Headlamp and method for driving a headlamp

Abstract

The invention relates to a headlamp for a vehicle, having a light source unit (1) for emitting light, an optical unit (4) for deflecting the light according to a predefined light distribution (L) and a control unit (5) for generating control signals (6, 7) by means of which the light source unit (1) and / or the optical unit (4) can be controlled, wherein the control signals (6, 7) are generated in dependence on a plurality of environmental parameters (9), wherein an optimization program (8) is stored in the control unit (5), by means of which the control signals (6, 7) are calculated from a plurality of individual control signals (A1, A2,... An), wherein different partial light distributions (TL1, TL2,... TLn) which are related to environmental parameters can be generated by means of the individual control signals (A1, A2,... An), respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a headlight for a vehicle, the headlight having a light source unit for emitting light, an optical unit for deflecting light according to a predetermined light distribution, and a drive control unit for generating a drive control signal, by means of which the light source unit and / or the optical unit can be driven, wherein the drive control signal is generated according to a plurality of environmental parameters.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for driving headlights. Background Technology

[0003] According to DE102005041234A1, a headlight for a vehicle is known, which has a light source unit and an optical unit for generating a predetermined light distribution, wherein different light sources of the light source unit are coupled with different optical units. This allows the generation of different partial light distributions of light spots with different sizes, which are superimposed to form the predetermined light distribution.

[0004] A headlight for a vehicle is known from DE102014107195A1. This headlight includes a light source unit and an optical unit for generating a predetermined light distribution. Furthermore, the headlight includes a drive control unit that operates the light source unit according to environmental conditions provided by a detection unit, thereby generating an optimized light distribution. Environmental conditions include environmental parameters, such as oncoming vehicles or lampposts. A brightness estimation is performed in the drive control unit, which generates a correction drive control signal by means of which the predetermined light distribution is optimized. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a headlight for a vehicle and a method for driving the headlight, thereby further optimizing the generation of light distribution according to environmental conditions.

[0006] To achieve this objective, the headlight for a vehicle according to the present invention is characterized by storing an optimization program in the drive control unit, by means of which a drive control signal is calculated from multiple single drive control signals (Einzel-Ansteuersignal), wherein different partial light distributions related to environmental parameters can be generated by means of the single drive control signal.

[0007] A particular advantage of this invention lies in its ability to optimize light distribution according to different environmental conditions or traffic scenarios. An optimization program generates drive control signals from a drive control unit based on the presence and absence of multiple individual drive control signals. These signals control the light source unit and / or optical unit, where each individual drive control signal generates a different partial light distribution, each derived from defined and independently existing environmental parameters. For example, when the adaptive high beam function of the headlights is activated, the light distribution is continuously adjusted or optimized based on the currently existing environmental parameters. Therefore, advantageously, only the required amount of light is emitted into the vehicle's surrounding environment, or only light is directed to the desired locations. This advantageously saves energy without compromising lighting quality. The basic concept of this invention is to classify the environmental conditions. Each environmental parameter—e.g., road orientation, presence of pedestrians on the left or right, road surface, weather, road lighting—is associated with a partial light distribution, which can be generated using individual drive control signals. After querying whether these environmental parameters exist or not, a synthetic drive signal is calculated using an optimization program, and a synthetic light distribution is generated using this drive signal. Therefore, complex environmental scenes are divided or classified into individual environmental scenes, each associated with a separate partial light distribution. These partial light distributions are correlated using optimization rules to generate an optimized light distribution, which is achieved using corresponding drive signals.

[0008] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, the environmental parameters each provide only a single piece of information about environmental conditions related to light distribution. Regarding the category "road orientation," the light distribution is distinguished, for example, based on whether vehicles are present on a straight road, a road with a left branch, or a road with a right branch. Similarly, regarding the category "pedestrian presence," the light distribution is distinguished based on whether pedestrians or sidewalks are located on the left or right side of the road.

