Method and device for blinding oncoming vehicles in the case of structural road barriers

Abstract

Procedure for blinding the own vehicle (F1) from oncoming vehicles (F g ) on roads with structural lane boundaries (T), for example on motorways or dual carriageways with structurally separated lanes (B1, B2) for one direction, - in a first step, it is checked whether there is a structural road boundary (T) on the side of the road facing the oncoming traffic, - where, if there is a structural road boundary (T), a second step is to check whether, due to the structural road boundary (T), there is a risk that oncoming vehicles (F g ) are not recognized, - where, in the case of the risk of non-recognition, a third step is taken to check whether there is a risk that, despite the structural road boundary (T), oncoming vehicles (F g ) are blinded, - where, in a fourth step, if there is a risk of dazzling, a dazzling light distribution is set on one of the main headlights of the vehicle (F1) located on the side of the oncoming lane (B2) and / or on both main headlights of the vehicle (F1).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for glaring oncoming vehicles on roads with structural lane markings, for example, on motorways or dual carriageways with structurally separated lanes for one direction. The invention further relates to a device for a motor vehicle, in particular a control unit for controlling the main headlights of a motor vehicle.

[0002] Many roads have structural road markings, such as noise barriers, earth embankments, retention systems such as crash barriers, concrete retaining systems, and others. Structural road markings are often not only provided at the roadside. Particularly on motorways, dual carriageways, or other roads with structurally separated lanes for each direction, structural road markings are also provided between the two lanes.

[0003] The structural road markings between the lanes can be designed to prevent glare for oncoming traffic at night, even with non-glare-reducing light distributions, as the structural road markings shade the oncoming lanes from the light of the driver's own vehicle's main headlights. However, whether the oncoming lane or drivers of vehicles traveling in the opposite lane are shaded depends, among other things, on the structural road markings themselves, the installation height of the driver's own vehicle's main headlights, and the seating position of the driver of the vehicle in the oncoming lane. Therefore, it is not necessarily the case that all vehicles in an oncoming lane separated from their own lane by a structural road marking are glare-reduced regardless of the light distribution.

[0004] The invention is based on the problem of proposing a method with which it is possible to safely de-blind oncoming vehicles coming from the own vehicle on roads with structural lane boundaries, for example on motorways or dual carriageways with structurally separated lanes for one direction.

[0005] This problem is solved by the fact that in a method according to the invention for glaring oncoming vehicles on roads with structural road boundaries - in a first step, it is checked whether there is a structural road barrier on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic, - if there is a structural road boundary, a second step is to check whether there is a risk that oncoming vehicles will not be detected due to the structural road boundary, - if there is a risk of non-recognition, a third step is to check whether there is a risk that oncoming vehicles will be dazzled despite the structural road markings, - and if there is a risk of dazzling, in a fourth step, a dazzling light distribution is set on one of the main headlights on the side of the oncoming lane and / or on both main headlights of the vehicle itself.

[0006] According to the invention, the second and third steps can be combined into one step.

[0007] Whether there is a roadway behind a structural roadway boundary can be determined in the first step based on navigation data or by means of a camera that detects a roadway behind the structural roadway boundary.

[0008] It is advantageous if, in the fourth step, a vertical cut-off line of a main headlight located on the opposite side of the oncoming lane from the driver's vehicle is additionally aligned with an object edge located opposite the oncoming lane in the road space in front of the driver's vehicle that is to be glared. This also allows vehicles traveling in the same direction in front of the driver's vehicle to be glared, thus achieving maximum illumination.

[0009] In the absence of a structural road boundary, in a fifth step, a vertical cut-off line of the right main headlight can be aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line of the left main headlight can be aligned to the left object edge of an object to be glared in the road space in front of the vehicle.

[0010] If there is no risk of not recognizing an oncoming vehicle, in a sixth step a vertical cut-off line of the right main headlight can be aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line of the left main headlight can be aligned to the left object edge of an object to be glared in the road space in front of the own vehicle.

[0011] Likewise, if there is no risk of dazzling an oncoming vehicle, in a seventh step a vertical cut-off line of the right main headlight can be aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line of the left main headlight can be aligned to the left object edge of an object to be dazzled in the road space in front of the own vehicle.

[0012] The anti-glare light distribution, to which the main headlight on the side of the oncoming lane and / or both main headlights of the vehicle are or will be adjusted in the fourth step, can be a light distribution with an adaptive horizontal cut-off line, a motorway light distribution, a dipped beam distribution or another light distribution in which there is no illumination above the horizontal.

[0013] According to the invention, it is possible that in the second step, i.e. when checking whether there is a risk that oncoming vehicles will not be detected due to the structural road boundary, the height of the structural road boundary is determined and, if the structural road boundary is low, it is determined that all oncoming vehicles and / or their headlights are detected. If the height of the structural road boundary is less than the height of a detection device of the vehicle itself, with which the main headlights of an oncoming vehicle or oncoming vehicles as such can be detected, a detection device can generally reliably detect an oncoming vehicle despite the structural road boundary. If such a vehicle is reliably detected, this vehicle can be de-glared according to the method.

[0014] According to the invention, it is further possible that in the third step, i.e., when checking the risk of dazzling oncoming vehicles despite the structural road barrier, it is determined that dazzling of oncoming vehicles is excluded if the structural road barrier is high. Dazzling is excluded, in particular, if the height of the structural road barrier is higher than the eye level of the drivers of the oncoming vehicles.

