Vehicle screen control device and control method

Abstract

This invention provides a screen control device and method for a vehicle. The screen control device includes: a sensing device for measuring illuminance; a brightness determining device for determining a brightness level corresponding to the illuminance from one or more illuminance measurement data; and a controller for controlling the screen brightness of a display based on the determined brightness level. Whenever the brightness level changes, the controller controls the screen brightness of the display.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0180238, filed on December 21, 2020, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to a screen control device and control method for a vehicle. Background Technology

[0004] Recently, vehicles have been providing various information on displays within the vehicle, such as audio-visual navigation (AVN) systems or infotainment systems.

[0005] Therefore, users are using displays to identify information more frequently.

[0006] The monitor's screen outputs a fixed brightness based on a preset brightness value.

[0007] Therefore, the monitor's screen brightness does not take into account changes in the external lighting environment.

[0008] Therefore, even though the surroundings may darken or brighten due to sudden changes in the external environment, the user's visibility is reduced because the monitor's screen brightness is output as a fixed brightness. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art, while maintaining the advantages achieved by the prior art.

[0010] One aspect of this disclosure provides a vehicle screen control device and control method that improves user visibility by using an illuminance sensor and vehicle speed and position information to provide optimized display screen brightness in a vehicle environment with rapid changes in illuminance.

[0011] Another aspect of this disclosure provides a screen control device and control method for a vehicle that applies screen adjustment gain based on user settings to a luminance meter to determine the brightness level in order to improve user satisfaction.

[0012] The technical problems to be solved by this disclosure are not limited to those described above. Any other technical problems not mentioned herein should be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

[0013] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a vehicle screen control device may include: a sensing device for measuring illuminance; a brightness determining device for determining a brightness level corresponding to the illuminance from one or more illuminance measurement data; and a controller for controlling the screen brightness of the display according to the determined brightness level.

[0014] The controller can adjust the screen brightness of the display whenever the brightness level changes.

[0015] When the number of illuminance measurement data is less than the default value, the luminance determination device can use the most recently received illuminance measurement data to determine the luminance level.

[0016] When the number of illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to the default value, the luminance determination device can calculate the average luminance based on the illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data, and can determine the luminance level based on the average luminance.

[0017] The luminance determination device can extract illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data from previously stored illuminance measurement data in the order of most recently stored data.

[0018] The brightness determination device can variably set the amount of average data based on the vehicle's location.

[0019] When the vehicle is located on a regular road, the brightness determination device can set the average data quantity to a default value.

[0020] When the vehicle is on a highway or when it enters a tunnel ahead, the brightness determination device can set the average data to a value less than the default value.

[0021] When the vehicle is located in a city center or a forest, the brightness determination device can set the average data to a value greater than the default value.

[0022] The screen control device may further include a weight setting device that sets weights for illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data based on vehicle speed.

[0023] The weight setting device can calculate the number of weights applied and the weight percentage (weight percentage) based on the time required to move the reference distance according to the current vehicle speed.

[0024] The weight setting device can divide the weight % by the number of weights applied, and can assign the segmented weights to the illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of weights applied, in the order of most recently stored data.

[0025] The weight setting device can divide the remaining weights (excluding the weight %) and assign the divided weights to other illuminance measurement data, excluding the illuminance measurement data to which weights have been assigned.

[0026] When the number of weights applied is greater than the number of average data points, the weight setting device can distribute equal weights to the illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data points.

[0027] The luminance determination device can determine the luminance level corresponding to the illuminance from illuminance measurement data based on a luminance table that defines luminance changes according to illuminance changes.

[0028] When a user adjusts the screen brightness of the monitor, the brightness determination device can calibrate the brightness meter by applying the user's brightness adjustment gain.

[0029] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a screen control method for a vehicle may include: measuring illuminance; determining a brightness level corresponding to the illuminance from one or more illuminance measurement data; and controlling the screen brightness of the display according to the determined brightness level.

[0030] Controlling screen brightness can include adjusting the display's screen brightness whenever the brightness level changes. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The above and other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a screen control device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 2A and Figure 2B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of determining luminance based on illuminance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 3A and Figure 3B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation for determining illuminance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 4A and Figure 4B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of adjusting the amount of average data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 5C This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of setting the weights of illuminance measurement data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of setting the weights of illuminance measurement data according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating the operation flow of a screen control method for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0039] Figure 10 This is a block diagram illustrating a computing system for performing methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0040] In the following, some embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that identical or equivalent components are indicated by the same reference numerals even if shown in other drawings. Furthermore, in describing embodiments of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known features or functions are omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the gist of the disclosure.

[0041] In describing components according to embodiments of this disclosure, terms such as “first,” “second,” “A,” “B,” “(a),” and “(b)” may be used. These terms are intended only to distinguish one component from another, and they do not limit the nature, order, or sequence of the constituent components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms such as those defined in general dictionaries shall be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of the relevant technical field, and shall not be interpreted as having an ideal or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined herein. When a component, apparatus, element, etc., of this disclosure is described as having a purpose or performing an operation, function, etc., the component, apparatus, or element shall be regarded herein as “configured” to satisfy that purpose or perform that operation or function.

