VEHICLE LIGHTING SYSTEM COMPRISING A DEVICE FOR EMITTING A LIGHTING SIGNAL ENCODED AT A Very

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting system (1) of a vehicle, comprising a left front lighting device (22) and a right front lighting device (24), each capable of projecting a light beam (222, 242), means for emitting a light-emitting signal encoded at high frequencies to the world outside the vehicle (2) and means for receiving such a light-emitting signal. According to the invention, the lighting system comprises a lighting device (26) arranged on the vehicle (2) between the lighting devices (22, 24), an obstacle detection device (40) and a decoding device (38) for decoding a lighting signal received by the lighting device (26), the decoding means are able to provide the obstacle detection means (40) with at least one value representative of a time offset between a light-emitting signal received by the light-emitting device (26) and a light-emitting signal sent by the light-emitting device (26).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the fields of motor vehicles and optoelectronics. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lighting system for a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In existing vehicles, light-emitting diode assemblies are typically used to produce external lighting devices, such as headlamps or indicator lamps. These diode assemblies provide sufficient light intensity to provide regulatory lighting functions and offer a favorable power consumption ratio.

[0003] These diode assemblies also allow for the generation of a light signature that is specific to each vehicle brand and is considered a future means, for example, of using optical communication technologies (such as VLC (Visible Light Communication)) for communication between vehicles or with road infrastructure.

[0004] The inventors have found that the bandwidth of light-emitting diodes can be increased by equalization techniques or by using diodes smaller than 300 micrometers or by combining these techniques, and other applications can be considered, such as applications for obstacle detection. This application may require the use of a specific type of control unit (also known as a "driver"), such as a high-speed control unit (or "high-speed driver") or a laser control unit (or "laser driver").

[0005] In fact, the bandwidth of a conventional one-millimeter edge-emitting diode is approximately 5 MHz (megahertz) and is thus sufficient to allow for optical communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and road infrastructure. However, this bandwidth is not suitable for applications of the obstacle detection type. However, in some vehicles, the LiDAR ("Light Detection and Ranging") technology based on laser sensors is used optically to implement such applications for analyzing reflected signals over bandwidths of several tens of megahertz or even several hundred megahertz. However, on-vehicle LiDAR systems in vehicles are very expensive.

[0006] Therefore, the inventors have enabled this expensive obstacle detection technology for vehicles to be replaced by a vehicle lighting device based on light-emitting diodes that also applies an obstacle detection function in addition to the regulatory lighting function.

[0007] However, the lighting devices are located on the sides in front of the vehicle, and regulations stipulate a certain distance between these lighting devices. As a result, there are unlit areas in front of the vehicle between these lighting devices. Therefore, this constraint does not allow for the detection of obstacles located near and in front of the vehicle using the technology developed by the inventors, especially not for use by the vehicle's parking assistance system. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to at least partially overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a light-emitting diode-based lighting system for a vehicle and an associated vehicle for detecting obstacles in a parking situation.

[0009] To this end, the present invention proposes a lighting system for a vehicle, the lighting system comprising an optical assembly, the optical assembly comprising a left front lighting device and a right front lighting device each capable of projecting a light beam, the optical assembly further comprising means for emitting a light signal encoded at a high frequency outside the vehicle and means for receiving such a light signal arriving from outside the vehicle, the emitting means comprising a photon emitter and the receiving means comprising a photon receiver.

[0010] Characterized in that the optical assembly further comprises a lighting device for being arranged on the vehicle between the lighting devices, the lighting device comprising at least a part of the set of photon emitters and at least a part of the set of photon receivers, and wherein the lighting system further comprises obstacle detection means and decoding means for decoding a light signal received by one of the photon receivers of the lighting device, the decoding means being capable of providing the obstacle detection means with at least one value representative of a time offset between on the one hand the light signal received by the photon receiver of the lighting device and on the other hand the light signal transmitted by at least one of the photon emitters of the lighting device.

[0011] The light beams emitted by the lighting devices are, for example, regulatory lighting lights, such as high beam light or low beam light. However, they do not allow light to be radiated in the area in front of the vehicle between the two lighting devices and close to the vehicle. The lighting device of the lighting system according to the present invention comprises light-emitting diodes for illuminating this area and is coupled to obstacle detection means implemented at least partially in the computer of the vehicle. Thus, it allows obstacles located in this area to be avoided.