[0009] According to an improved embodiment of the present invention, the single-drive control signal is constructed as a digital signal, which is either in an on state or an off state, or in different levels. If a left curve is set for the category "road direction," the single-drive control signals for "straight road" and "right turn" are in an off state, while the single-drive control signal for "left turn" is in an on state. Therefore, only the partial light distribution corresponding to "left turn" is used, and this partial light distribution is combined with other partial light distributions according to optimization rules.

[0010] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, a database is provided for storing single-drive control signals characterizing corresponding environmental parameters, preferably integrated within the drive control unit. Thus, all partial light distributions are stored, which can be used together to generate a composite light distribution. This is based on the presence or absence of environmental parameters associated with the corresponding partial light distribution. Advantageously, to determine the drive control signal, only the existing environmental parameters need to be identified, so that an optimized light distribution can be generated by means of the drive control signal when selecting the corresponding "partial light distribution" stored in the database.

[0011] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, the drive control unit is coupled to the detection unit and / or to an external transmitting device connected via a communication network (e.g., the Internet) for acquiring or providing environmental parameters. Therefore, the presence or absence of environmental parameters can be determined relatively simply and promptly, thereby utilizing the calculation of the drive control signal through optimization rules to combine the partial light distributions matched with the respective existing current environmental parameters to obtain the desired light distribution.

[0012] According to an improved scheme, the optimization program is configured such that the consistency of the current environmental parameters provided by the external transmitting device is compared with the corresponding current environmental parameters provided by the detection unit, and when a deviation between the corresponding environmental parameters is determined, the corresponding environmental parameters provided by the detection unit are used to form a single drive control signal.

[0013] This method checks externally provided environmental parameters and, if necessary, corrects them.

[0014] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, the drive control unit has a computing device that can calculate a single drive control signal for a corresponding portion of the light distribution from existing environmental parameters, and calculate a drive control signal for the light distribution from the single drive control signal using optimization rules. Preferably, the single drive control signal corresponding to the environmental parameters is stored in a database. Advantageously, the importance of the corresponding portion of the light distribution can be determined by comparing the existing environmental parameters.

[0015] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, the optimization procedure is configured such that the locations of different partial light distributions are compared in terms of the illumination intensity values ​​of the partial light distributions, and a drive signal is determined for each location using optimization rules. According to the invention, the locations of the light distributions are evaluated based on currently existing environmental parameters, thereby setting illumination intensity values ​​in a location-dependent manner. Light is introduced to the corresponding locations in the vehicle's surrounding environment only to the extent necessary.

[0016] According to an improved embodiment of the invention, the optimization rule is configured such that an optimized and / or maximum illumination intensity value is selected for each location from the currently determined spectral distributions. Therefore, an optimized light distribution can be achieved in relation to the location, depending on the resolution of the headlights—particularly in matrix-arranged light sources.

[0017] According to an improved embodiment of the present invention, single-drive control signals for different environmental parameters can be provided in a weighted manner according to a weighting rule. For example, when the number of pedestrians is determined to be large, the weighting factor used for the category "pedestrian presence" can be larger compared to when the number of pedestrians is small.

[0018] To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention relates to a method for driving a headlight according to the present invention.

[0019] A particular advantage of the method according to the invention lies in classifying the vehicle's surrounding environment in the form of partial light distributions respectively matched with different environmental parameters or single drive control signals for driving the light source unit or optical unit; generating corresponding partial light distributions; and combining these partial light distributions according to optimization rules to generate an optimized light distribution. Depending on the headlight resolution, light is introduced only in a necessary and sufficient amount to each location of the light distribution or the vehicle's surrounding environment. This advantageously prevents the generation of excessive light at specific locations. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] In the picture:

[0022] Figure 1 A block diagram of a headlight according to the present invention is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 A table showing the configuration of different environmental parameters and partial light distribution is provided.