[0042] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a screen control device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 The vehicle screen control device 100 may include a controller 110, an interface 120, a communication device 130, a storage device 140, a sensing device 150, a brightness determination device 160, and a weight setting device 170. In this document, the controller 110, sensing device 150, brightness determination device 160, and weight setting device 170 of the screen control device 100 may be implemented as at least one processor.

[0044] The controller 110 can control the operation of each component of the screen control device 100 and can process the signals transmitted between the components.

[0045] The interface 120 may include an input device for receiving control commands from the user and an output device for outputting the operating status, operating results, etc. of the screen control device 100.

[0046] In this document, input devices may include buttons and may include soft keys implemented on a display. Additionally, input devices may include a mouse, joystick, jog shuttle, stylus, etc.

[0047] The output device may include a display and may include a voice output device such as a speaker. As an example, the display may correspond to the display of an audio-visual navigation (AVN) system in a vehicle.

[0048] In this case, when a touch sensor such as a touch film, touchpad, or touch pad is placed in the display, the display can operate as a touch screen and can be implemented in the form of an integrated input and output device.

[0049] In this case, the display may include at least one of liquid crystal display (LCD), thin film transistor-LCD (TFT-LCD), organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, flexible display, field emission display (FED), and three-dimensional (3D) display.

[0050] The communication device 130 may include a communication module for communicating with electronic devices and / or controllers installed in the vehicle via a vehicle network.

[0051] In this article, technologies used for vehicle network communication may include Controller Area Network (CAN) communication, Local Interconnect Network (LIN) communication, flex-ray communication, etc.

[0052] In addition, the communication device 130 may include a communication module for accessing the wireless Internet or a communication module for short-range communication.

[0053] In this article, technologies used for wireless internet may include wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless broadband (WiBro), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), global microwave access interoperability (WiMAX), etc.

[0054] In addition, technologies used for short-range communication may include Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared data communication (IrDA), etc.

[0055] The storage device 140 can store data, algorithms, etc. required for the operation of the screen control device 100.

[0056] As an example, storage device 140 may store one or more illuminance measurement data measured by an illuminance sensor. Furthermore, storage device 140 may store commands and / or algorithms for determining a reference illuminance based on illuminance information, vehicle speed, and vehicle position information, and for controlling the screen brightness of the display based on the determined illuminance.

[0057] In this document, storage device 140 may include storage media such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), or electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM).

[0058] The sensing device 150 may include an illuminance sensor for measuring illuminance.

[0059] The illuminance sensor can measure the illuminance outside the vehicle in real time or at regular intervals and can detect changes in illuminance. The illuminance measurement data obtained by the illuminance sensor can then be stored in the storage device 140.

[0060] In this paper, illuminance measurement data can be accumulated and stored in storage device 140 from the time the vehicle is started (ON). When the vehicle is turned off (OFF), the accumulated illuminance measurement data can be deleted.

[0061] Furthermore, illuminance measurement data can be stored in the order of most recently stored data. In this case, only a predetermined maximum number of illuminance measurement data can be stored in the order of most recently stored data, and previously stored data can be deleted.

[0062] The controller 110 can transmit illuminance measurement data to the luminance determination device 160 and / or the weight setting device 170.

[0063] Furthermore, the sensing device 150 may further include a vehicle speed sensor for measuring vehicle speed. The sensing device 150 may further include a position sensor for measuring vehicle position.

[0064] Vehicle speed data measured by the vehicle speed sensor and position data measured by the position sensor can be stored in storage device 140. As an example, the position sensor can detect whether the vehicle's current position is a general road, highway, tunnel, city center, or forest.

[0065] In addition, the controller 110 can transmit vehicle speed data and position data to the brightness determination device 160 and / or the weight setting device 170.

[0066] The brightness determination device 160 can determine the brightness level based on illuminance measurement data measured by an illuminance sensor.

[0067] In this paper, the luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance level corresponding to the illuminance value of the illuminance measurement data based on the luminance meter.

[0068] The luminance table can be a table that defines luminance changes based on changes in illuminance; it can be predefined and stored in the storage device 140. Therefore, referring to... Figure 2A An example of a luminance meter is described. Figure 2A This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of determining luminance based on illuminance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0069] Reference Figure 2A A luminance table can define changes in luminance based on changes in illuminance, and it can be represented as a default graph. Therefore, Figure 1 The luminance determination device 160 can identify illuminance values ​​from illuminance measurement data and can identify values ​​compared to previously measured values. Figure 2A The luminance level (%) is the illuminance value (Lux) identified in the luminance table.

[0070] As an example, when assuming the illuminance value of the illuminance measurement data is 5000 Lux, in Figure 2A In the luminance table, the luminance level corresponding to 5000 Lux illuminance is 60%.

[0071] Therefore, the brightness determining device 160 can determine the brightness level as 60% based on the brightness meter.

[0072] When the brightness determining device 160 determines the brightness level Figure 1 The controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display based on the determined brightness level.

[0073] Additionally, when a user randomly adjusts the monitor's screen brightness, the brightness meter can be adjusted by applying the user-adjusted gain.

[0074] In this article, the user-adjusted gain can be defined as the value obtained by dividing the current screen brightness level set by the user by the brightness level corresponding to the current illuminance in the current brightness table.

