Vehicle interior lighting control method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for controlling the lighting of a vehicle interior (1), the lighting having a plurality of controllable light sources (7, 11) which generate at least one reading light having a light spot (13) and a defined light cone (14), the lighting also having a gesture camera (12) for recognizing a gesture of a person in the interior (1), wherein the lighting is controlled according to the recognized gesture. The invention is characterized in that the light control takes effect between a start time and an end time, wherein when the light control takes effect and a grasping gesture or a pointing gesture of a hand (16) is recognized in the area of ​​the light cone (14) or the light spot (13), the light cone or the light spot moves with the hand (16) making the gesture.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for controlling vehicle interior lighting of the type specified in the preamble to claim 1. Background Art

[0002] From the prior art it is known to control the lighting of a vehicle interior by means of gestures and in particular the movements of a person in the vehicle interior. DE 10 2015 010 421 A1 describes the three-dimensional detection of a vehicle interior in order to detect and recognize gestures, on the basis of which a control device is activated. In this document, it is described in particular that such a sensor system can be used to control the interior lighting. Here, the situation-related interior lighting requirements can be inferred from the movements. Thus, for example, when a hand is inserted into a map pocket or a glove box, these can be illuminated accordingly. If a book is detected that the person in the vehicle obviously wants to read, it can be illuminated. If, for example, the display of a mobile phone or tablet is detected, only the surroundings are illuminated and not the display itself, in order to minimize glare, etc.

[0003] DE 10 2016 005 062 A1 describes a device and method for lighting a vehicle interior, in which an LED array having a plurality of individually controllable light points is suitable for providing targeted, directional interior lighting, for example by generating light cones and light spots as targeted reading light for vehicle occupants.

[0004] For other related prior art, reference can also be made to DE 10 2012 017 276 A1, which shows a method or device for automatically controlling a light in a vehicle interior, wherein the brightness is controlled according to objects to be considered in the vehicle and various other parameters. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is now to specify a method for improving the control of interior lighting by means of gestures, which method in particular allows intuitive and convenient control of the lighting.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention by a method having the features of claim 1 and in this case in particular the features of the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous refinements and developments of the method according to the invention are derived from the dependent claims.

[0007] The method for controlling the vehicle interior lighting according to the invention is implemented by gesture recognition and a gesture camera, similar to the prior art, and the lighting has several controllable light sources, which generate at least one light spot or reading light spot with a specified light cone and light spot. Unlike the prior art, the lighting is not activated when the corresponding gesture has been recognized, but the lighting that was previously turned on can be controlled accordingly. For this purpose, the light control is activated between the start time and the end time. When the light control is activated, the light spot or light cone can then be moved with the hand making the gesture by a grasping gesture or a pointing gesture of the hand in the light cone or light spot area. The light cone or, in particular, the more perceptible light spot generated by the light cone can therefore be "grasped" and moved in the desired manner by, for example, a pointing gesture pointing to the center of the light spot or by a grasping gesture in the light spot area. For example, from one page of a book to an adjacent page, from a book to a beverage in a cup holder, etc. All of this is done very intuitively, since one only has to grasp or point at the light spot, so that it is then moved between the start and end time of the light control, thereby pulling the grasped light spot to the new position or virtually moving it there in the case of a pointing gesture. All of this is very easy and intuitive in application. People who use such a light control in the interior of a vehicle can therefore use the light control easily and very comfortably without further knowledge.

[0008] According to a very advantageous improvement of the method according to the invention, the start time and / or the end time for activating and deactivating the light control can be set here by means of gestures and / or hand movements as the gestures change. The start time can thus be set very simply by making a corresponding gesture in the area of ​​the light spot, i.e., for example, by "touching" the light spot with a finger in the case of a pointing gesture. In the case of a gripping gesture, it would be the gripping light spot. The start time is then pre-set by the gesture and the light control is then activated, so that the light spot then follows the hand movement. The end time can then again be achieved by means of a gesture, for example, by the hand terminating the gesture and thus indicating to the gesture control that the light spot has reached the desired position and the end time is thus set. In addition, a similar situation can be achieved by means of a hand movement by stopping the action that has occurred before for a period of time, so that the end of the action can be approximately identified and the end time for the activation of the light control can then be identified.