[0024] Figure 3a This shows a portion of the light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle for the environmental parameter "the road is straight";

[0025] Figure 3b This shows a portion of the light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle in response to the environmental parameter "road heading to the left";

[0026] Figure 3c This shows a portion of the light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle in response to the environmental parameter "road direction to the right";

[0027] Figure 3d This shows a partial light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle for the environmental parameter "pedestrian on the right";

[0028] Figure 3eThis shows a partial light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle for the environmental parameter "pedestrian on the left";

[0029] Figure 3f This shows a partial light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle in response to the environmental parameter "present oncoming traffic";

[0030] Figure 3g This shows a partial light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle for the environmental parameter "no oncoming traffic".

[0031] Figure 4 This shows the synthesized light distribution in the area in front of the vehicle; and

[0032] Figure 5 The flowchart for lighting drive control is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0033] Headlights for vehicles are positioned in the front region of the vehicle. They include a light source unit 1 having a plurality of light sources 2 arranged in a matrix. The light sources 2 are preferably constructed as LED light sources, which are arranged on a common carrier. The LED light sources 2 are arranged in a matrix in a given number, thereby enabling the generation of a pixel light system with a plurality of small pixels having a light distribution L by means of such a matrix headlight.

[0034] To image the light emitted by the light source 2, an optical unit 4 is provided, which, for example, has a predetermined number of lenses. The headlight can be configured as a scanning headlight, wherein the light source is configured as a laser light source, and the optical unit 4 is configured as a deflection unit. Alternatively, the optical unit 4 may also have multiple liquid crystal elements or micromirror elements, thereby enabling an LCD pixel light system (LCD = liquid crystal display) or a micromirror-based pixel system (DMD = digital micromirror device) by correspondingly driving the optical unit 4. According to the embodiment of the optical unit 4, a driving control signal 6 is sent to the light source unit 1 and / or a driving control signal 7 is sent to the optical unit 4 by means of a driving control unit 5, which generates light in the image. Figure 4 The light distribution L shown in the figure.

[0035] The drive control unit 5 has an optimization program 8, which generates drive control signals 6 and 7. The optimization program 8 takes into account current environmental parameters 9, which may be provided by a detection unit 10 coupled to the drive control unit 5. The detection unit 10 may, for example, have a camera and / or sensors.

[0036] Alternatively or additionally, the drive control unit 5 is coupled to the transmitting device 12 via a communication network 11 (e.g., the Internet), which transmits environmental parameters 13, such as weather data and / or road condition data. The transmitting device 12 may be, for example, cloud-based or integrated into other vehicles, preferably the vehicle in front.

[0037] exist Figure 2 The table lists different categories of environmental parameters 9 and 13 considered when generating the light distribution L. The first category involves the "road orientation" category, where "straight road," "road to the left," and "road to the right" are pre-defined as environmental parameters. Alternatively, further refinement of this category with multiple possibilities can be set. The second category involves "pedestrian quantity," where "few pedestrians on the left," "many pedestrians on the left," "few pedestrians on the right," and "many pedestrians on the right" are pre-defined as environmental conditions. Each of these pre-selected environmental conditions is associated with a partial light distribution TL1, TL2, TL3, ... Tn. The corresponding partial light distributions TL1, TL2, ... TLn can be controlled by corresponding single-drive signals A1, A2, A... n The light source unit 1 and / or optical unit 4 are generated using the single drive control signal. Unlike the category "Road Direction" (in which different road directions are queried), the category "Pedestrians" also queries the range of the number of pedestrians present on the left and / or right. Therefore, pedestrians can be optimized in the light distribution L based on their presence.

[0038] The third category, "Oncoming Traffic," considers the presence and absence of oncoming traffic. The fourth category considers the current weather. The fifth category considers the road surface. The sixth category considers the vehicle's location. The nth category could, for example, involve road lighting. The number of categories is arbitrary and depends on the required accuracy.