[0075] As an example, such as Figure 2A As shown in the embodiment, when the current illuminance is 5000 Lux, the brightness level corresponding to the current illuminance is 60%.

[0076] In this case, assuming the user sets the brightness level to 90%, the user adjusts the gain = 90% / 60% = 1.5.

[0077] Therefore, the luminance meter can be adjusted from the default graph to a curve with values ​​obtained by multiplying the luminance level corresponding to the illuminance by 1.5 using a user-adjusted gain.

[0078] Therefore, the brightness meter obtained by applying user-adjusted gain can be represented as follows: Figure 3B As shown.

[0079] The brightness determination device 160 can identify the illuminance value from the illuminance measurement data and determine the brightness level (%) corresponding to the illuminance value (Lux) previously identified in the adjusted brightness table. When the brightness determination device 160 determines the brightness level, the controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display based on the determined brightness level.

[0080] When determining the level of brightness, the brightness determining device 160 may apply different standards for determining the level of brightness depending on the amount of illuminance measurement data stored in the storage device 140.

[0081] First, when the number of previously stored illuminance measurement data is less than the default (e.g., default value) N, the luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance level based on the most recently measured illuminance measurement data.

[0082] At this time, the brightness determining device 160 can determine the brightness level based on the most recently measured illuminance data. The controller 110 can then control the screen brightness of the display according to the determined brightness level.

[0083] Therefore, refer to Figure 3A An example of an operation for determining the level of luminance based on recently measured illuminance data is described. Figure 3A This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation for determining illuminance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0084] Reference Figure 3A The 29 illuminance measurement data were stored Figure 1 In the state of the storage device 140, the most recently stored illuminance measurement data is the 29th illuminance measurement data.

[0085] In this case, assuming a default value N = 45, since the amount of illuminance measurement data stored in storage device 140 is less than 45, therefore Figure 1 The luminance determining device 160 can determine the luminance level based on the most recently stored 29th illuminance measurement data. As an example, the luminance level corresponding to the illuminance of the 29th illuminance measurement data is 74%.

[0086] therefore, Figure 1 The controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display to 74%.

[0087] Subsequently, with 44 illuminance measurement data stored in the storage device 140, the most recently stored illuminance measurement data is the 44th illuminance measurement data.

[0088] At this point, assuming a default value N = 45, since the number of illuminance measurement data stored in storage device 140 is less than 45, the luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance level based on the most recently stored 44th illuminance measurement data. As an example, the luminance level corresponding to the illuminance of the 44th illuminance measurement data is 76%.

[0089] Therefore, the controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display to 76%.

[0090] Meanwhile, when the stored illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to the default value N, the luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance of the N illuminance measurement data in the order of most recently stored data, and can determine the luminance level based on the calculated average luminance.

[0091] Therefore, refer to Figure 3B An example is described to illustrate the operation of calculating the average luminance of N illuminance measurements and determining the luminance level. Figure 3B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation for determining illuminance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0092] Reference Figure 3B Stored Figure 1 The illuminance measurement data stored in storage device 140 is 299. In this case, assuming a default value N = 45, since the number of illuminance measurement data stored in storage device 140 is greater than or equal to 45, Figure 1 The brightness determination device 160 can calculate the average brightness based on N illuminance measurement data in the order of most recently stored data.

[0093] In this paper, the luminance determination device 160 can calculate 45 luminance levels corresponding to 45 illuminance measurement data in the order of most recently stored data, and can calculate the average luminance of the 45 luminance levels.

[0094] Since the most recently determined brightness level is the 299th illuminance measurement data, the brightness determination device 160 can calculate the average brightness based on 45 illuminance measurement data from the 299th illuminance measurement data, i.e., from the 255th illuminance measurement data to the 299th illuminance measurement data.

[0095] As an example, since the average luminance calculated based on the 255th illuminance measurement data to the 299th illuminance measurement data is 76%, the luminance determining device 160 can determine the luminance level as 76%.

[0096] Therefore, the controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display to 76%.

[0097] Subsequently, when the 300th illuminance measurement data measured by the illuminance sensor is stored in the storage device 140, the luminance determination device 160 can recalculate the average luminance of the 45 illuminance measurement data based on the most recently stored illuminance measurement data.

[0098] In this paper, since the most recently determined brightness level is the 300th illuminance measurement data, the brightness determination device 160 can calculate the average brightness based on 45 illuminance measurement data from the 300th illuminance measurement data, i.e., from the 256th illuminance measurement data to the 300th illuminance measurement data.

[0099] As an example, since the average luminance calculated based on the 256th illuminance measurement data to the 300th illuminance measurement data is 76%, the luminance determining device 160 can determine the luminance level as 76%.

[0100] Therefore, the controller 110 can control the screen brightness of the display to 76%.

[0101] At the same time, illuminance measurement data are sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment.

[0102] For example, the measurement values ​​of illuminance may be inaccurate because there are many structures, buildings, trees, etc. in tunnels, urban centers, or forests that interfere with illuminance measurements.

[0103] At the same time, since there are fewer factors interfering with illuminance measurement on highways compared to ordinary roads, the surrounding environment changes consistently.

[0104] Therefore, the brightness determining device 160 can apply different amounts of illuminance measurement data for determining brightness depending on the vehicle's location.

