Vehicle lamp control system, vehicle lamp assembly and vehicle

Abstract

The utility model relates to a vehicle lamp control system, a vehicle lamp assembly and a vehicle. The vehicle lamp control system is used for controlling a plurality of vehicle lamps, the plurality of vehicle lamps at least comprise a first vehicle lamp and a second vehicle lamp, and the control system comprises a vehicle lamp controller used for being arranged on the first vehicle lamp; the first driving chip is used for being electrically connected with a first load of the first vehicle lamp and driving the first load, and the first driving chip is electrically connected with the vehicle lamp controller through a first interface; the second driving chip is used for being electrically connected with a second load of the second vehicle lamp and driving the second load, and the second driving chip is electrically connected with the vehicle lamp controller through a second interface; wherein the electromagnetic compatibility of the second interface is better than that of the first interface, and the number of the first loads correspondingly driven by the first interface is larger than that of the second loads correspondingly driven by the second interface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a vehicle light control system, a vehicle light assembly and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of market demand, the requirements for the appearance and optical effects of car lights are constantly increasing. Therefore, the number of light-emitting devices used in car lights, such as LEDs, is increasing, but the corresponding car light control systems are also more complex.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need in the art for a vehicle light control system that can achieve reliable control of multiple vehicle lights at a relatively low cost, thereby ensuring that the vehicle light assembly and the vehicle have relatively good and reliable lighting effects. Utility Model Content

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to achieve reliable control of a headlight assembly with a large number of light-emitting devices at a relatively low cost, so as to ensure that the headlight assembly and the vehicle have relatively good and reliable visual lighting effects.

[0005] According to the first aspect of the present application, a headlight control system is used to control multiple headlights, and the multiple headlights include at least a first headlight and a second headlight. The control system includes: a headlight controller, which is used to be set on the first headlight; a first driver chip, which is used to be electrically connected to a first load of the first headlight and drive the first load, and the first driver chip is electrically connected to the headlight controller through a first interface; a second driver chip, which is used to be electrically connected to a second load of the second headlight and drive the second load, and the second driver chip is electrically connected to the headlight controller through a second interface; wherein the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface is better than that of the first interface, and the number of first loads driven by the first interface is greater than the number of second loads driven by the second interface.

[0006] In the scheme of the embodiment described above, the first driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the first interface, the second driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the second interface, and the first interface and the second interface are different, that is, the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface is better than that of the first interface, and the number of loads driven by the first interface is greater than the number of loads driven by the second interface, so that a structure of controlling multiple headlights by a single headlight controller is realized, which is lower in cost than that of each headlight being provided with a corresponding single controller, and also avoids the poor synchronization of light emission caused by the inability to interact between the single controllers and the impact on the visual light effect. Compared with the scheme in which each headlight is provided with a first driver chip and a first interface, more loads can be driven, and it is avoided that too many first driver chips are used to control a large number of loads, which reduces the cost, and it is also avoided that too many first driver chips cause addressing difficulties and communication abnormalities that affect the visual light effect of the headlight assembly and the vehicle. Compared with the scheme in which each headlight corresponds to a second driver chip and a second interface, it can ensure that a single controller reliably controls the headlights other than the headlight in which it is located, and avoids the impact on the visual light effect of the headlight assembly and the vehicle caused by unstable communication due to interference.

[0007] In some embodiments, the plurality of vehicle lights have only a single vehicle light controller.

[0008] In some embodiments, the vehicle light controller is a microcontroller unit (MCU).

[0009] In some embodiments, the first interface is a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter to Controller Area Network (UART-CAN) interface, and the second interface is a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI).

[0010] In some embodiments, the multiple headlights also include a third headlight, and the control system also includes: another second driver chip, which is used to be electrically connected to a third load of the third headlight and drive the third load, and the other second driver chip is electrically connected to the headlight controller through the second interface.

[0011] A vehicle lamp assembly according to a second aspect of the present application includes: a vehicle lamp control system as described in the first aspect; and a plurality of vehicle lamps, including at least a first vehicle lamp and a second vehicle lamp; the number of light-emitting devices of a first load of the first vehicle lamp is greater than the number of light-emitting devices of a second load of the second vehicle lamp.

