A system and method for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track, for the purpose of evaluating the performance of vehicle headlamps

Abstract

A system for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track (T1) for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the vehicle headlamps, comprises a driving simulator (1) including an electronic controller (E) to which a memory (M) is associated, which contains data (T) related to the test track (T1), data (H) related to the characteristics of each headlamp (H1) of the vehicle and data (V) related to the vehicle (V1) and containing in particular data useful for determining the dynamic conditions of the vehicle during the test. The electronic controller (E) is thus able to dynamically determine, during the test, the influence of the thus determined dynamic conditions of the vehicle on the orientation of the light beam (B) emitted by the headlamps (H1) of the vehicle (V1). The test allows to obtain an evaluation of the performance of the vehicle headlamps based on a calculation of the degree of illuminance of virtual sensors (S) carried by virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) arranged along the stored test track.

Description

[0001] “A system and method for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track, for the purpose of evaluating the performance of vehicle headlamps”

[0002] ****

[0003] Field of the invention

[0004] The present invention concerns a system and a method for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track, for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the vehicle headlamps.

[0005] Prior art

[0006] Various institutes are active in the world responsible for carrying out tests on vehicles of various types, with the aim of detecting the degree of safety of vehicles from different points of view, such as the ability to absorb impact energy in the crash test, or the safety level of various vehicle components, such as for example seat belts and seat belt failure warning systems, or even in particular with reference to the detection of the performance of the vehicle headlamps, both with reference to an adequate lighting of the scene in front of the vehicle, both with reference to anti-glare safety for vehicles traveling in the opposite direction.

[0007] One of the main purposes of the institutes organized to carry out tests of this type is to encourage vehicle manufacturers to continuously improve the level of safety provided by the vehicles themselves.

[0008] For example, in the United States the IIHS - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - operates, a non-profit organization with offices in Arlington, Virginia. This organization has developed, among various test protocols, a specific protocol to which vehicles are subjected for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the headlamps. The outcome of the test consists of a performance evaluation with four levels of evaluation: “good” (green colour), “acceptable” (yellow colour), “marginal” (orange colour) and “poor” (red colour).

[0009] The present invention refers precisely to tests aimed at evaluating the performance of a vehicle headlamps. This type of test is judged positively by the manufacturers, as they allow, as mentioned, to improve the product, eliminating the defects revealed by the tests. Such a tool would generally be very useful particularly during the design and development of a new vehicle, as the test results could be immediately used to correct any design errors before the vehicle has even reached the final stage of development. On the other hand, there is the problem that the execution of the tests requires a considerable time both in relation to the duration of the tests and in relation to the transfers necessary before and after the execution of the tests.

[0010] It would therefore be desirable to be able to simulate a test of the type indicated above at the vehicle production site, so as to be able to obtain reliable results on which to base further development of the vehicle in an extremely short time.

[0011] In general, track vehicle test simulation systems have been known and used for some time. However, there are no known solutions for systems and methods for simulating a test on a vehicle, with particular reference to the evaluation of the performance of the vehicle headlamps, which guarantee a reliability of the results equal to that of a real test (such as the one carried out for example by I IHS Institute).

[0012] The document “Gran Turismo 7 Products - gran-turismo.com”, 4 March 2022 (2022-03-04), pages 1 -13 XP093091168 describes a simulation game having the characteristics indicated in the preamble of claim 1. Further solutions are known from documents JP 4 900628 B1 and CN 114 754 985 A.

[0013] Object of the invention

[0014] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a system and a method for simulating a test on a vehicle along a track for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the vehicle headlamps, the results of which have a degree of reliability equal to that of a test real.

[0015] A further object of the invention is to provide said object with simple and low-cost means.

[0016] Summary of the invention

[0017] In order to achieve said aims, the invention has as its object a system having the features of claim 1 .

[0018] Thanks to these features, and in particular thanks to the fact that the electronic controller takes into consideration the dynamic conditions of the vehicle during the test simulation, the results of the simulated test have a very high degree of reliability.

[0019] The invention also has as its object the method implemented by the system described above.