[0039] Figure 3 shows various partial light distributions coupled with corresponding environmental parameters 9 and 13. Environmental parameters 9 and 13 thus provide individual pieces of information about the vehicle's environmental conditions related to the light distributions, where the single drive control signals A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A1, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7, A8, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A9, A1, A1, A9, A1, A1, A1, A2 ...1, A1, A1, A n It is stored in database 14, which is connected to drive control unit 5.

[0040] The optimized program 8 is constructed such that it sequentially queries the total number of environmental parameters 9 and 13, or whether the environmental parameter exists or does not exist. For each query, only two binary signals exist: "1" indicating presence and "0" indicating absence. This is based on... Figure 5 The process is carried out in step S1. Digital signals are involved in all cases, and these digital signals can also exist in multiple levels (dimming levels) according to the implementation not shown.

[0041] If the existence of an environmental parameter is confirmed, it means that, in order to determine drive control signals 6 and 7, the corresponding single drive control signals A1…A stored in database 14 should be considered. n The environmental parameter that does not currently exist and is associated with the number "0" causes the corresponding drive control signal A1 to not be considered in determining drive control signals 6 and 7.

[0042] The drive control unit 5 has a microprocessor as a computing device 15, which runs an optimization program.

[0043] In a further step S2, the optimization procedure applies an optimization rule, which is based on the relevant single drive control signals A1…A1, represented by “1”. n Drive signals 6 and 7 are generated. According to the first variant of the optimization rule, the same pixel-like positions or pixel-like position coordinates K1, K2, and Kn of the partial light distributions TL1…TLn, which are matched with the corresponding current environmental parameters, are detected: which partial light distribution TL1…TLn provides the maximum illumination intensity value. Then, in the next step S3, this maximum illumination intensity value is used for the synthesized light distribution L. In this embodiment, environmental parameters such as "straight road direction," "few pedestrians on the left," "many pedestrians on the right," "opposite traffic," "dry weather," "asphalt road surface," and "urban road" are used to associate the partial light distributions TL1, TL4, TL7, TL8, TL12, TL13, and TL16 with each other. This is achieved by nearly overlapping the partial light distributions TL1, TL4, TL7, TL8, TL12, TL13, and TL16, and determining the maximum illumination intensity values ​​at the corresponding position coordinates K1, K2, and Kn of these partial light distributions TL1, TL4, TL7, TL8, TL12, TL13, and TL16. The current light distribution L is then formed from these maximum illumination intensity values. The corresponding drive control signals are determined through optimization procedure 8 and transmitted to the light source unit 1 and / or optical unit 4 in step S3.

[0044] According to an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), partial light distributions TL1, TL2, ... TLn, or corresponding single-drive control signals A1, A2, An, associated with corresponding environmental parameters, can be weighted according to a weighting rule to determine the drive control signal. In this embodiment, the following approach is taken: all relevant categories with the same share of illumination intensity values ​​are compared, and the maximum illumination value with respect to location coordinates K1, K2, Kn is adopted as the maximum illumination intensity value. For example, if the fifth category, "road surface," is to have less importance compared to other categories, the corresponding single-drive control signal can be introduced with a factor between 0 and 1, rather than a factor of 1. For example, if the fifth category has a pre-defined maximum illumination intensity value at determined locations K1, K2, Kn, the maximum illumination intensity value is correspondingly reduced, for example, by half when the weighting factor is 0.5, and therefore the illumination intensity value in the light distribution L is smaller at that location.

[0045] As from Figure 5 As can be seen, it continuously and repeatedly queries the current environmental parameters, thereby directly changing or adjusting the light distribution L when environmental conditions change.