[0009] In addition or as an alternative to this, it is also possible to set the start and / or end time by touching a button or a touch-sensitive surface. Alternatively or in addition, the start and / or end time can also be set in this way. For example, a button or a touch-sensitive screen or another touch-sensitive area can be touched in order to activate the light control accordingly. This makes sense, for example, in the case of two-handed operation, and the start and / or end time of the activation of the light control can be set very accurately, so that a very safe and reliable result can be obtained. Therefore, this control can be combined with the above-mentioned control by means of gestures and / or by means of movement speed in any way, so that, for example, the start time can be set in one way and the end time in another way, or both times can be set in one way or the other according to the operator's choice.

[0010] According to another very advantageous embodiment of the method of the present invention, it can also be provided that, in addition to the alternative or supplement of the possibilities just described, the start time and / or the end time are set by voice control. By means of this voice control, the start time and / or the end time for activating the light control can be set as accurately as by means of a button or a touch-sensitive surface. But in contrast thereto, another hand is not necessarily required, so for example the start time can be triggered by a corresponding voice command. Alternatively or additionally, this can also be done for the end time. It is also applicable here that these methods can also be combined with each other, for example the start time is set by voice control, and the end time is set by gestures. It is also conceivable that each of the moments is set accordingly by means of voice control, buttons or touch-sensitive surfaces and / or gestures according to the user's choice, so that in an ideal case all possibilities can be redundantly and optionally used for the start time and the end time.

[0011] Another very advantageous aspect of the method according to the invention is that, according to a very advantageous development, the start and / or end of the activation light control is displayed. This display of the start and / or end of the activation light control provides the user with feedback as to whether his command or his setting of the start and / or end time has been reliably recognized. This is particularly important when the start and / or end time is set by gesture control or by adjusting the movement of the hand making the gesture, but can also be helpful as feedback in the case of voice control and / or button control or touch-sensitive surface control.

[0012] In addition to simply displaying the start and / or end of an active light control, i.e. simply displaying a reliably identifiable predetermined start or end time, according to a very advantageous development of the concept, the active light control can also be displayed for its entire duration. Thus, the person using the light control can easily see that the light control is currently active and that he can move the light spot or light cone to the desired position by means of a corresponding gesture. This feedback is also helpful in particular when the action is performed very quickly and the light cone or light spot lags slightly behind the action, so that it is convenient for the person using the light control to have a continuous indication that the light control is active.

[0013] Now, according to a very advantageous design of the method according to the invention, both the display of the start and / or end of the active light control and the display during the entire duration of the active light control can be carried out in the form of a visual display. In principle, it is conceivable to carry out such a visual display in various forms. Thus, for example, LEDs etc. within the field of vision of the person using the light control can be activated or their color can be changed. However, according to an extremely advantageous improvement of the design of the invention, it is provided here that the display is carried out by changing the light cone or light spot in terms of brightness, size and / or color temperature. Therefore, the light cone or light spot itself can contain a visual display, which is a very beneficial, advantageous and intuitively perceptible possible way. The light cone or light spot can react accordingly by changing the brightness, color, size, color and / or color temperature for this purpose. Thus, for example, flickering caused by increasing or decreasing the brightness or even turning the light on and off, changes in size (i.e. fluctuations or swings in the light spot) or changes in color temperature (such as from cool white to warm white or even to other hues) can be used to intuitively and efficiently indicate to the person using the light control that, for example, a start time and / or end time has been set and / or that the light control is in its effective phase.

[0014] Alternatively and additionally, multiple light sources can be used, each forming its own light point. When multiple light points are used, a first basic illumination with white light can be used and a second additional light point with colored light can be used. The color spectrum of the colored light points then originates from the RGB (red-green-blue) color space.