[0012] Since the vehicle light control system of the first aspect is adopted, the beneficial effect is that the cost of the vehicle light assembly is low and stable and reliable visual light effects can be provided.

[0013] In some embodiments, the multiple vehicle lights constitute front vehicle lights or rear vehicle lights, the first vehicle lights are front through-lights or rear through-lights, and the second vehicle lights are left / right front headlights or left / right rear headlights.

[0014] In some embodiments, the light-emitting device is a light-emitting diode (LED).

[0015] In some embodiments, the first headlight has 3 to 10 times the number of light emitting devices of the second headlight.

[0016] A vehicle according to a third aspect of the present application comprises the headlight assembly as described in the second aspect, and a vehicle controller, wherein the vehicle controller is electrically connected to the headlight controller of the headlight assembly.

[0017] Since the vehicle adopts the second direction headlight assembly, the beneficial effect is that the cost is low and it can provide stable and reliable visual lighting effects, meeting the regulatory requirements for headlights and the requirements for visual effects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 The present invention is a structural schematic diagram of a headlight assembly and a headlight control system of a comparative solution.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic block diagram of a headlight assembly and a headlight control system of another comparative solution.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic block diagram of a headlight assembly and a headlight control system of another comparative solution.

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 5 The present invention is a schematic structural block diagram of a vehicle light assembly and a vehicle light control system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] As shown in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an", "an" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular and may also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "include" and "comprise" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0026] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the directions or positional relationships indicated by directional words such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "lateral, vertical, upright, horizontal" and "top, bottom" are usually based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description. Unless otherwise specified, these directional words do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific direction or be constructed and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application. The directional words "inside and outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the contours of each component itself.

[0027] The number of light-emitting devices, such as LEDs, used in vehicle lights is increasing, but the corresponding vehicle light control systems are also becoming more complex.

[0028] Based on this, a comparison scheme such as Figure 1 As shown, the headlight assembly 100a includes a first headlight 101a, a second headlight 102a, and a third headlight 103a. Each headlight is equipped with an independent headlight controller, namely, the first headlight controller 1a, the second headlight controller 1b, and the third headlight controller 1c. Figure 1 The cost of the comparative scheme shown is high. In addition, the inventors found that since the vehicle controller 200, such as the body control module (BCM), does not allow the headlight controllers to interact directly (for example, the first headlight controller 1a, the second headlight controller 1b, and the third headlight controller 1c are not directly electrically connected and interacted with each other, but are indirectly electrically connected and interacted through the body controller), each controller receives the body command, executes it, and drives the load light-emitting device, which can be a light-emitting diode (LED), for example. The LED of each headlight will have a time synchronization problem, which will cause the LED dynamic execution to be not smooth, affecting the visual effect of the headlight.

[0029] Another comparison scheme is Figure 2As shown, the headlight assembly 100b includes a first headlight 101b, a second headlight 102b, and a third headlight 103b. The three headlights share a headlight controller 1. The first headlight 101b, the second headlight 102b, and the third headlight 103b have corresponding driver chips. The headlight controller 1 directly connects and communicates with the driver chips corresponding to the headlights through a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) to a controller area network (CAN) interface, i.e., a UART-CAN interface. The driver chip of the headlight can be a MAX25630 chip based on UART-CAN. The inventor found that since the chip based on UART-CAN generally has a small number of loads, and the addressing range of the driver chip is generally 16, if the number of LEDs to be driven is large, it will result in a large amount of driver chip data and a high cost. It will also lead to communication congestion and high cost. Therefore, for a display screen with a large amount of data, the number of LEDs is large, and the use of too many driver chips will lead to addressing difficulties and abnormal communication.