[0046] List of reference numerals

[0047] 1. Light source unit

[0048] 2. Light source

[0049] 4 Optical Units

[0050] 5 drive control units

[0051] 6 Drive control signals

[0052] 7 Drive control signals

[0053] 8. Optimize the program

[0054] 9 Environmental parameters

[0055] 10 detection units

[0056] 11 communication networks

[0057] 12 launching devices

[0058] 13 Environmental Parameters

[0059] 14 databases

[0060] 15 Computing Devices

[0061] L-light distribution

[0062] Steps S1, S2, and S3

[0063] TL1-TLn partial light distribution

[0064] A1, A2, A n Single drive control signal

[0065] K1, K2, K n Position coordinates

Claims

1. A headlight for a vehicle, the headlight having a light source unit (1) for emitting light, an optical unit (4) for deflecting light according to a predetermined light distribution (L), and a drive control unit (5) for generating drive control signals (6, 7), by means of which the light source unit (1) and / or the optical unit (4) can be driven, the drive control signals (6, 7) being generated according to a plurality of environmental parameters (9), characterized in that, The drive control unit (5) stores an optimization program (8), which calculates drive control signals (6, 7) from multiple single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An) using the optimization program. The single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An) can generate different partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn) related to environmental parameters. The drive control unit (5) is coupled to the detection unit (10) and / or coupled to an external transmitting device (12) via a communication network (11) to acquire environmental parameters (9). The optimization procedure (8) is configured such that the consistency of the current environmental parameters (9) provided by the external transmitting device (12) is compared with the current environmental parameters (9) provided by the corresponding detection unit (10), and when a deviation between the corresponding environmental parameters (9) is determined, the corresponding environmental parameters (9) provided by the detection unit (10) are used to form the single drive control signal (A1, A2, ... An).

2. The headlight according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each environmental parameter (9) is associated with a single drive control signal (A1, A2, ... An), which can generate a partial light distribution (TL1, TL2, ... TLn) related to the environmental parameter (9).

3. The headlight according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The environmental parameter (9) provides only a single piece of information about environmental conditions related to light distribution.

4. The headlight according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The single drive control signal (A1, A2, ... An) is constructed as a digital signal. On the one hand, the digital signal is either in an on state or in an off state, or on the other hand, the digital signal is in multiple levels.

5. The headlight according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, A database (14) is provided, which is used to store single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An) that characterize the corresponding environmental parameters (9).

6. The headlight according to claim 5, characterized in that, The drive control unit (5) has a computing device (15) which determines the presence or absence of a single drive control signal (A1, A2, ... An) by comparing the current environmental parameters (9) provided by the detection unit (10) and / or the external transmitting device (12) with the environmental parameters (9) stored in the database (14), and calculates the drive control signal (6, 7) from the currently existing single drive control signal (A1, A2, ... An) by means of optimization rules.

7. The headlight according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The optimization procedure (8) is configured such that the positions (K1, K2, ..., Kn) of the partially existing light distributions (TL1, TL2, ..., TLn) are compared with each other in terms of the illumination intensity value of the partially existing light distributions, and a drive signal (6, 7) is determined for each position (K1, K2, ..., Kn) using optimization rules.

8. The headlight according to claim 7, characterized in that, The optimization rules are configured such that the largest or optimized illumination intensity value at each location is selected from the partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn).

9. The headlight according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An) are provided in a weighted manner according to the weighting rules for different environmental parameters (9).

10. A method for driving a headlight according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, - The environmental parameters (9) are respectively matched with the stored single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An) to generate partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn) related to the corresponding environmental parameters (9). - The presence or absence of each environmental parameter (9) is determined by the vehicle's detection unit and / or by a transmitting device (12) connected via a communication network (11). - Calculate the drive control signal (6, 7) according to the optimization rules based on the current existence of environmental parameter (9).

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, After determining the current single drive signals (A1, A2, ... An) for the pre-given partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn), the position-related illumination intensity values ​​of the partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn) are compared with each other, and the illumination intensity value of the light distribution (L) generated by the drive signals (6, 7) is calculated in relation to the position according to the optimization rules.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, Drive control signals (6, 7) are calculated from weighted or unweighted single drive control signals (A1, A2, ... An).

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The drive signals (6, 7) are determined by using the location-related maximum illumination intensity values ​​of the partial light distributions (TL1, TL2, ... TLn) with the help of the optimization rules.

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