[0012] In one embodiment, the photon emitter is configured to emit at a wavelength in the visible spectrum. By way of example, the photon emitter may be a light-emitting diode.

[0013] In one embodiment, the photon emitters and photon receivers of the lighting device are not directional, i.e., their emission surfaces or reception surfaces are fixedly mounted parallel to the front of the vehicle, and there are no mirrors or other lighting devices in the vehicle that change the emission direction of the light signal emitted or received by the lighting device. In fact, the main function of the lighting device is obstacle detection, and this obstacle detection is easier to implement when the emitters and receivers are oriented in the same way.

[0014] According to an advantageous feature of the lighting system according to the invention, at least one of the lighting devices comprises another part of the set of photon emitters of the emission device and another part of the set of photon receivers of the reception device. Preferably, the two lighting devices of the optical assembly comprise a photon emitter and a photon receiver. Thus, the lighting device is also involved in an obstacle communication and / or detection function managed by a computer of the vehicle.

[0015] In one embodiment, the photon emitter of the at least one lighting device is of the same type as the photon emitter of the lighting device. This allows for simplification of the processing of the signals that will be transmitted to the lighting device and the lighting device to implement the obstacle detection function. In fact, there is no need to convert the signals between different formats and / or different types to adapt to the type of photon emitter. By way of example, the photon emitter of at least one of the lighting devices is configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Preferably, they are light-emitting diodes.

[0016] Additionally or alternatively, the photon receiver of at least one of the lighting devices is of the same type as the photon emitter of the lighting device. Thus, in the proposed lighting system, the lighting device and the lighting device are designed in the same way with respect to obstacle detection. Of course, this does not prevent each of these devices from having an additional configuration for performing another function, such as a lighting function for the lighting device and a light-decoration function for the lighting device.

[0017] For example, the decoding device is capable of decoding the light-emitting signal received by one of the photon receivers of the lighting device and is capable of providing to the obstacle detection device at least one value representative of the time offset between the light-emitting signal received by the photon receiver of the lighting device and the light-emitting signal transmitted by at least one of the photon emitters of the lighting device. By means of the present invention, the use of the light-emitting diodes of the lighting device and the light-emitting diodes of the lighting device allows for obstacle detection over the entire area in front of the vehicle.

[0018] Advantageously, the lighting device is also capable of implementing a display or signaling function. For example, the lighting device is capable of applying a communication function by displaying or projecting signs on the road or even by means of VLC communication.

[0019] According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the emission device comprises means for encoding a high-frequency signal intended to be transmitted by the photon emitter of the lighting device at a frequency ranging between 5 MHz and 200 MHz. Such a frequency allows for the implementation of the obstacle detection function. Preferably, the frequency of the light-emitting signal transmitted by the emission device ranges between 30 MHz and 150 MHz.

[0020] According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the transmitting device is configured to send an electrical signal encoding a first square-wave sequence to the photon emitter of the lighting device and an electrical signal encoding a second square-wave sequence to the photon emitter of the lighting device. The first square-wave sequence is preferably different from the second square-wave sequence. Thus, any interference between the signal sent by the lighting device and the signal for obstacle detection sent by the lighting device is avoided. As a variant, the first square-wave sequence is identical to the second square-wave sequence. In both cases, whether the first sequence is the same as or different from the second sequence, in an alternative embodiment for limiting such interference:

[0021] - the electrical signal encoding the first square-wave sequence has a lower electrical power than the electrical signal encoding the second square-wave sequence; and / or,

[0022] - the first square-wave sequence is sent at a frequency different from the transmission frequency of the second square-wave sequence.

[0023] Preferably, the photon emitters of the lighting device emit the same light emission signal for obstacle detection. In fact, at a short distance from the vehicle, the risk of interference between the lighting devices is very low. In addition, if the distance to the obstacle is quite large, one of the lighting devices receiving the light emission signal emitted by another lighting device will provide a sufficiently accurate analysis of the distance to the obstacle.