[0020] The system and the method according to the invention can also be used in particular to evaluate the performance of adaptive headlamps equipped with intelligent functions such as the AFS (Advanced Frontlighting System) function, which regulates the direction of emission of the beam based on the speed and the vehicle steering angle and the ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) function, which optimizes the “high” beam, minimizing the risk of glaring drivers of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. In this way, the invention can be used to support, in a simple and low-cost way, the development and validation of all said intelligent features of the headlamps. The data T related to the virtual test track can include additional virtual sensors designed to acquire the photometric data of the light beam of the headlamps, also taking into account control logic that implements said intelligent functions, such as the AFS and ADB functions.

[0021] Detailed description of the invention

[0022] Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

[0023] - figure 1 is a scheme of an embodiment of the system according to the invention,

[0024] - Figure 2 is a plan view of a test track for carrying out tests on vehicle to evaluate the performance of vehicle headlamps,

[0025] - figure 3 is an image of the scene in front of the vehicle displayed during the simulated test,

[0026] - figure 4 is a further image of a scene in front of the vehicle during the simulated test,

[0027] - figure 5 is a sectional view of a motor-vehicle headlamp, provided here purely by way of example, and

[0028] - figure 6 is a schematic view of a vehicle.

[0029] In figure 1 , the reference number 1 indicates as a whole a driving simulator. The driving simulator 1 is represented in a totally schematic way, with a basic structure 2, a driving seat 3 carried by the basic structure 2, a steering wheel 4 carried by a steering column 5 rotatably supported by a support structure 6, the pedals 7 carried by the support structure 6, and an upright 8 which rises from the base structure 2 and carries a display 9. It is obvious that the driving simulator illustrated here is provided purely by way of example and that this driving simulator can be implemented in any known way, including the case in which a real vehicle in a stationary position in a test room is used as a driving simulator, with the vehicle controls operatively connected to an electronic control and processing unit of the driving simulator (in which case the display 9 is arranged in front of the vehicle to allow the operator carrying out the simulated test to see, in front of him / her, a simulation of the scene fronting the vehicle).

[0030] The construction details of the driving simulator are not described or illustrated here, both because, as already indicated, they can be provided in any known way, and because they, taken in themselves, do not fall within the scope of this invention, and finally because the elimination of such details from the drawings makes the latter quicker and easier to understand. What is important to note is that the driving simulator 1 is associated with an electronic controller E configured to display the scene in front of the virtual vehicle on the display 9 based on signals provided to the electronic controller E by the controls (for example the steering wheel 4 and the accelerator pedal and brake which are part of the pedals 7) with which the driving simulator 1 is equipped.

[0031] The electronic controller E is associated with a memory M in which a data set T related to the test track being simulated, a data set H related to each headlamp with which the vehicle to be simulated is equipped, and a data set V related to the vehicle to be simulated are stored.

[0032] The test track data T define a specific configuration of a test track, such as, for example, the track T1 shown in figure 1 , including a series of straight portions R1 , R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, interspersed with curves of predetermined radius and length C1 , C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8.

[0033] Of course, the configuration of the track T1 shown in figure 2 is provided here purely by way of example. If the system according to the invention is used to simulate a test carried out by the 11 HS Institute, the track T1 corresponds to the real track present in that institute, but it is obvious that the invention is applicable to any test track

[0034] Similarly to the real test track, the test track T1 , whose data are stored in memory M, includes a plurality of stations P1 , P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7 arranged along the track, for example of the type indicated with PX in figure 4, which represents one of these stations as displayed on display 9 during the simulated test. The generic station PX includes two poles PA, PB on both sides of the right lane of the track T1 , which simulates a road with two- way traffic, a pole PC substantially placed in the center of the left lane (theoretically traveled by vehicles traveling in direction opposite to that of the vehicle on which the test is performed), and a pole PD placed to the left of the road.

[0035] The data T related to the test track include, for each station PX, data related to virtual optical sensors S placed on the virtual poles PA, PB, PC, PD at predetermined heights, in order to detect the degree of illuminance produced by the virtual headlamps of the virtual vehicle at said virtual sensors S, when the vehicle is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles. The sensors S of the poles PA, PB, PD are close to the road surface and tend to detect the degree of illuminance of the road obtained from the vehicle headlamps, while the sensor S of the pole PC tends to detect whether the vehicle headlamps can produce a glaring of drivers of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction.

[0036] The track data set T also includes data related to one or more test protocols, which for example establish, among other things, how the vehicle is to be driven along the test track.