[0105] The amount of average data used to determine the brightness of each road type is in Figure 4A As shown in the image. Figure 4A This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of adjusting the amount of average data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0106] Reference Figure 4A The number of average data points used in general roads is N. In this paper, the number of average data points in general roads can be defined as the default value.

[0107] As an example, N can be 45. This can vary with the response speed of the illuminance sensor. In other words, when the sensor's response speed is 40ms, the average number of data points with the minimum perceived difference is 45.

[0108] therefore, Figure 1 The luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance using 45 illuminance measurement data points on a typical road.

[0109] In general, N average data points are applied to the road surface. However, when a vehicle enters a tunnel from the road surface, the illuminance changes drastically. Therefore, the number of average data points for vehicles entering the tunnel from the road surface is (N-α), obtained by subtracting a first value α from the default value. In this paper, to prevent drastic changes in illuminance, the number of average data points before reaching a certain distance from the tunnel entrance can be (N-α).

[0110] Therefore, the luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance using (N-α) illuminance measurement data before entering the tunnel at a certain distance from a general road.

[0111] In this paper, after leaving the tunnel, (N-α) can be adjusted back to N, which is the average number of data points on a typical road.

[0112] Meanwhile, the surrounding environment on highways changes more consistently compared to ordinary roads. Therefore, due to the smaller environmental variations on highways, the amount of noisy data is reduced. Thus, the average amount of data on highways is applied using (N-α), obtained by subtracting the first value α from the default value.

[0113] Therefore, when a vehicle enters a highway, the luminance determination device 160 can use (N-α) illuminance measurement data to determine the luminance.

[0114] In this paper, the first value α can vary with the response speed of the illuminance sensor. In other words, the first value α can be defined as a value corresponding to a certain time based on the response speed of the illuminance sensor.

[0115] As an example, when the response time of the illuminance sensor is 40 ms, the first value α can be defined as 15, where 40 ms corresponds to 0.6 seconds. This is only one embodiment in this document; obviously, in other embodiments, these parameters can be changed to any degree depending on the implementation.

[0116] Illuminance can change rapidly when a vehicle enters a tunnel on a highway. Therefore, the average number of data points for vehicles entering a tunnel on a highway is significantly less than the average number of data points for the entire highway (N-α).

[0117] Therefore, the average data point quantity when a vehicle enters a tunnel on a highway is applied by subtracting a second value β from the default value (N-β). In this paper, the second value β has a value greater than the first value α. To prevent rapid changes in illuminance, the average data point quantity (N-β) can be applied up to a certain distance from the tunnel entrance.

[0118] Therefore, the luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance from (N-β) illuminance measurement data before the vehicle enters the tunnel at a certain distance on the highway.

[0119] In this paper, after the vehicle leaves the tunnel, (N-β) can be readjusted to (N-α), which is the average number of data points on the highway.

[0120] Reference Figure 4B The graph depicts the change in average brightness based on the variation in the amount of average data in general roads and highways. Figure 4B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of adjusting the amount of average data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0121] Reference Figure 4B While it is robust to noisy data, as the amount of average data used to calculate average illuminance increases, the time taken to reflect the current illuminance data also increases due to the increased amount of data.

[0122] At the same time, when the amount of average data used to calculate average luminance is reduced, although it is more susceptible to noise data, the time spent reflecting the current illuminance data is reduced because of the reduced amount of data.

[0123] Because highways have sections that are tunnels and sections that are not, the environmental changes are smaller than on ordinary roads. Although the number of average data points decreases due to the reduction in noise data, the response speed of illuminance measurement data is improved.

[0124] As an example, when using an average of 45 illuminance measurements to control brightness on a general road, illuminance measurements over 1.8 seconds (45 * 0.04 s = 1.8 s) can be reflected in brightness control.

[0125] On the other hand, when the average data on highways is corrected to 30, illuminance measurement data over 1.2 seconds (30 * 0.04 s = 1.2 s) can be reflected in brightness control.

[0126] Therefore, when adjusting the amount of average data according to the road environment, the response speed of illuminance measurement data can be controlled.

[0127] Meanwhile, due to the abundance of tall buildings in urban environments, the illuminance environment varies considerably. Therefore, a significant amount of noise may appear in the illuminance measurement data.

[0128] Therefore, the amount of average data in urban environments increases. In this paper, the amount of average data in urban environments can be calculated by applying (N+α), obtained by adding the default value to the first value α.

[0129] Therefore, when vehicles enter the city center, Figure 1 The luminance determination device 160 can determine the luminance using (N+α) illuminance measurement data.

[0130] When the vehicle leaves the city center, (N+α) can be adjusted back to N, which is the average number of data points on general roads.

[0131] Furthermore, due to the abundance of trees in forest environments, the range of light intensity varies considerably. Therefore, forest environments exhibit a greater range of light intensity variations than urban environments.

[0132] Therefore, the amount of average data increases more in a forest environment than in an urban environment. In this case, the amount of average data in a forest environment can be obtained by applying (N+β) by adding the default value to the second value β.

[0133] Therefore, when a vehicle enters a forest, the luminance determination device 160 can use (N+β) illuminance measurement data to determine the luminance.