[0024] In an embodiment of the invention, in the lighting system according to the invention, the decoding device comprises means for thresholding the light emission signal received by one of the photon receivers of the lighting system and providing the thresholded light emission signal, and means for correlating the thresholded light emission signal with the light emission signal sent by at least one of the photon emitters of the lighting system, wherein the correlating means provide a value representing the time offset between the thresholded light emission signal and the light emission signal sent by the photon emitter of the lighting system, and the obstacle detection device comprises means for converting the representative value originating from the correlating means into a distance to the obstacle. The thresholding means particularly allow the elimination of any light component due to sunlight.

[0025] The present invention also relates to a vehicle comprising a lighting system according to the present invention, wherein the left front lighting device is arranged on the left front part of the vehicle, the right front lighting device is arranged on the right front part of the vehicle, and the light emitting device is arranged between the left front lighting device and the right front lighting device on the front of the vehicle. Thus, the proposed lighting system benefits from the available space on the front, which is used to mount the light emitting device involved in obstacle detection in front of the vehicle. The light emitting device, as well as the right front lighting device and the left front lighting device, allows covering the entire front scene of the vehicle, thereby improving the driving safety of the vehicle.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, the emission surface of the photon emitter of the light emitting device and the reception surface of the photon receiver of the light emitting device are fixedly mounted parallel to the front of the vehicle. This is a simple and effective arrangement, which is suitable for positioning the light emitting device in front of the vehicle.

[0027] In one embodiment, the light emitting device is at least partially offset downward from the lighting device arrangement. In this case, the term "downward" is defined with respect to the vertical direction. Thus, the light emitting device can provide obstacle detection at a lower horizontal position than the lighting device. Thus, the proposed lighting system not only allows covering the width of the scene in front of the vehicle, but also allows covering different heights or horizontal positions of the scene. In this case, the width corresponds to the horizontal lateral dimension of the vehicle, and the height corresponds to the vertical dimension of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent on the one hand from the following description and on the other hand from several embodiments, which are provided by way of non-limiting indication with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

[0029] Figure 1 shows a vehicle according to the present invention in a first embodiment of the present invention, which is provided with a lighting system according to the present invention; and

[0030] Figure 2 shows more schematically Figure 1 the lighting system used for detecting obstacles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, a vehicle 2 according to the present invention comprises a lighting system 1. The lighting system 1 comprises an optical assembly. The optical assembly comprises a left front lighting device 22 arranged at the left end of the front of the vehicle 2, a right front lighting device 24 arranged at the right end of the front of the vehicle 2, and a light emitting device 26 arranged between the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 on the front of the vehicle 2.​​

[0032] The left front lighting device 22 is capable of projecting regulatory light beams 222, such as high beams or low beams. Similarly, the right front lighting device 24 is capable of projecting regulatory light beams 242, such as high beams or low beams.

[0033] The regulatory light beams 222 and 242 generated by the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 leave an unilluminated area z in front of the vehicle 2. The lighting device 26 includes light emitting diodes capable of illuminating the area z. The lighting device 26 is connected to the vehicle's computer via a computer bus, typically referred to as a CAN ("Controller Area Network") bus, and serves as a means for the computer to display messages. For example, this information is for pedestrians or other vehicles. The lighting device 26 optionally also serves as a VLC communication device. The left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 can also be used by the computer as VLC communication devices.

[0034] Each of the devices 22, 24, 26 of the optical assembly of the lighting system 1 according to the invention includes a plurality of photon emitters 12 (as Figure 2 shown), and in this embodiment of the invention, the plurality of photon emitters are blue light emitting diodes capable of emitting white light, such as Figure 2 the light emitting diodes 121, 122 in

[0035] The light emitting diodes 121, 122 include, for example, indium gallium nitride (InGaN) layers on which phosphor layers are deposited. Thus, they are suitable for generating light beams of the high beam type or the low beam type. However, in an alternative embodiment where the lighting device 26 is not used for display or signaling, the light emitting diodes 121, 122 of the lighting device 26 optionally emit only blue light.