[0037] The data set H related to each headlamp of the vehicle under test defines the configuration of each virtual headlamp of the virtual vehicle and the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam generated by the virtual headlamp with respect to the structure of the virtual headlamp, both with reference to a low light beam emission condition and with reference to a high light beam emission condition.

[0038] Figure 5 shows, purely by way of example, a sectional view of a motor-vehicle headlamp H1 , of the type comprising a reflector body H2, having an inner reflective surface H3, and a support H4 protruding inside the reflector body H2 along the main axis X of the headlamp and carrying a light source, which in this example consists of two LED sources L1 , L2 mounted above and below the support H4 and masked by a screen H5, which prevents the radiation exiting from the sources L1 , L2 which is not reflected by the reflective surface H3 coming out of the headlamp.

[0039] Of course, the headlamp configuration shown in figure 5 is provided here purely by way of example, the present invention being applicable to any type of headlamp provided on the motor-vehicle being tested.

[0040] The headlamp data set H includes data to describe the configuration of the headlamp. Based on this data, it is therefore possible to calculate the configuration, orientation and intensity of the light beam exiting the headlamp, both in the low beam emission condition (in the illustrated example the low beam condition corresponds to the activation of the upper LED source L1 ), both in the high beam condition (in the example illustrated the high beam condition corresponds to the activation of only the lower LED source L2 or also to the activation of both LED sources L1 , L2),

[0041] Consequently, based on the data H, the electronic controller E is able to calculate the light intensity of any point in a plane orthogonal to the main axis X of the headlamp placed at a given distance from the headlamp.

[0042] Vehicle data set V primarily includes data defining the mounting position of the headlamps on the vehicle. With reference to figure 6, which shows an example of a vehicle to be tested, the data V therefore include data for describing the mounting position of each headlamp H1 on the vehicle V1 and the consequent orientation of the main axis X of each headlamp H1 to the vehicle V1 .

[0043] Therefore, based on the headlamp data H and the vehicle data V, the electronic controller E is able to calculate the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam B (see figure 6) generated by the headlamps H1 of the vehicle V1 , both with reference to the low light beam emission condition and with reference to the high light beam emission condition.

[0044] Therefore, during the execution of the test (figure 3 shows as an example the scene in front of the vehicle displayed on display 9) the electronic controller E is able to determine the degree of illuminance of each point of the scene in front of the virtual vehicle and is therefore capable in particular of calculating the degree of illuminance of the virtual sensors S carried by the virtual poles PA, PB, PC, PD of each station PX, when, traveling along the virtual track T1 , the virtual vehicle is at predetermined distances from said poles.

[0045] According to a further important feature of the invention, the vehicle data set V also includes vehicle data useful for determining the dynamic conditions of the vehicle during the simulated test, and in particular for determining the longitudinal acceleration, the transverse acceleration and the vertical acceleration to which the virtual vehicle headlamps are subjected.

[0046] With reference to figure 6, said data useful for determining the dynamic conditions of the vehicle include:

[0047] - data related to the sprung masses M2 and unsprung masses M1 of the vehicle,

[0048] - distribution of masses along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,

[0049] - height above the ground of the center of gravity G of the vehicle,

[0050] - deformability of tires TX as result of longitudinal and lateral stresses to which the vehicle is subjected,

[0051] - configuration of the suspensions SX (including data related to the characteristic and load of the suspension springs).

[0052] On the basis of these data, and according to the signals provided to the electronic controller E by the controls 4, 7 of the driving seat of the driving simulator, the electronic controller E is able to calculate, in a known way, the longitudinal acceleration along the axis X1 (figure 6), the transverse acceleration along the axis Y1 and the vertical acceleration along the axis Z1 , to which the headlamps H1 are subjected during the test.

[0053] Therefore, according to the invention, the electronic controller is configured to dynamically determine, during the simulated test, the influence of the thus determined dynamic conditions on the orientation of the light beams emitted by the headlamps H1 .

[0054] On the basis of the output signals from the virtual sensors S of each station PX (i.e. on the basis of the calculation of the light intensity in the points where these sensors are located), the electronic controller E is able to process an evaluation of the performance of the headlamps, which provides an response EV (figure 1 ) containing an evaluation of this performance, for example expressed as an evaluation chosen from four different levels (good, acceptable, marginal, poor) similarly to what is estimated for example in the tests of the IIHS Institute, on the basis of a comparison of the degree of illuminance calculated with predetermined threshold values corresponding to said levels.