[0134] Meanwhile, when determining the average luminance of illuminance measurement data, the illuminance measurement data used as the standard for determining the average luminance can vary with vehicle speed and / or vehicle position.

[0135] When calculating the average luminance based on N illuminance measurement data, different weights can be set for each illuminance measurement data according to the vehicle speed.

[0136] When the vehicle speed is slow, the change in illuminance progresses slowly, while when the vehicle speed is fast, the change in illuminance progresses rapidly.

[0137] therefore, Figure 1 The weight setting device 170 can set a weight for each illuminance measurement data and can set the weight of each illuminance measurement data according to different vehicle speeds.

[0138] As an example, when the vehicle speed is slow, the weight setting device 170 can set equal weights for N illuminance measurement data.

[0139] Meanwhile, when the vehicle speed is high, the weight setting device 170 can set weights for N illuminance measurement data, and can set greater weights for the most recent M illuminance measurement data to reflect rapid changes in illuminance.

[0140] First, the weight setting device 170 can calculate the weight of each vehicle speed data point, and can also calculate the weight of the calculated weight.

[0141] In this paper, when the reference distance is assumed to be 10m and the reference time of the data storage period is 40ms, the weight setting device 170 obtains the time required to move 10m at the current vehicle speed, and obtains the amount of data accumulated when moving 10m by dividing the required time by 40ms.

[0142] For example, at a current speed of 80 km / h, the time required to move 10 meters is 0.45 s. Dividing this time by 0.45 s by 40 ms, we get 0.45[s] / 40[ms] = 0.45[s] / 0.04[s] = 11.25. Therefore, at a current speed of 80 km / h, the weight of the data is approximately 11.

[0143] When the number of calculated data weights is greater than the default value N, the weight setting device 170 sets weights equally for the N data.

[0144] Weight % refers to the ratio obtained by subtracting the weight of each data point from the total number of data points N.

[0145] As an example, when the number of weights in the data is 11, the weight % = [1 - (11 / 45)] × 100 = approximately 75%.

[0146] Therefore, the weight setting device 170 uses the calculated data weight and the calculated weight % to calculate the weight of each illuminance measurement data.

[0147] In this case, the weight setting device 170 calculates the weight of the most recent illuminance measurement data corresponding to the weight quantity M with reference to Formula 1 below.

[0148] [Formula 1]

[0149] Weight of the most recent M illuminance measurements = weight % / number of weights

[0150] For example, when a weight of 75% is applied to the 11 most recent illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 11 illuminance measurements is 75% / 11 = 0.75 / 11 = approximately 0.068.

[0151] Meanwhile, the weight setting device 170 calculates the weights of the previous illuminance measurement data (excluding the most recent M illuminance measurement data) among the N illuminance measurement data with reference to Formula 2 below.

[0152] [Formula 2]

[0153] Weight of previous illuminance measurement data = (1 - weight %) / (NM)

[0154] In Formula 2 above, N refers to the number of reference data used to calculate the average brightness, and M refers to the number of data weights.

[0155] For example, when a weight of 25% is applied to the 34 illuminance measurements other than the most recent 11 out of 45 illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 34 illuminance measurements is (1-75%) / (45-11) = 0.25 / 34 = approximately 0.007.

[0156] Therefore, the weight setting device 170 can set a weight of 0.068 for each of the 11 most recent illuminance measurement data, i.e., each of the 35th to 45th illuminance measurement data, and can set a weight of 0.007 for each of the previous 34 illuminance measurement data, i.e., each of the 1st to 34th illuminance measurement data.

[0157] At this time, the brightness determination device 160 can apply the weights set by the weight setting device 170 to calculate the average brightness of N illuminance measurement data, and can determine the brightness level based on the average brightness.

[0158] Reference Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 5C An example of setting weights based on vehicle speed is described. Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 5C This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of setting weights for illuminance measurement data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0159] first, Figure 5A An example of setting weights is shown when the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 15 km / h.

[0160] Reference Figure 5A When the vehicle travels at a speed of 15 km / h, the change in illuminance progresses very slowly. In this case, assuming N = 45 and a vehicle speed of 15 km / h, since the time required to move 10 m is 2.4 s, the weight of the data is 2.4 [s] / 40 [ms] = 2.4 [s] / 0.04 [s] = 60. Therefore, since the weight of the data is greater than the default value of 45, Figure 1 The weight setting device 170 uniformly sets 1 / 45 of the weights across 45 illuminance measurement data.

[0161] therefore, Figure 1 The brightness determination device 160 can calculate the average brightness based on the most recent 45 illuminance measurement data and determine the final brightness level.

[0162] Figure 5B An example of setting weights is shown when the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 50 km / h.

[0163] Reference Figure 5B When a vehicle travels at 50 km / h, the speed is not very fast, but the change in illuminance may be greater than... Figure 5A The speed is faster. In this case, assuming N=45 and the current speed is 50km / h, the time required to move 10m is 0.72s. Dividing the required time 0.72s by 40ms, 0.72[s] / 40[ms] = 0.72[s] / 0.04[s] = 18. Therefore, at the current speed of 50km / h, the weight of the data is approximately 18.

[0164] Furthermore, when the number of data weights is 18, the weight % = [1 - (18 / 45)] × 100 = 60%.