[0015] As a supplement or alternative, according to an advantageous improvement of the display, it can also be provided that the display is performed in an acoustic and / or tactile manner. The display can be performed in an acoustic manner, for example, the start time and / or the end time are indicated by a buzzer or the like. An alternative possible manner may be, for example, voice output or the like. This can also be achieved during the duration of the effective light control, that is, for example, a melody, a sound series, etc. are played during the duration. As an alternative, tactile feedback is also possible, for example, the seat of the person making the gesture vibrates accordingly to display the start time and / or the end time or, in particular, to display the effective light control during the entire duration. This acoustic and / or tactile display method can be used here independently of the visual display, or can be combined with the visual display in particular to design the display to be more efficient. For example, a tone for indicating the start time of the effective light control and a tone for indicating the end time of the effective light control can be conceived. At the same time, during the period when the light control is effective, the color temperature and / or brightness of the light spot can pulsate accordingly to indicate that the light control is effective. As an alternative or in addition to the examples just described, other possible variants are of course also conceivable.

[0016] Here, various types of light sources can be used as light sources, which enable the light spot to be moved in the desired manner. According to a very advantageous development of the method according to the invention, an LED array or a micro-LED array should be used as the light source. The LED array can contain from a few dozen LEDs to several thousand LEDs. The array advantageously contains 1024 individually controllable light points. Such components are commercially available and have been developed in the so-called μAFS (AFS=Adaptive Front Lighting System) as LED chips with a size of approximately 2.5 cm×2.5 cm and 1024 micro-LEDs. Here, the LED chips are developed in particular for vehicle exterior headlights to achieve active lighting. Due to their very compactness, high resolution and good controllability, they are also suitable for vehicle interior lighting and are particularly suitable for structures using one of the above-mentioned embodiments of the method according to the invention, because they can make the light spot follow the hand making the gesture very quickly and efficiently, and at the same time, in particular, can also achieve visual displays within the light spot, for example by means of fluctuations, pulsating brightness, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Further advantageous designs of the method according to the invention also result from the following embodiments described in detail with reference to the figures, wherein:

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the interior of a vehicle as viewed from above;

[0019] Figure 2 Possible pointing gestures within the light spot area are shown;

[0020] Figure 3 Possible grasping gestures within the light spot area are shown;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the effective light control of the method of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 Schematic diagram showing a virtual display caused by light spots during the light control period. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] exist Figure 1 In the illustration of the vehicle, the interior 1 of the vehicle, which is not shown in its entirety, can be seen. The interior 1 of the vehicle consists of a front area with two seats 2, 3 and a rear area with three seats 4, 5, 6. Various light sources in the form of micro LED arrays 7 are to be present in the interior 1 of the vehicle. In order to illustrate the method according to the invention, a light source 7 is provided in the area of ​​a rear door handle 8. Other positions for optional additional light sources can be, for example, a front door handle 9 and different positions in the instrument panel area marked with 10 in the interior 1 of the vehicle. The optional light source marked with 11 is shown in dashed lines in this area. The interior 1 of the vehicle is also equipped with a camera system for detecting the interior 1 and for recognizing and evaluating the gestures of people in the interior 1 of the vehicle. The camera system can also be referred to as a gesture camera 12.

[0024] The light source 7 in the door handle 8 at the rear left in the driving direction F can here form a light cone 14 and a light spot 13 in the longitudinal hatched area enclosed by dashed lines, while the light source 7 in the door handle 8 at the rear right in the driving direction F is used for the transverse hatched area enclosed by dashed lines. Now, the person who is to be seated on the rear seat 4 of the vehicle interior 1 wants to read, for example, a book, a map, a magazine, etc., and has activated the reading light generated accordingly by the light source 7 in the door handle 8 at the rear left in the driving direction F. For this purpose, the light source 7 emits a light cone 14, which produces the light spot 13 shown. The person sitting on the seat 4 now wants to move the light spot 13, for example from one page of his book to another, or, for example, to the center console area marked with 15 in order to take a drink from the cup holder there. This can now be done in that the person who is sitting on the seat 4 and not shown here "touches" the light spot 13 by a gesture, thereby activating the light control. Figure 2 and Figure 3 An exemplary gesture is shown in the diagram of FIG. Figure 2 In the illustration of , it is a pointing gesture, where the index finger 17 of the hand 16 is extended and points to the light spot 13. This gesture is recognized by the gesture camera 12 and the light control is activated. By moving the hand 16 or the extended index finger 17 and by the gesture camera 12 correspondingly detecting this movement, the light spot 13 can now follow the movement of the gesturing hand 16 via the light control, so that the light spot is almost "touched" by the extended index finger 17 and moved to the desired position.