[0055] Thanks to the use of the system and method described above, the vehicle manufacturer is able to predict the results of a real test with high reliability, in an extremely short time and with simple, low-cost means. The system according to the invention therefore becomes a valuable tool during the design and development of a vehicle.

[0056] As already indicated above, the system and the method according to the invention can also be used in particular to evaluate the performance of adaptive headlamps equipped with intelligent functions such as the AFS (Advanced Frontlighting System) function, which regulates the direction of emission of the beam based on the vehicle speed and steering angle and the ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) function, which optimizes the “high” beam, minimizing the risk of glaring drivers of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. In this way, the invention can be used to support, with simple and low-cost means, the development and validation of all said intelligent headlamp features. Said headlamp data H may include data related to the control logic of the light beam as a function of the vehicle speed and steering angle. The track data T may include data related to additional optical sensors arranged to verify the intensity of illuminance produced by the light beam at additional sensing points suitable for detecting the light beam when it is automatically varied on the basis of the vehicle speed and steering angle.

[0057] Of course, notwithstanding the principle of the invention, the construction details and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what has been described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the attached claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the vehicle headlamps, said system comprising:- a driving simulator (1 ), including a driving seat (3) equipped with controls (4, 7) for driving a virtual vehicle during a driving simulation, a display (9) for displaying a scene in front of the virtual vehicle, and an electronic controller (E) configured to display the scene in front of the virtual vehicle on said display (9) based on signals provided to the electronic controller (E) by said controls (4, 7) of the driving seat of the driving simulator (1 ),- wherein with the electronic controller (E) of said driving simulator (1 ) there is associated a memory (M) containing track data (T) defining a test track (T1 ) which follows a predetermined route including a series of straight portions (R1 -R7) of predetermined length and curves (C1 -C8) of predetermined length and radius,- wherein said track data (T) also include data related to the degree of illuminance produced by virtual headlamps of the virtual vehicle at predetermined distances,- wherein said memory (M) also contains headlamp data (H) and vehicle data (V),- wherein said headlamp data (H) define the configuration of each virtual headlamp (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) and the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamp (H1 ) with respect to the structure (H2) of the virtual headlamp,- wherein said vehicle data (V) define the mounting position of the virtual headlamps (H1 ) on the vehicle (V1 ),- wherein the electronic controller (E) of the driving simulator (1 ) is configured to use said headlamp data (H) and said vehicle data (V) to determine the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ),- so that the electronic controller (E) is able to determine the degree of illuminance of each point of the scene in front of the virtual vehicle,- wherein said vehicle data (V) also include additional vehicle datarelated to sprung masses (M2) of the vehicle (V1 ), unsprung masses (M1 ) of the vehicle, mass distribution along the longitudinal direction (X1 ) of the vehicle (V1 ), height above the ground of the center of gravity (G) of the vehicle, tire deformability (TX) as result of longitudinal and lateral stresses to which the vehicle is subjected, configuration of the suspensions (SX) and flexibility and load of the suspension springs,- wherein in addition said electronic controller (E) is configured to determine the dynamic conditions of the vehicle during the simulation, and in particular the longitudinal acceleration, transverse acceleration, and vertical acceleration to which the headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) are subjected, on the basis of said additional vehicle data and on the basis of the signals provided to the electronic controller (E) by said controls (4, 7) of the driving seat of the driving simulator (1 ),- said electronic controller being configured to dynamically determine, during the test simulation, the influence of the thus determined dynamic conditions on the orientation of the light beams (B) emitted by the virtual headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ), said system being characterized in that:- said track data (T) also include data related to virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) placed on either side of the track (T1 ) at predetermined positions (PX) along the track (T1 ) and data related to virtual optical sensors (S) placed on said virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) at predetermined heights, in order to detect the degree of illuminance produced by virtual headlamps of the virtual vehicle at said virtual sensors (S) when the vehicle is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD),- said headlamp data (H) define the configuration of each virtual headlamp (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) and the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamp (H1 ) with respect to the structure (H2) of the virtual headlamp, both with reference to a low light beam emission condition and with reference to a high light beam emission condition, so that the electronic controller (E) is able to calculate the degree of illuminance of said virtual sensors (S) carried by the virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) when the virtual vehicle (V1 ) is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles,- said electronic controller (E) is also configured to process the testresults, which consist of said calculation of the degree of illuminance of said virtual sensors (S) carried by the virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) when the virtual vehicle (V1 ) is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles, to provide as output an evaluation of the performance of the headlamps, according to a scale of values, including a minimum level, a maximum level and at least two intermediate levels, based on a comparison of the calculated degree of illuminance with predetermined threshold values corresponding to said levels.