[0165] Therefore, when a weight of 60% is applied to the 18 most recent illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 18 illuminance measurements is 60% / 18 = 0.6 / 18 = 1 / 30 (≒0.03).

[0166] Meanwhile, when a 40% weight is applied to the 27 illuminance measurement data points other than the most recent 18 illuminance measurement data points out of the 45 illuminance measurement data points, the weight of each of the 27 illuminance measurement data points is 40[%] / 27=0.4 / 27=2 / 135(≒0.014).

[0167] Therefore, the weight setting device 170 can set a weight of 1 / 30 for each of the most recent 18 illuminance measurement data, i.e., the 28th to the 45th illuminance measurement data, and can set a weight of 2 / 135 for each of the previous 27 illuminance measurement data, i.e., the 1st to the 27th illuminance measurement data.

[0168] Therefore, the luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance based on the weighted illuminance measurement data and determine the final luminance level.

[0169] Figure 5C An example of setting weights is shown when the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 100 km / h.

[0170] Reference Figure 5C When a vehicle is traveling at 100 km / h, the illuminance can change very rapidly due to the extremely high speed. Therefore, at very high speeds, the most recent illuminance measurement data is given a higher weight.

[0171] Assuming N = 45 and the current vehicle speed is 100 km / h, the time required to move 10 m is 0.36 s. Therefore, by dividing the required time 0.36 s by 40 ms, 0.36[s] / 40[ms] = 0.36[s] / 0.04[s] = 9. Thus, at the current vehicle speed of 100 km / h, the weight of the data is 9.

[0172] Furthermore, when the number of data weights is 9, the weight % = [1 - (9 / 45)] × 100 = 80%.

[0173] Therefore, when 80% of the weight is applied to the most recent 9 illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 9 illuminance measurements is 80% / 9 = 0.8 / 9 = 4 / 45 (≒0.08).

[0174] Meanwhile, when a 20% weight is applied to the other 36 illuminance measurement data points out of the 45 illuminance measurement data points, the weight of each of the 36 illuminance measurement data points is 20[%] / 36=0.2 / 36=1 / 180 (≒0.005).

[0175] Therefore, the weight setting device 170 can set a weight of 4 / 45 for each of the nine most recent illuminance measurement data, i.e., the 37th to the 45th illuminance measurement data, and can set a weight of 1 / 180 for each of the previous 36 illuminance measurement data, i.e., the 1st to the 36th illuminance measurement data.

[0176] Therefore, the luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance based on the weighted illuminance measurement data and determine the final luminance level.

[0177] Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of setting the weights of illuminance measurement data according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0178] exist Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 5C In this embodiment, the weights are set based on vehicle speed. Figure 6A and Figure 6B In one embodiment, weights are set based on vehicle location and speed.

[0179] first, Figure 6A An example of setting weights is shown when a vehicle is traveling at 40 km / h in a city center.

[0180] Reference Figure 6AWhen the vehicle is currently located on a typical road in the city center and is traveling at a speed of 40 km / h, the number of average data points applied is the default value for a typical road environment, such as 45. However, the number of average data points in a city environment is defined by adding a first value, such as 15, to the default value, resulting in 60.

[0181] In this scenario, when a vehicle is traveling at 40 km / h in the city center, the time required for it to move 10 m is 0.9 s. Dividing this time 0.9 s by 40 ms, we get 0.9[s] / 40[ms] = 0.9[s] / 0.04[s] = 22.5. Therefore, at the current vehicle speed of 40 km / h, the weight of the data is approximately 23.

[0182] Furthermore, when the number of data weights is 23, the weight % = [1 - (23 / 60)] × 100 = approximately 62%.

[0183] Therefore, when a weight of 62% is applied to the most recent 23 illuminance measurements out of 60 illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 23 illuminance measurements is 62% / 23 = 0.62 / 23 = approximately 0.027.

[0184] Meanwhile, when a weight of 38% is applied to the 37 illuminance measurement data points other than the most recent 23 illuminance measurement data points out of the 60 illuminance measurement data points, the weight of each of the 37 illuminance measurement data points is 38% / 37 = 0.38 / 37 = approximately 0.01.

[0185] therefore, Figure 1 The weight setting device 170 can set a weight of 0.027 for each of the most recent 23 illuminance measurement data out of 60 illuminance measurement data, i.e., from the 38th to the 60th illuminance measurement data, and can set a weight of 0.01 for each of the previous 37 illuminance measurement data, i.e., from the 1st to the 37th illuminance measurement data.

[0186] therefore, Figure 1 The luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance in an urban environment based on weighted illuminance measurement data, and can determine the final luminance level.

[0187] Figure 6B An example of setting weights is shown when a vehicle is traveling at 77 m / h through a forest.

[0188] Reference Figure 6BWhen the vehicle's current location is a general road in a forest and the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 77 m / h, the number of average data points applied is the default value for a general road environment, such as 45. However, the value obtained by adding a second value, such as 30, to the default value, i.e., 75, is defined as the number of average data points in a forest environment.

[0189] In this scenario, when the vehicle is traveling at 77 km / h in the forest, the time required for it to travel 10 m is approximately 0.47 s. Dividing this time by 0.47 s by 40 ms, we get 0.47[s] / 40[ms] = 0.9[s] / 0.04[s] = 11.75. Therefore, at the current vehicle speed of 40 km / h, the weight of the data is approximately 12.