[0025] exist Figure 3An alternative gesture is shown in the illustration of . In this case, the hand 16 makes a grasping gesture and almost grasps the light spot 13 between the thumb 18 and the other fingers 19. In this way, the light spot 13 can also be "grasped" and correspondingly displaced or "pulled" to a new position. Figure 4 In the diagram of FIG, the process from the initial position of the light spot 13 and the hand 16 indicated by the dashed line to the end position of the hand 16 is shown. The light spot 13 follows accordingly and is therefore in the same position relative to the hand 16 at the end as at the start, so that the person controlling the hand 16 can move the light spot 13 to the desired new position.

[0026] The start of the light control can now be triggered in various ways, during which the light spot 13 will track the hand 16 making the gesture. This is particularly simple and effective to achieve by means of gestures recognized by the gesture camera 13. That is, if a gesture is made in the area of ​​the light spot 13 or the light cone 14, Figure 2 Pointing gestures or follow Figure 3 , the light control is thereby activated and a corresponding tracking of the light spot 13 is achieved. An alternative possibility is, for example, to touch a button or a touch-sensitive surface to activate the light control for tracking the light spot 13, but this requires the other hand to initiate the start process. Voice control is also conceivable, which is carried out by a control device such as a touch-sensitive device installed in the interior 1. Figure 1 The microphone 20 shown is used to capture and recognize the start time for activating the light control. A similar situation applies to the end time. This can be set by gesture control, for example by distinguishing a gesture in the area of ​​the light spot 13. Stopping the movement is also sufficient to set the end time. In principle, it is also conceivable to use a button or a touch-sensitive surface to set the end time as a supplement or alternative to such a gesture, or to set the end time by voice command. The various methods can also be combined with each other here, so that the person using the light control can make a choice from the variants for both the start time and the end time.

[0027] It is particularly advantageous here to display at least the start and end times or also the entire duration of the light control being effective accordingly. This feedback for people using the light control helps to increase the acceptance and reliability of the system and the positive perception of the system by people. In particular, the start and / or end times can be displayed acoustically here by a sound signal from the loudspeaker 21 shown. It is also conceivable, for example, to provide tactile feedback caused by the vibration of the seat 4 shown by the line marked with 22. It is also conceivable to give feedback through the light cone 14 or the light spot 13 itself, for example by flashing it briefly, changing its light temperature or light color, etc. This is possible for both the end and start times. In addition, it is also feasible and meaningful in particular in the visual display with the help of the light spot 13 itself that the light spot is displayed throughout the entire period of the light control being effective. This can be done, for example, by changing the brightness, size and / or color temperature or light color of the light spot 13, so that, for example, its size changes in a pulsating manner. This is in Figure 4 According to Figure 2 The gesture of the hand 16 is schematically indicated by a dashed line, which can indicate the enlargement and reduction of the light spot 13 .

Claims

1. A method for controlling the lighting of a vehicle interior (1), the lighting comprising a plurality of controllable light sources (7, 11) which generate at least one reading light having a light spot (13) and a defined light cone (14), the lighting also comprising a gesture camera (12) for recognizing gestures of a person located in the interior (1), in, the lighting is controlled according to the recognized gesture, It is characterized in that Light control takes effect between the start time and the end time. The starting time is predefined by a first gesture and / or a hand (16) movement with a first change of gesture, or is predefined by touching a first button or a first touch-sensitive surface, or is predefined by a first voice control; The end time is predefined by a second gesture and / or a hand (16) movement with a second change of gesture, or is predefined by touching a second button or a second touch-sensitive surface, or is predefined by a second voice control; When the light control takes effect and a grasping gesture or a pointing gesture of a hand (16) is recognized in the area of ​​the light cone (14) or the light spot (13), the light cone or the light spot moves together with the hand (16) making the gesture. The beginning and / or end of the activation phase of the light control is displayed, the display being performed in a visual manner, The visual display is performed by changing the brightness, size, color temperature and / or color of the light cone (14) or the light spot (13).

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The active phase of the light control is displayed over its entire duration.

3. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The display is performed acoustically and / or haptically.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that LED arrays or micro-LED arrays with several individually controllable light points are used as light sources.

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