An intelligent active headlight control system for passenger vehicles

Abstract

This invention discloses an intelligent headlight active safety control system for passenger vehicles, belonging to the field of automotive electronic active safety technology. The system collects signals from vehicle speed, braking, steering, ambient light, distance to the vehicle in front, GPS positioning, and navigation road type via the vehicle's CAN bus. It employs multi-source signal joint judgment, with GPS and maps serving only as auxiliary information for road type identification. The system can adaptively switch between high and low beams, actively avoid glare, and adjust brightness under conditions such as nighttime driving, intermittent lighting in rural areas, and when meeting or following other vehicles. It effectively filters interference from intermittent streetlights, preventing frequent erroneous headlight switching. The system prioritizes driver manual control, smoothly transferring control and maintaining basic lighting in case of signal abnormalities. The control logic complies with relevant laws, regulations, and national mandatory standards, significantly reducing the risk of glare during nighttime driving, improving the safety of passenger vehicle nighttime lighting, and is compatible with pre-installed applications of in-vehicle intelligent signal systems.

Description

Technical Field This invention relates to the field of automotive electronic active safety control technology, specifically to an intelligent high beam active safety control system for passenger vehicles based on the original vehicle advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). Background Technology

[0001] During nighttime driving, the proper use of high beams can effectively expand the driver's field of vision and improve driving safety. However, the glare from improper use of high beams can interfere with the vision of oncoming and other drivers, easily leading to traffic accidents. Most existing adaptive high beam control systems rely solely on visual sensors for road and vehicle identification, resulting in insufficient accuracy in determining operating conditions and limited adaptability to different scenarios. Some systems use GPS positioning signals or navigation map signals as the sole basis for determining road type, failing to achieve proper intelligent control of high and low beams in scenarios with weak GPS signals, when navigation is not activated, or when map signals are missing or outdated, thus exhibiting poor practical applicability.

[0002] Meanwhile, existing technologies, particularly for intermittently lit road sections such as rural and suburban roads, are susceptible to interference from discontinuous streetlights, leading to frequent erroneous switching between high and low beams and affecting the stability of nighttime driving lighting. Furthermore, most systems cannot adequately differentiate between different driving conditions, such as deceleration exits on highways or following other vehicles, resulting in unexplained high beam switching off arbitrarily on unlit highway ramps and deceleration sections, exacerbating nighttime driving safety hazards. Given these numerous shortcomings of existing adaptive high and low beam control technologies, there is an urgent need for an intelligent active high and low beam safety control system that integrates multi-source signals, comprehensively adapts to different scenarios, provides accurate and stable judgments, and complies with regulatory requirements. This system would address the pain points of existing technologies and ensure nighttime driving safety. Summary of the Invention (a) Purpose of the invention

[0003] This invention overcomes the technical shortcomings of existing adaptive high beam control systems, such as reliance on a single signal, susceptibility to false triggering in intermittent lighting sections, and poor applicability in special scenarios. It provides a passenger vehicle intelligent high beam active safety control system based on the original vehicle's advanced driver assistance system, which enables precise and intelligent switching between high and low beams in multiple scenarios, avoids control misjudgments caused by various signal anomalies and complex road environments, ensures safe driving lighting at night, and fully complies with national road traffic safety laws and regulations as well as relevant mandatory national standards for automotive lighting. (II) Technical Solution

[0004] A passenger vehicle intelligent high and low beam active safety control system includes a signal acquisition module, a multi-source signal fusion processing module, a lighting execution module, and an operation control module. The modules are interconnected through the vehicle's CAN bus and rely entirely on the original factory-installed advanced driver assistance system hardware to achieve the functions without the need for additional sensing equipment.

[0005] The signal acquisition module is the system signal input unit. Through the vehicle's standardized CAN bus interface, it acquires various stable operating signals transmitted from the original vehicle in real time, including: road vehicle light source recognition signals acquired by the forward-view camera, forward vehicle distance measurement signals acquired by the millimeter-wave radar, real-time vehicle speed signals transmitted by the vehicle power system, positioning signals transmitted by the GPS positioning module, road type signals transmitted by the vehicle navigation system, and ambient light intensity signals acquired by the ambient light sensor.

[0006] The multi-source signal fusion processing module is the core control unit of the system. It has built-in multi-condition joint judgment logic to integrate and calculate various signals transmitted by the signal acquisition module, avoid the limitations of single signal judgment, and realize precise control in all scenarios. The specific control logic is as follows: (1) Automatic high beam activation judgment: High beam is automatically activated only when the road type, driving speed, vehicle spacing, and ambient light all meet the preset conditions, and high beam activation is prevented from being violated; (2) Following and meeting vehicle conditions judgment: The millimeter-wave radar spacing signal and the forward-looking camera light source recognition signal are fused together. (2) Perform double verification. When the low beam usage conditions required by regulations are met, switch to low beam immediately to avoid glare interference. (3) Intermittent lighting road misjudgment judgment: For intermittent street lighting roads in rural areas, suburbs and other areas, perform continuous multi-frame time-series sampling of ambient light signals to determine the stability of the lighting environment, distinguish between intermittent lighting facilities and effective continuous lighting, and prevent frequent mis-switching of high and low beams. (4) High-speed deceleration condition distinction judgment: Distinguish between normal vehicle deceleration and following vehicle deceleration conditions. In high-speed deceleration scenarios without following or meeting vehicles, keep high beam on to ensure lighting needs of unlit road sections.