[0190] Furthermore, when the number of data weights is 12, the weight % = 1 - (12 / 75) × 100 = approximately 84%.

[0191] Therefore, when applying an 84% weight to the most recent 12 illuminance measurements out of 75 illuminance measurements, the weight of each of the 12 illuminance measurements is 84% / 12 = 0.84 / 12 = 0.07.

[0192] Meanwhile, when applying a 16% weight to the 63 illuminance measurements out of the 75 measurements excluding the most recent 12, the weight for each of the 63 measurements is 16% / 63 = 0.16 / 63 = approximately 0.003. The decimal places in the above calculations have been rounded. However, this can be calculated by discarding decimal places depending on the implementation.

[0193] Therefore, the weight setting device 170 can set a weight of 0.07 for each of the 12 most recent illuminance measurement data out of 75 illuminance measurement data, namely the 64th to the 75th illuminance measurement data, and can set a weight of 0.003 for each of the previous 63 illuminance measurement data, namely the 1st to the 63rd illuminance measurement data.

[0194] Therefore, the luminance determination device 160 can calculate the average luminance in the forest environment based on weighted illuminance measurement data, and can determine the final luminance level.

[0195] As described above, when the number of illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to the default value, the vehicle screen control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can calculate the average brightness based on the illuminance measurement data. The screen control device 100 can control the screen of the display. Therefore, a brightness suitable for the display screen can be provided.

[0196] In addition, the vehicle screen control device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure can improve screen visibility by applying the amount and / or weight of average data based on vehicle position and / or vehicle speed.

[0197] The screen control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure that performs the above operations can be implemented as a separate hardware device including a memory and a processor for processing each operation, or it can be driven as another hardware device included in, for example, a microprocessor or a general-purpose computer system.

[0198] The operation flow of the screen control device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is described in detail. The screen control device 100 has the configuration described above.

[0199] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating the operation flow of a screen control method for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0200] Reference Figure 7 When illuminance measurement data is input from the illuminance sensor (S110), the screen control device 100 can store the input illuminance measurement data (S120).

[0201] The screen control device 100 can recognize the number of previously stored illuminance measurement data. When the number of illuminance measurement data is less than the default value N (S130), the screen control device 100 can determine the brightness level based on the most recently stored illuminance measurement data (S140).

[0202] In S140, the screen control device 100 can determine the brightness level corresponding to the illuminance measured by the illuminance based on a predefined illuminance table that shows the brightness change according to the illuminance change.

[0203] Therefore, when the brightness level is determined in S140, the screen control device 100 can control the screen brightness of the display according to the determined brightness level (S170).

[0204] Meanwhile, when the number of illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to the default value N (S130), the screen control device 100 can calculate the average brightness of the most recent N illuminance measurement data (S150). The screen control device 100 can determine the brightness level based on the average brightness calculated in S150 (S160).

[0205] Therefore, the screen control device 100 can control the screen brightness of the display based on the brightness level determined in S160 using N illuminance measurement data (S170).

[0206] Figure 8 The operation of adjusting the amount of average data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0207] Reference Figure 8 The screen control device 100 can identify the vehicle's position from a position sensor (S210). For example, the position sensor can be a Global Positioning System (GPS) module of a navigation system.

[0208] The screen control device 100 can identify the road type (S220) based on the vehicle position identified in S210. In this document, the road type can be any of the following: general road, general road + tunnel, highway, highway + tunnel, urban center, and / or forest. Of course, this is just one embodiment. Various other road types can naturally be included.

[0209] When a road type is identified in S220, the screen control device 100 can determine the amount of average data based on the road type identified in S220 (S230).

[0210] In S230, the screen control device 100 can be referenced. Figure 4A The table determines the average amount of data for each road type.

[0211] The screen control device 100 can calculate the average brightness based on illuminance measurement data corresponding to the amount of average brightness (S240). The screen control device 100 can determine the brightness level based on the calculated average brightness to control the screen brightness of the display (S250).

[0212] Figure 9 The operation of setting the weights of illuminance measurement data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0213] Reference Figure 9 The screen control device 100 can identify the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor (S310).

[0214] The screen control device 100 can set weights for each illuminance measurement data based on the vehicle speed identified in S310 (S320). In this document, the screen control device 100 can set weights for each of N illuminance measurement data or for each of multiple illuminance measurement data adjusted according to the vehicle position.

[0215] See the example of the process for setting the weight of each illuminance measurement data based on vehicle speed. Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 5C .

[0216] When the weight of each illuminance measurement data is set in S320, the screen control device 100 can calculate the average brightness of the illuminance measurement data based on the weight set for each illuminance measurement data (S330). The screen control device 100 can determine the brightness level based on the calculated average brightness to control the screen brightness of the display (S340).

[0217] Figure 10 This is a block diagram illustrating a computing system for performing methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0218] Reference Figure 10 The computing system 1000 may include at least one processor 1100, a memory 1300, a user interface input device 1400, a user interface output device 1500, a storage device 1600, and a network interface 1700 connected to each other via a bus 1200.

