column can be driven or operated.

[0062] The unit cover designation factor can be arbitrarily changed by the controller to produce a wider range of effects. In addition, even if the Mth column is calculated as described above, the controller can determine whether to drive the unit cover by determining whether the unit cover needs to be operated. The controller can be configured to repeatedly turn on the light-emitting elements of the lighting units configured in the Nth column (step S200) while increasing N by 1 until a predetermined maximum value MAX is reached. For reference, in Figure 10 In the example, MAX is set to 20, and a total of 20 columns can be adjusted.

[0063] When N is greater than MAX, the columns remaining in the on state may be sequentially turned off starting from the previously turned-on columns at a predetermined off interval (step S240). Figure 10 In the example, when N is 20, which is the maximum, the 20th column from the left can be turned on, and the number of columns that are turned on simultaneously is 5. Therefore, the first to fifteenth columns can be turned off. When the sixteenth to nineteenth columns are already in the on state simultaneously, the columns can be turned off one by one by counting the number of columns to be turned off, while increasing N by 1 at each off interval, and repeating this operation until all columns are turned off sequentially. Of course, the off interval can be set to the same value as the on interval, so that the remaining columns are turned off at the same speed as the previous ones, or the off interval can be set to a shorter time for faster turning off.

[0064] While specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the technical spirit of the invention as provided in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a patterned skin lighting device of a vehicle, comprising: Generate multiple random numbers through the controller; accumulating, by a controller, the number of times each lighting unit in an arrangement of lighting units configuring the patterned skin lighting device of the vehicle is continuously turned on; By the controller, among the lighting units corresponding to the generated random number, a lighting unit whose cumulative value of the number of consecutive turning-on times is a predetermined reference value or less is selected as a turning-on target lighting unit; The light emitting elements of the selected lighting units are turned on by the controller.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The number of random numbers is generated by the controller so as to be within a predetermined number range and smaller than the number of all lighting units of the pattern skin lighting device.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The reference value is set by the controller within a range of natural numbers greater than 1.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The unit cover of the selected lighting unit to be turned on is driven by the controller.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: operating the light emitting element and the unit cover of the selected on-target lighting unit by the controller only during a predetermined reference time; Here, all steps starting from generating random numbers are repeated.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The lighting units corresponding to the generated random numbers, whose cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times exceed the reference value, are excluded from the target power-on lighting units; and the cumulative values ​​of the number of consecutive power-on times of the lighting units excluded from the target power-on lighting units are initialized to zero.

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