[0007] The lighting execution module is the system execution unit. It receives high and low beam control commands from the multi-source signal fusion processing module and directly drives the vehicle's headlights to perform high beam and low beam activation actions. All execution logic strictly complies with the requirements of road traffic safety laws and regulations, and there are no illegal lighting control operations.

[0008] The operation and control module is the system operation guarantee unit. It monitors the transmission status and integrity of various signals in real time and adaptively adjusts the system operation mode according to different signal states. When GPS positioning or navigation map signals are abnormal or unavailable, it automatically switches to the vehicle speed-camera-radar joint judgment mode to ensure the continuous operation of system functions. At the same time, it protects the driver's manual control rights throughout the process. When the core perception signal is abnormal, it promptly transfers the light control rights to the driver to ensure driving safety. (III) Beneficial Effects

[0009] This invention employs a multi-source signal joint determination mechanism, where GPS positioning and navigation maps serve only as auxiliary criteria for road type determination, without setting a unique determination condition. This solves the system failure problem in scenarios with weak GPS signals, navigation not started, and missing map signals, and significantly improves the system's scenario adaptability. For rural intermittent lighting roads, a light environment stability judgment mechanism is set up to effectively avoid the wrong switching of high and low beams caused by intermittent streetlights and improve the system's operational stability; Reasonably distinguish between high-speed deceleration exits and following vehicle driving conditions, avoid unauthorized high beam shutdowns on unlit highway ramps and deceleration sections, ensure continuous nighttime driving lighting, and eliminate safety hazards; The system strictly adheres to the principle of prioritizing manual control by the driver, smoothly transfers control authority in the event of abnormal signals, and has no forced control logic, fully complying with national road traffic safety laws and regulations as well as mandatory national standards for automotive lighting. The entire process relies on the original vehicle's original ADAS hardware to achieve the functions, without the need for additional hardware equipment. It has strong adaptability, low implementation cost, and good industrial application value. It can effectively reduce traffic accidents caused by high beam glare at night and maintain road traffic safety. Figure 1 This is a block diagram of the overall architecture of the intelligent headlight active safety control system for passenger vehicles according to the present invention. The diagram fully discloses the overall structure and signal flow of the system's perception input layer, central control layer, and execution output layer. Based on this overall architecture, those skilled in the art can reasonably deduce other conventional detailed drawings without creative effort. Detailed Implementation Example 1: Nighttime driving on a conventional highway

[0010] When a vehicle is driving on a highway at night, the signal acquisition module collects various signals normally. The multi-source signal fusion processing module determines that the conditions for automatic high beam activation are met and automatically activates the high beam. When the vehicle decelerates to 60 km / h in preparation for exiting the highway, and the system does not detect any following or oncoming vehicles, it triggers the high-speed deceleration non-following condition maintenance logic to keep the high beam on and ensure the lighting safety of unlit ramps. If a vehicle traveling in the same direction appears ahead and the distance reaches the low beam switching threshold, the system immediately switches to low beam to avoid glare interfering with the vehicle in front. Example 2: GPS signal is weak and navigation is not enabled.

[0011] When the vehicle is traveling on a daily commute route, the in-vehicle navigation is not activated, and the GPS signal is weak due to obstruction by buildings on both sides of the road. The operation control module detects the corresponding signal status and automatically switches to the vehicle speed-camera-radar joint judgment mode. When the vehicle is traveling at medium to high speed and there are no surrounding vehicles, the system automatically turns on the high beams. When the vehicle reaches a dense traffic section and detects a vehicle in front, it automatically switches to the low beams. The function operates stably throughout the entire process. Example 3: Driving on rural intermittent lighting roads

[0012] When a vehicle travels on a rural road with intermittent streetlights, the multi-source signal fusion processing module activates the lighting environment stability judgment mechanism to identify that the road is in an intermittent lighting state and does not trigger the low beam forced switching logic; when there are no oncoming or ahead vehicles, the high beam lighting is maintained; when an oncoming vehicle is detected, the low beam is switched immediately; and the high beam is restored after the oncoming vehicle passes, thus avoiding frequent malfunctions of high and low beams caused by intermittent streetlights. Example 4: Driving on Continuously Illuminated Roads in Urban Areas

[0013] When a vehicle enters a continuously lit road in the city, the system will prevent the high beams from turning on automatically after the GPS positioning and navigation map signals determine the road type. The low beams will remain on throughout the journey, which complies with the regulations for the use of urban road lights and does not cause glare interference from the high beams. Example 5: Core Sensing Signal Anomaly

[0014] If the forward-facing camera or millimeter-wave radar experiences signal transmission abnormalities while the vehicle is in motion, the operation control module will immediately transfer the lighting control authority to the driver, who will then manually control the switching between high and low beams to ensure that the driving process is not affected by the system signal abnormalities.