[0219] Processor 1100 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device that processes instructions stored in memory 1300 and / or storage device 1600. Memory 1300 and storage device 1600 may include various types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, memory 1300 may include read-only memory (ROM) 1310 and random access memory (RAM) 1320.

[0220] Therefore, the operation of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be directly implemented as hardware or as a software module executed by processor 1100, or a combination of hardware and software modules. The software module can reside on a storage medium such as RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, removable disk, or optical disc-ROM (i.e., memory 1300 and / or storage device 1600). The storage medium can be coupled to the processor, and the processor can read information from the storage medium and record information in the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can be integrated with processor 1100. The processor and storage medium can reside in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC can reside within the user terminal. In another case, the processor and storage medium can reside as separate components in the user terminal.

[0221] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the screen control device 100 can provide optimized screen brightness for the display in vehicle environments with rapidly changing illumination by using an illumination sensor and vehicle speed and position information. Therefore, user visibility can be improved.

[0222] Furthermore, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the screen control device 100 can apply a screen adjustment gain set by the user to a luminance meter that determines the brightness level. Therefore, user satisfaction can be improved.

[0223] While this disclosure has been described above with reference to embodiments and accompanying drawings, it is not limited thereto. Various modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments and this disclosure by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure as claimed in the appended claims.

[0224] Therefore, the embodiments of this disclosure are provided to explain the spirit and scope of this disclosure, and not to limit it. Thus, the spirit and scope of this disclosure are not limited to the embodiments. The scope of protection of this disclosure should be interpreted based on the appended claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents to the claims should be included within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A screen control apparatus of a vehicle, comprising: a sensing apparatus that measures illuminance; a brightness determination apparatus that determines a degree of brightness corresponding to the illuminance from one or more pieces of illuminance measurement data; and a controller that controls a screen brightness of a display according to the determined degree of brightness, wherein the controller is configured to control the screen brightness of the display whenever the degree of brightness changes; when a number of the pieces of illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to a default value, the brightness determination apparatus calculates an average brightness based on the pieces of illuminance measurement data corresponding to a number of average data, and determines the degree of brightness based on the average brightness; the brightness determination apparatus variably sets the number of average data according to a position of the vehicle; and when the position of the vehicle is an expressway or when the vehicle enters a tunnel ahead, the brightness determination apparatus sets the number of average data to a value smaller than the default value.

2. The screen control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the number of the pieces of illuminance measurement data is smaller than the default value, the brightness determination apparatus determines the degree of brightness using the most recently received piece of illuminance measurement data.

3. The screen control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brightness determination apparatus extracts the pieces of illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data in order of the most recent storage among previously stored pieces of illuminance measurement data.

4. The screen control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the position of the vehicle is a general road, the brightness determination apparatus sets the number of average data to the default value.

5. The screen control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the position of the vehicle is an urban center or a forest, the brightness determination apparatus sets the number of average data to a value greater than the default value. 6.The screen control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a weight setting apparatus that sets a weight for the pieces of illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data according to a vehicle speed.

7. The screen control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the weight setting apparatus calculates a number of applications of the weight and a weight percentage based on a time required to move a reference distance according to a current vehicle speed.

8. The screen control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the weight setting apparatus divides the weight percentage by the number of applications of the weight, and allocates the divided weights to the pieces of illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of applications of the weight in order of the most recent storage.

9. The screen control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the weight setting apparatus divides a remaining weight percentage other than the weight percentage, and allocates the divided weights to pieces of illuminance measurement data other than the pieces of illuminance measurement data to which the weight is allocated.

10. The screen control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the number of applications of the weight is greater than the number of average data, the weight setting apparatus allocates an equal weight to the pieces of illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data.

11. The screen control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brightness determination apparatus determines the degree of brightness corresponding to the illuminance from the pieces of illuminance measurement data based on a brightness table that defines a brightness change according to an illuminance change.

12. The screen control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when a user adjusts a screen brightness of the display, the brightness determination apparatus corrects the brightness table by applying a brightness adjustment gain of the user. 13.A screen control method of a vehicle, comprising: measuring illuminance; determining a degree of brightness corresponding to the illuminance from one or more pieces of illuminance measurement data; and controlling a screen brightness of a display according to the determined degree of brightness, wherein the controlling the screen brightness includes controlling the screen brightness of the display each time the degree of brightness changes, wherein the determining the degree of brightness includes: when the number of the illuminance measurement data is less than a default value, determining the degree of brightness using the most recently received illuminance measurement data; and when the number of the illuminance measurement data is greater than or equal to the default value, calculating an average brightness based on the illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data, and determining the degree of brightness based on the average brightness, and the screen control method further includes: variably setting the number of average data according to a position of the vehicle, and setting the number of average data to a value less than the default value when the position of the vehicle is an expressway or when the vehicle enters a tunnel ahead.

14. The screen control method according to claim 13, further comprising: setting a weight for the illuminance measurement data corresponding to the number of average data according to a vehicle speed.

15. The screen control method of claim 13, wherein, the determining the degree of brightness includes: determining the degree of brightness corresponding to the illuminance from the illuminance measurement data based on a brightness table defining a brightness change according to an illuminance change; and when a user adjusts the screen brightness of the display, correcting the brightness table by applying a brightness adjustment gain of the user.

Images