[0036] Similarly, each of the devices 22, 24, 26 of the optical assembly of the lighting system 1 according to the invention includes a plurality of photon receivers 32 (as Figure 2 shown), and in this embodiment of the invention, the plurality of photon receivers are photodiodes, such as Figure 2 the photodiodes 321, 322 in Figure 2 Of course, for simplicity,

[0037] Only two light emitting diodes and two photodiodes are shown, and the devices 22, 24, 26 actually include more diodes and photodiodes. Figure 2 The diodes 121, 122 of the devices 22, 24, 26 of the optical assembly form part of a device for emitting a high-frequency encoded light signal s1 (as Figure 2 shown) outside the vehicle 2. Similarly, the photodiodes 321, 322 form part of a device 32 for receiving such light signals arriving from outside the vehicle 2.

[0038] In fact, in this embodiment of the present invention, the lighting device 26 and the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 are used by the obstacle detection device 40, which is at least partially implemented in software in the computer of the vehicle 2.

[0039] More specifically, the devices 22, 24, 26 of the optical assembly are connected via the computer bus of the vehicle 2 to decoding devices 38 for decoding the light emission signals received by the photodiodes 321, 322, and these decoding devices 38 communicate with the detection device 40 via the computer bus.

[0040] Now reference will be made to Figure 2 the manner in which the lighting system 1 allows the detection of the obstacle 6. For the sake of simplicity, this description is limited to the use of the light-emitting diodes 121, 122 of the lighting device 26 and the photodiodes 321, 322 for obstacle detection, where the diodes and photodiodes of the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 are used in the same way to detect obstacles. In addition, the transmitting and receiving devices specific to the lighting devices 22, 24 of the lighting system 1 are similar to the transmitting and receiving devices specific to the lighting device 26 of the lighting system 1.

[0041] In addition to the plurality of light-emitting diodes 12, the transmitting device specific to the lighting device 26 of the lighting system 1 further includes a square-wave voltage electrical signal source 10 and an electronic control device 3 for controlling these light-emitting diodes. The electronic control device 3 is connected to the signal source 10 at the input and to the light-emitting diodes 121, 122 of the lighting device 26 at the output. To send the light emission signal s1, the source 10 provides a square-wave signal, where the width l of the square wave is approximately 10 ns (nanoseconds) and the frequency of the signal is 50 MHz. To allow the transmission of signals at such a high frequency level, the electronic control device 3 includes, for example, a pre-equalization stage, which is optionally associated with an amplifier stage. Alternatively or additionally, the light-emitting diodes 121, 122 are selected to be less than 300 microns so as to naturally have a cut-off frequency greater than 50 MHz. Preferably, the light-emitting diodes 121, 122 of the lighting device 26 are produced in the same substrate matrix arranged parallel to the front of the vehicle. The light-emitting diodes 121, 122 of the lighting device 26 can be individually activated or activated in rather fine groups so as to allow the display of characters by the lighting device 26.

[0042] In addition, the electronic control device 3 includes a "bias-tee" device in a known manner, which allows a DC voltage to be injected into the signal originating from the signal source 10 and, optionally, to be amplified before the sum of the DC voltage and the square-wave signal originating from the signal source 10 is applied to the terminals of the diodes 121, 122. Applying the DC voltage allows the diodes 121, 122 to be biased, thus allowing the diodes 121, 122 to emit the light signal s1.

[0043] The emission means specific to the light-emitting device 26 allow the light signal 5 to be sent at a frequency of 50 MHz and with a power such that the reflection of the light signal 5 on the obstacle 6 produces a reflected light signal s2 with sufficient optical power to be picked up by the photodiodes 321, 322 among the plurality of photodiodes 32 of the light-emitting device 26.

[0044] In addition to the photodiodes 321, 322, the receiving means specific to the light-emitting device 26 of the lighting system 1 further include a blue light filter 8 and a lens 9. The blue light filter 8 is used to filter the light of the reflected light signal s2 so as to allow only the blue component of the light to pass through, and the lens 9 focuses this component towards the photodiodes 321, 322. The blue light emitted by the diodes 121, 122 actually has a greater light intensity than the intensity of sunlight, and thus the analysis of this blue light allows the reflected light signal s2 to be more easily distinguished from external light pollution during the process of decoding the reflected light signal s2.