[0015] V. Explanation of Laws, Regulations, and Public Order and Good Morals All control logic in this invention strictly adheres to the relevant provisions of the "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Implementation Regulations of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" regarding the use of motor vehicle lights at night. It also fully complies with the national mandatory standards GB4599-2024 "Automotive Filament Bulbs for Headlamps" and GB 4785-2019 "Installation Regulations for External Lighting and Light Signaling Devices of Motor Vehicles and Trailers". The system aims to improve road safety and reduce traffic accidents. Its content is positive and does not violate social norms and public order. It can be legally and compliantly applied to passenger vehicle pre-installation.

[0016] VI. Patentability Description Novelty: The technical solutions proposed in this invention, such as multi-source signal adaptive determination, non-unique auxiliary determination, intermittent illumination stability determination, and high-speed deceleration condition differentiation, are not found in existing published patent literature and conventional technical means, and thus possess novelty as required by patent law. Creativity: Compared with existing adaptive high beam technology with a single sensor and a single decision logic, this invention solves the problems of control misjudgment and failure under signal anomalies, complex roads, and special working conditions that cannot be overcome by existing technologies, and has outstanding substantive features and significant technological progress; Practicality: The technical solution of this invention can be directly implemented by programming the original vehicle hardware without any implementation obstacles. It covers a wide range of scenarios, and the control logic is stable and reliable, possessing strong practicality and industrialization prospects.

Claims

1. A smart headlight active safety control system for passenger vehicles, characterized in that, The system includes a signal acquisition module, a multi-source signal fusion processing module, a lighting execution module, and an operation control module. The signal acquisition module collects signals from the vehicle's front-view camera, millimeter-wave radar, vehicle speed, GPS positioning, and ambient light intensity in real time via the vehicle's CAN bus. The multi-source signal fusion processing module performs logical operations and joint judgments on the collected signals to generate high / low beam control commands. The lighting execution module executes the high / low beam switching action of the vehicle's headlights according to the control commands. The operation control module monitors the transmission status of various signals in real time to achieve adaptive adjustment of the system's operating mode.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-source signal fusion processing module presets the joint judgment conditions for automatic high beam activation. The high beam can be automatically activated only if all of the following conditions are met simultaneously: (1) the current road is determined to be a highway, national highway or rural non-continuous lighting road by GPS positioning signal or road type identification signal; (2) the vehicle speed signal determines that the vehicle speed is ≥70km / h; (3) the forward-looking camera signal does not detect the light source of oncoming vehicles; (4) the millimeter-wave radar signal determines that the distance between the vehicle in the same direction in front is greater than the safe following threshold; (5) the ambient light intensity signal is lower than the preset lighting threshold.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-source signal fusion processing module is set with following condition judgment logic. When all of the following conditions are met at the same time, it is judged as following condition and automatically switches to low beam: (1) the millimeter-wave radar signal determines that the distance between the vehicle in the same direction ahead is less than or equal to the low beam switching threshold; (2) the forward-looking camera signal identifies the light source of the vehicle in the same direction ahead; (3) the vehicle speed signal determines that the vehicle speed is in the range of 30km / h-100km / h; (4) the GPS positioning signal or road type recognition signal does not determine that it is a continuously lit road in the urban area.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-source signal fusion processing module is equipped with oncoming vehicle condition judgment logic. When the forward-facing camera detects the light source of an oncoming vehicle and the millimeter-wave radar assists in determining that the distance between the vehicles is less than a preset safe oncoming vehicle distance threshold, it immediately and automatically switches to low beam.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-source signal fusion processing module sets up a lighting environment stability judgment mechanism for roads with discontinuous lighting: it performs continuous multi-frame temporal sampling of ambient light intensity, and only when the change in light intensity exceeds a preset threshold and the duration reaches a set time is it judged as a valid road lighting state, thus avoiding system misjudgment caused by intermittent lighting facilities.

6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-source signal fusion processing module is configured with high beam maintenance logic: when the vehicle speed decreases but is ≥50km / h, the GPS positioning signal or road type identification signal determines that it is a highway or a rural road with discontinuous lighting, and no oncoming or following vehicles are detected, the high beam is kept on to ensure the lighting visibility of unlit road sections.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system prioritizes manual control by the driver. The driver's control of switching between high beam and low beam via the original vehicle light switch has higher priority than the system's automatic control commands. After receiving a manual control command, the system pauses the automatic control logic and restores the driver's original vehicle light control privileges.

8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The operation control module monitors the transmission status of various signals in real time. When the GPS positioning signal deviates, is lost, or the road type recognition signal is unavailable, the system automatically switches to the vehicle speed-camera-radar joint judgment mode, relying solely on vehicle speed, forward-view camera, and millimeter-wave radar signals to complete the condition judgment and high / low beam control. When the core signals of the forward-view camera and millimeter-wave radar experience transmission abnormalities, the system automatically exits the automatic control mode and fully restores the driver's manual light control mode to ensure driving safety.

Images