[0030] Another comparison scheme is Figure 3 As shown, the headlight assembly 100c includes a first headlight 101c, a second headlight 102c, and a third headlight 103c. The three headlights share a headlight controller 1. The first headlight 101c, the second headlight 102c, and the third headlight 103c have corresponding driver chips. The headlight controller 1 is directly electrically connected and communicates with the driver chips corresponding to the headlights through a serial peripheral interface (Serial Peripheral Interface, SPI). The driver chip of the headlight can be an LP5891 chip with an SPI interface. The inventor found that due to the SPI transmission distance end and the signal is easily interfered, when the headlight controller 1 is placed in one of the headlights, such as the installation shown in the figure placed in the first headlight 101c and cross-headlight control of other lamps, the LED display will be abnormal due to the unstable SPI communication, such as flickering, etc., affecting the visual effect of the headlight assembly and the vehicle.

[0031] Based on the above, the inventors have invented a headlight control system, a headlight assembly and a vehicle after in-depth research, in which a first driver chip is connected to a headlight controller through a first interface, a second driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through a second interface, and the first interface and the second interface are different, that is, the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the first interface is better than that of the second interface, and the number of loads driven by the second interface is greater than the number of loads driven by the first interface, thereby realizing a structure in which a single headlight controller controls multiple headlights. This has a lower cost than that in which each headlight is provided with a corresponding single controller, and also avoids the inability of the single controllers to interact with each other, resulting in poor light synchronization and affecting the visual light effect.

[0032] The following vehicle lamp assembly is described, taking the front vehicle lamp for automobile as an example, the first vehicle lamp is a front through lamp as an example, the second vehicle lamp is one of the left front headlight or the right front headlight as an example, the third vehicle lamp is the other of the left front headlight or the right front headlight as an example, the first chip is arranged in the front through lamp, but it is not limited to this, for example, it can also be used for the rear vehicle lamp (tail lamp) of automobile, the first vehicle lamp is a rear through lamp, the second vehicle lamp is one of the left rear headlight or the right rear headlight as an example, the third vehicle lamp is the other of the left rear headlight or the right rear headlight as an example, neither of which is limited to this, as long as a single controller controls multiple vehicle lamps, it can be applicable. The "vehicle lamp" here should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be the vehicle lamp of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses, etc., and it is not limited to this.

[0033] like Figure 4 As shown, the vehicle 1000 may include a lamp assembly 100 and a vehicle controller 200, and the vehicle controller 200 is electrically connected to the lamp controller 1 of the lamp assembly 100, which means that the vehicle controller 200 is directly electrically connected to the lamp controller 1 of the lamp assembly 100, and is not directly electrically connected to the respective driver chips of the lamps. In addition, the vehicle controller 200 may mean a body controller, or may be referred to as a body control module (Body Control Module, BCM), which is responsible for driving, monitoring and controlling the electronic control unit related to the body functions of the vehicle. The BCM acts as the brain of the vehicle body and is responsible for managing automotive functions such as lighting, windows, door locks, and seat control. The BCM uses various protocols (CAN / LIN / FlexRay, etc.) to communicate with other ECUs in the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle controller 200 may also be a domain controller. For example, if the lamp assembly 100 is a front lamp, the vehicle controller 200 may be a domain controller corresponding to the front of the vehicle.

[0034] refer to Figure 5As shown, in some embodiments, the vehicle lamp assembly 100 includes a vehicle lamp control system 10 and a plurality of vehicle lamps, wherein the plurality of vehicle lamps include at least a first vehicle lamp 101 and a second vehicle lamp 102, and may further include a third vehicle lamp 103. The number of light emitting devices of the first load 1011 of the first vehicle lamp 101 is greater than the number of light emitting devices of the second load 1021 of the second vehicle lamp 102. The light emitting devices are LEDs, the first vehicle lamp 101 is a front through lamp, the second vehicle lamp 102 is one of a left front head lamp and a right front head lamp, and the third vehicle lamp 103 is the other of a left front head lamp and a right front head lamp. Here, the number of LEDs of the front through lamp is greater than the number of LEDs of the left / right front head lamps, and the number of LEDs of the first vehicle lamp 101 may be 3 to 10 times that of the light emitting devices of the second vehicle lamp, so that a better light effect can be formed, for example, the number of LEDs of the first vehicle lamp 101 is 700 to 1000, and the number of LEDs of the second vehicle lamp 102 or the third vehicle lamp 103 is 70 to 100.