[0045] The light signal s1 transmitted by the diodes 121, 122 encodes a specific square-wave sequence with a width l of 10 ns, and this sequence repeats cyclically. The square-wave sequence is defined to facilitate the evaluation of the time offset between the emission of the square wave and the reception of the square wave, as explained below. For example, it has three square waves following each other, then, after 60 ns, only one square wave, and then, after 40 ns, two square waves following each other, and so on.

[0046] The emitted light signal s1 impinges on the obstacle 6 and produces a reflected light signal s2. The photodiodes 321 and 322 pick up the blue component of the reflected light signal s2 and the ambient light (e.g., sunlight), and send an electrical signal to the electronic control device 13, which amplifies the electrical signal and sends the electrical signal to the decoding device 38. In addition to the amplifier stage, the electronic control device 13 optionally further includes a post-equalization stage.

[0047] The decoding device 38 counts the photons received by each of the photodiodes 321, 322 as a function of time t, and the decoding device 38 includes means 34 for thresholding the intensity of the light emission signals received by the photodiodes 321, 322 relative to the light emission intensity of sunlight. This thresholding corresponds to clipping the count signal Nb of the number of photons exceeding the number of photons corresponding to the light intensity of the blue component of sunlight as a function of time t, thereby generating a thresholded light emission signal s3. In fact, the blue component emitted by the diodes 121, 122 is stronger than the blue component of sunlight, and this thresholding allows the component due to sunlight to be removed from the received electrical signal. Of course, in this case, the thresholded light emission signal is actually an electrical signal or a digital signal corresponding to the thresholding of the received light emission signal s2.

[0048] The decoding device 38 further includes means 36 for correlating the thresholded light emission signal s3 with the light emission signal s1 transmitted by the diodes 121, 122. These correlating means 36 determine the time offset τ between the thresholded light emission signal and the transmitted light emission signal s1, and transmit this time offset τ to the obstacle detection device 40 of the lighting system 1. The obstacle detection device 40 converts this time offset τ into a distance to the obstacle 6, and thus allows the detection of the obstacle.

[0049] In order to allow the decoding device 38 to separate, when analyzing the light emission signals received by the light emitting device 26, the signals generated by the reflections of the light emission signals emitted by the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24, in the square wave signal source used, the emission devices specific to the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 of the lighting system 1 are different from the emission device specific to the light emitting device 26.

[0050] In fact, the emission devices specific to the left front lighting device 22 and the right front lighting device 24 each include, for each of these lighting devices, a square wave signal source and an electronic device for controlling the diodes of the lighting device 22, 24 in a manner similar to the square wave signal source 10 and the electronic control device 3. However, when the square wave signal source 10 emits a first square wave sequence, the square wave signal source of the lighting device emits a second square wave sequence different from the square wave sequence emitted by the square wave signal source 10. In other words, the square wave sequence formed by this second sequence is different from the square wave sequence formed by the first sequence. For example, the second sequence has 2 square waves following each other, and then after 80 ns, only one square wave; then after 60 ns, there are three square waves following each other, and so on.

[0051] The square-wave signal source of the lighting device optionally emits the second sequence at a frequency different from the emission frequency of the square-wave signal source 10. For example, the square-wave signal source 10 emits at 50 MHz, and the square-wave signal source of the lighting device emits at 100 MHz.

[0052] In addition, since the light-emitting device 26 is only dedicated to obstacle detection in the area z, the light-emitting signal emitted by the light-emitting device 26 preferably has a lower power than the light-emitting signals emitted by the lighting devices 22, 24.