[0015] The method according to the invention can be carried out using a device for a motor vehicle, in particular a control unit for controlling the main headlights of a motor vehicle. Such a device has a means by which a structural road boundary, in particular a road boundary to a road in the opposite direction, can be detected and its height can be determined. The relevant object angles refer to the light source on the far left and the far right of an oncoming vehicle or all oncoming vehicles detected and classified as relevant.

[0016] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: Fig. 1a, b, c a flowchart of a method according to the invention and Fig. 2 Traffic situations with and without structural road markings in plan view.

[0017] The method according to the invention begins in a first step with the examination of whether a structural road separation T is present. In the example of the Fig. In the traffic situations shown in Figure 2, a structural lane separation exists only for the road section shown in the lower half of the figure. For the traffic situation shown in the lower half of the figure, the inspection results in a combined step 2 and 3 as a further procedural step.

[0018] In steps 2 and 3, it is first checked whether, due to the structural road boundary T, oncoming vehicles F g could not be detected by a camera of the own vehicle F1 and whether, despite the structural road boundary T, oncoming vehicles F g could be blinded.

[0019] If both cannot be excluded, the procedure continues with step 4. In this case, for the traffic situation in the lower half of the image, the Fig.2 the structural separation T such that the camera of the own vehicle F1 does not detect all oncoming vehicles F g be detected but at the same time dazzling these vehicles F g cannot be ruled out.

[0020] In the fourth step, a glare-reducing light distribution is set on the left main headlight of the own vehicle F1, while the vertical cut-off line vHDG of the right main headlight is directed towards an object edge of a vehicle F2 driving in front of the own vehicle F1 in order to reduce glare.

[0021] If one of the two alternatives is not applicable in the test after steps 2 and 3, the procedure continues in steps 6 and 7. In both steps 6 and 7, a vertical cut-off line vHDG of the right main headlight of the driver's own vehicle F1 would be set to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line vHDG of the left main headlight would be set to the left object edge of a vehicle F2 that is to be glared and is driving in the road space in front of the driver's own vehicle F1.

[0022] For the traffic situation shown in the upper half of the figure, step 1 is followed by step 5, in which a vertical cut-off line vHDG of the right main headlight is aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line vHDG of the left main headlight is aligned to the left object edge of a vehicle F2 that is to be glared and is driving in the road space in front of the own vehicle F1. List of reference symbols F1 own car F2 vehicle in front F g oncoming vehicle B1 own lane B2 oncoming lane T structural roadway boundary vHDG Vertical cut-off line

Claims

[1] Procedure for blinding the own vehicle (F1) from oncoming vehicles (F g ) on roads with structural lane boundaries (T), for example on motorways or dual carriageways with structurally separated lanes (B1, B2) for one direction, - in a first step, it is checked whether there is a structural road boundary (T) on the side of the road facing the oncoming traffic, - where, if there is a structural road boundary (T), a second step is to check whether, due to the structural road boundary (T), there is a risk that oncoming vehicles (F g ) are not recognized, - where, in the case of the risk of non-recognition, a third step is taken to check whether there is a risk that, despite the structural road boundary (T), oncoming vehicles (F g ) are blinded, - where, in a fourth step, if there is a risk of dazzling, a dazzling light distribution is set on one of the main headlights of the vehicle (F1) located on the side of the oncoming lane (B2) and / or on both main headlights of the vehicle (F1). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that in the fourth step, a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of a main headlight located on the side of the oncoming lane (B2) opposite the driver's own vehicle (F1) is additionally aligned with an object edge of an object (F2) to be glared, located opposite the oncoming lane (B2), in the road space in front of the driver's own vehicle (F1). [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat in the absence of a structural road boundary (T), in a fifth step, a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the right main headlight is aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the left main headlight is aligned to the left object edge of an object (F2) to be glared in the road space in front of the driver's own vehicle (F1). [4] Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that in the absence of a risk of not detecting an oncoming vehicle (F g ) in a sixth step, a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the right main headlight is aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the left main headlight is aligned to the left object edge of an object (F2) to be glared in the road space in front of the driver's own vehicle (F1). [5] Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized bythat in the absence of a risk of dazzling an oncoming vehicle (F g ) in a seventh step, a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the right main headlight is aligned to the right object edge and a vertical cut-off line (vHDG) of the left main headlight is aligned to the left object edge of an object (F2) to be glared in the road space in front of the driver's own vehicle (F1). [6] Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that the anti-dazzle light distribution to which the main headlight located on the side of the oncoming lane (B2) and / or both main headlights of the own vehicle (F1) of the own vehicle (F1) is or are set in the fourth step is a light distribution with an adaptive horizontal cut-off line, a motorway light distribution or another light distribution in which no illumination above the horizontal takes place. [7] Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that in the second step, ie when checking the danger, whether there is a danger due to the structural road boundary (T) that oncoming vehicles (F g ) are not detected, the height of the structural road boundary (T) is determined and, if the height of the structural road boundary (T) is low, it is determined that all oncoming vehicles (F g ) and / or their headlights are detected. [8] Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that in the third step, ie when checking the danger, whether despite the structural road boundary (T) oncoming vehicles (F g ) are dazzled, if the structural road boundary (T) is of a high height it is determined that dazzling of oncoming vehicles (F g ) is excluded. [9] Device for a motor vehicle, in particular control device for controlling main headlights of a motor vehicle (F1), characterized by that the device has means with which a structural road boundary (T), in particular a road boundary to a road (B2) in an opposite direction, can be recognized and its height can be determined and that the device for glare control of oncoming vehicles (F g ) for roads with structural carriageway boundaries (T) according to one of claims 1 to 7.

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