[0035] Continue to refer Figure 5 As shown, the vehicle light control system 10 is used to control a plurality of vehicle lights, and the plurality of vehicle lights at least include a first vehicle light 101 , a second vehicle light 102 , and may further include a third vehicle light 103 .

[0036] The control system 10 includes a headlight controller 1, a first driver chip 21, and a second driver chip 22. The headlight controller 1 is used to be set on the first headlight 101. The first driver chip 21 is used to be electrically connected to the first load 1011 of the first headlight 101 and drive the first load 1011. The first driver chip 21 is electrically connected to the headlight controller 1 through a first interface 211. The second driver chip 22 is used to be electrically connected to the second load 1021 of the second headlight 102 and drive the second load 1021. The second driver chip 22 is electrically connected to the headlight controller 1 through a second interface 221. Among them, the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface 221 is better than that of the first interface 211, and the number of first loads 1011 driven by the first interface 211 is greater than the number of second loads 1021 driven by the second interface 221. The above electrical connection refers to a direct electrical connection. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance has a meaning similar to the general meaning in this field, that is, the ability of a device or system to operate in accordance with the requirements in its electromagnetic environment and not produce intolerable electromagnetic interference to any device in its environment.

[0037] The relationship between the headlight controller 1 and the multiple headlights is that the single headlight controller 1 is directly electrically connected to the respective driver chips of the multiple headlights, that is, the relationship between the headlight controller 1 and the respective driver chips is a one-to-many relationship, which can be specifically as follows Figure 5As shown, a plurality of vehicle lights have only a single vehicle light controller 1, that is, all vehicle lights are controlled by only a single vehicle light controller 1, for example Figure 5 As shown, all the lights are the first light 101, the second light 102 and the third light 103, and the single light controller 1 is directly electrically connected to the first driver chip 21 of the first light 101, and the second driver chips 22 of the second light 102 and the third light. It can be understood that there can also be multiple light controllers, but the same single controller is electrically connected to multiple lights. For example, when there are six lights, the driver chips of three lights can correspond to one light controller, and the driver chips of the other three lights can correspond to another light controller. The light controller 1 is arranged on the first light 21 in that the light controller 1 is spatially installed in the space defined by the first light 101, and is not installed in the space defined by the second light 102 and the third light 103. In some embodiments, the vehicle light controller 1 may be a microcontroller unit (MCU), for example, a common MCU is in the form of a single-chip microcomputer, which appropriately reduces the frequency and specifications of the central processing unit (CPU), and integrates memory, timer, and peripheral interfaces such as USB, A / D conversion, UART, PLC, DMA, etc. on a single chip to form a chip-level computer for different combination controls for different application scenarios.

[0038] Preferably, the first interface 211 and the second interface 221 may be respectively a UART-CAN interface and a SPI interface, the first driver chip 21 may be a MAX25630 chip based on UART-CAN, and the second driver chip 22 may be a LP5891 chip with a SPI interface. The structures of the third lamp 103 and the second lamp 102 may be substantially the same, and the driver chip corresponding to the third load 1031 of the third lamp 103 is also another second driver chip 22 disposed in the third lamp 103, and the corresponding another second driver chip 22 is electrically connected to the lamp controller 1 through the second interface 221.

[0039] The beneficial effect of adopting the above embodiment is that when the number of light-emitting devices driving the load is large, a structure of controlling multiple headlights through a single headlight controller can be achieved. This is lower in cost than providing each headlight with a corresponding single controller, and it also avoids the inability of the single controllers to interact with each other, resulting in poor light synchronization and affecting the visual light effect. Specifically, the first driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the first interface, the second driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the second interface, and the first interface and the second interface are different, that is, the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface is better than the first interface, and the number of loads driven by the first interface is greater than the number of loads driven by the second interface. The headlight controller is set at the first headlight, and the number of loads driven by the first interface connecting the first driver chip and the headlight controller is large, so that a single first driver chip can drive a large number of light-emitting devices of the load, and since the first driver chip and the headlight controller are both located in the first headlight, there is no need to worry about the electromagnetic compatibility performance. As for the electrical connection between the headlight controller and the second driver chip, since it involves an electrical connection across the headlights, that is, the electrical connection from the headlight controller 1 located in the first headlight to the second driver chip 22 located in the second headlight 102, a second interface with better electromagnetic compatibility is set to ensure the reliability of control, thereby ensuring the visual effect.