[0053] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples just described, and many modifications can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lighting system (1) for a vehicle, the lighting system (1) comprising an optical assembly (22, 24, 26), the optical assembly (22, 24, 26) including a left front lighting device (22) and a right front lighting device (26) each capable of projecting a light beam (222, 242), the optical assembly (22, 24, 26) further including transmitting means (10, 12) for emitting a light signal (s1) encoded at a high frequency outside the vehicle (2) and receiving means (32) for receiving such a light signal arriving from outside the vehicle (2), the transmitting means (10, 12) including photon emitters (121, 122), and the receiving means (32) including photon receivers (321, 322). It is characterized in that The optical assembly (22, 24, 26) further includes a lighting device (26) for being arranged on the vehicle (2) between the lighting devices (22, 24), the lighting device (26) including at least a part of the set of photon emitters (121, 122) and at least a part of the set of photon receivers (321, 322), and wherein the lighting system (1) further includes obstacle detection means (40) and decoding means (38) for decoding a light signal (s2) received by one of the photon receivers (321, 322) of the lighting device (26), the decoding means (38) being capable of providing to the obstacle detection means (40) at least one value representative of a time offset (τ) between on the one hand the light signal (s2) received by the photon receivers (321, 322) of the lighting device (26) and on the other hand the light signal (s1) transmitted by at least one of the photon emitters (121, 122) of the lighting device (26).

2. The lighting system (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The transmitting means (10, 12) includes means for encoding a high-frequency signal (s1) intended to be transmitted by the photon emitters (121, 122) of the lighting device (26) at a frequency in the range between 5 MHz and 200 MHz.

3. The lighting system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The lighting device (26) is capable of implementing a display or signaling function.

4. The lighting system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, At least a part of the set of photon emitters (121, 122) of the lighting device (26) is configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum.

5. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, At least one of the lighting devices (22, 24) includes another part of the set of photon emitters of the transmitting means (10, 12) and another part of the set of photon receivers of the receiving means (32).

6. The lighting system (1) according to the previous claim, wherein, Another part of the set of photon emitters of the transmitting means (10, 12) is of the same type as at least a part of the set of photon emitters (121, 122) of the lighting device (26).

7. The lighting system (1) according to the previous claim, wherein, Another part of the set of photon emitters of the transmitting means (10, 12) is configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum.

8. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein, The decoding device (38) is capable of decoding a luminescence signal received by one of the photon receivers in the lighting devices (22, 24), and is capable of providing to the obstacle detection device (40) at least one value representative of a time offset between the luminescence signal received by the photon receiver in the lighting devices (22, 24) and the luminescence signal transmitted by at least one of the photon transmitters in the lighting devices (22, 24).

9. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein, The transmitting devices (10, 12) are configured to send an electrical signal encoding a first square wave sequence to the photon transmitters of the lighting devices (22, 24), and to send an electrical signal encoding a second square wave sequence to the photon transmitters (121, 122) of the light emitting device (26).

10. The lighting system (1) according to claim 9, wherein, The first square wave sequence is different from the second square wave sequence.

11. The lighting system (1) according to claim 9, wherein, The first square wave sequence is identical to the second square wave sequence.

12. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein, The electrical signal encoding the first square wave sequence has a lower electrical power than the electrical signal encoding the second square wave sequence.

13. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein, The first square wave sequence is sent at a frequency different from the frequency used to send the second square wave sequence.

14. The lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein, The decoding device (38) includes means (34) for threshold processing a luminescence signal (s2) received by one of the photon receivers (321, 322) of the lighting system (1) and providing a threshold-processed luminescence signal (s3), and means (36) for correlating the threshold-processed luminescence signal (s3) with a luminescence signal (s1) transmitted by at least one of the photon transmitters (121, 122) of the lighting system (1), wherein the correlating means (36) provides a value representative of a time offset (τ) between the threshold-processed luminescence signal (s3) and the luminescence signal (s1) transmitted by the photon transmitters (121, 122) of the lighting system (1), and wherein the obstacle detection device (40) includes means for converting the representative value originating from the correlating means (36) into a distance to an obstacle (6).

15. A vehicle (2), comprising a lighting system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein, The left front lighting device (22) is arranged on the left front part of the vehicle (2), the right front lighting device (24) is arranged on the right front part of the vehicle (2), and the light emitting device (26) is arranged in front of the vehicle (2) between the left front lighting device (22) and the right front lighting device (24).

16. The vehicle (2) according to the preceding claim, wherein, The emission surface of the photon transmitter and the reception surface of the photon receiver of the light emitting device are fixedly mounted parallel to the front of the vehicle.

17. The vehicle (2) according to claim 15 or 16, wherein, The light emitting device (26) is at least partially arranged offset downward from the lighting device.

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