[0040] In summary, the beneficial effects of the headlight control system, headlight assembly and vehicle of the present application include but are not limited to: the first driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the first interface, the second driver chip is connected to the headlight controller through the second interface, and the first interface and the second interface are different, that is, the electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface is better than the first interface, and the number of loads driven by the first interface is greater than the number of loads driven by the second interface, so as to realize the structure of controlling multiple headlights by a single headlight controller, which is lower in cost than that each headlight is provided with a corresponding single controller, and also avoids the poor synchronization of light emission caused by the inability to interact between the single controllers and the impact on the visual light effect. Compared with the solution that each headlight is provided with a first driver chip and a first interface, more loads can be driven, and the use of too many first driver chips to control a large number of loads is avoided, which reduces the cost and avoids the addressing difficulties caused by too many first driver chips and the communication abnormalities affecting the visual light effect of the headlight assembly and the vehicle. Compared with the solution that each headlight corresponds to a second driver chip and a second interface, the reliable control of the headlights other than the headlights where the single controller is located can be guaranteed, and the visual light effect of the headlight assembly and the vehicle can be avoided due to unstable communication caused by interference.

[0041] Although the present application has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, ordinary technicians in this technical field should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application, and various equivalent changes or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present application. Therefore, as long as the changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the essential spirit of the present application, they will fall within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A vehicle light control system (10), characterized in that: The vehicle light control system (10) is used to control a plurality of vehicle lights, wherein the plurality of vehicle lights at least include a first vehicle light (101) and a second vehicle light (102), and the control system (10) includes: A vehicle light controller (1), used for being arranged on the first vehicle light (101); A first driving chip (21) is used to be electrically connected to a first load (1011) of the first headlight (101) and to drive the first load (1011); the first driving chip (21) is electrically connected to the headlight controller (1) via a first interface (211); a second driving chip (22) for being electrically connected to a second load (1021) of the second headlight (102) and driving the second load (1021); the second driving chip (22) being electrically connected to the headlight controller (1) via a second interface (221); The electromagnetic compatibility performance of the second interface (221) is better than that of the first interface (211), and the number of first loads (1011) driven by the first interface (211) is greater than the number of second loads (1021) driven by the second interface (221).

2. The vehicle light control system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of vehicle lights have only a single vehicle light controller (1).

3. The vehicle light control system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle light controller (1) is a microcontroller unit (MCU).

4. The vehicle light control system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first interface (211) is a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter to Controller Area Network (UART-CAN) interface, and the second interface (221) is a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI).

5. The vehicle light control system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of headlights further include a third headlight (103), and the control system (10) further includes: another second driver chip (22), the other second driver chip (22) being used to be electrically connected to a third load (1031) of the third headlight (103) and drive the third load (1031), the other second driver chip (22) being electrically connected to the headlight controller (1) via the second interface (221).

6. A vehicle lamp assembly (100), characterized in that: include: The vehicle light control system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5; as well as A plurality of vehicle lights at least comprise a first vehicle light (101) and a second vehicle light (102); the number of light-emitting devices of a first load (1011) of the first vehicle light (101) is greater than the number of light-emitting devices of a second load (1021) of the second vehicle light (102).

7. The vehicle lamp assembly (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The multiple vehicle lights constitute front vehicle lights or rear vehicle lights, the first vehicle lights (101) are front through lights or rear through lights, and the second vehicle lights (102) are left / right front headlights or left / right rear headlights.

8. The vehicle lamp assembly (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The light-emitting device is a light-emitting diode (LED).

9. The vehicle lamp assembly (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of light-emitting devices of the first vehicle lamp (101) is 3 to 10 times that of the light-emitting devices of the second vehicle lamp.

10. A vehicle (1000), characterized in that: It comprises a vehicle light assembly (100) as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8, and a vehicle controller (200), wherein the vehicle controller (200) is electrically connected to a vehicle light controller (1) of the vehicle light assembly (100).

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