2. The system according to claim 1 , characterized in that the headlamps (H1 ) of the vehicle to be tested are adaptive headlamps, in which the characteristics and orientation of the light beam are automatically varied according to the vehicle speed and steering angle, in that said headlamp data (H) include data related to light beam control logic as a function of the vehicle speed and steering angle and in that said track data (T) include data related to additional optical sensors arranged to detect the intensity of illuminance produced by the beam at additional sensing points capable of detecting the beam when it is automatically varied based on the vehicle speed and steering angle.

3. A method for simulating a test on a vehicle along a test track for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the vehicle headlamps, said method comprising:- providing a driving simulator (1 ), including a driving seat (3) equipped with controls (4, 7) for driving a virtual vehicle during a driving simulation, a display (9) for displaying a scene in front of the virtual vehicle, and an electronic controller (E) configured to display the scene in front of the virtual vehicle on said display (9) based on signals provided to the electronic controller (E) by said controls (4, 7) of the driving seat of the driving simulator (1 ),- wherein with the electronic controller (E) of said driving simulator (1 ) there is associated a memory (M) containing track data (T) defining a test track (T1 ) which follows a predetermined route including a series of straight portions (R1 -R7) of predetermined length and curves (C1 -C8) of predetermined length and radius,- wherein said track data (T) also include data related to the degree of illuminance produced by virtual headlamps of the virtual vehicle,- wherein said memory (M) also contains headlamp data (H) and vehicle data (V),- wherein said headlamp data (H) define the configuration of each virtual headlamp (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) and the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamp (H1 ) with respect to the structure (H2) of the virtual headlamp,- wherein said vehicle data (V) define the mounting position of the virtual headlamps (H1 ) on the vehicle (V1 ), wherein said method also includes:- using said headlamp data (H) and said vehicle data (V) to determine, by means of said electronic controller (E), the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ),- so as to determine the degree of illuminance of each point of the scene in front of the virtual vehicle,- wherein said vehicle data (V) also include additional vehicle data related to sprung masses (M2) of the vehicle (V1 ), unsprung masses (M1 ) of the vehicle, mass distribution along the longitudinal direction (X1 ) of the vehicle (V1 ), height above the ground of the center of gravity (G) of the vehicle, tire deformability (TX) as result of longitudinal and lateral stresses to which the vehicle is subjected, configuration of the suspensions (SX) and flexibility and load of the suspension springs,- wherein the method also includes determining, by means of said electronic controller (E), the dynamic conditions of the vehicle during the simulation, and in particular the longitudinal acceleration, the transverse acceleration, and the vertical acceleration to which the headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) are subjected, on the basis of said additional vehicle data and on the basis of the signals provided to the electronic controller (E) by said controls (4, 7) of the driving seat of the driving simulator (1 ),- said method also including dynamically determining, during the test simulation, the influence of the thus determined dynamic conditions on the orientation of the light beams (B) emitted by the virtual headlamps (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ), the method being characterized in that:- said track data (T) also include data related to virtual poles (PA, PB,PC, PD) placed on either side of the track (T1 ) at predetermined positions (PX) along the track (T1 ) and data related to virtual optical sensors (S) placed on said virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) at predetermined heights, in order to detect the degree of illuminance produced by virtual headlamps of the virtual vehicle at said virtual sensors (S) when the vehicle is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD),- said headlamp data (H) define the configuration of each virtual headlamp (H1 ) of the virtual vehicle (V1 ) and the configuration, orientation and characteristics of the light beam (B) generated by the virtual headlamp (H1 ) with respect to the structure (H2) of the virtual headlamp, both with reference to a low light beam emission condition and with reference to a high light beam emission condition, so that the electronic controller (E) is able to calculate the degree of illuminance of said virtual sensors (S) carried by the virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) when the virtual vehicle (V1 ) is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles, the method also comprising processing, by means of said electronic controller (E), the results of the test, which consist of said calculation of the degree of illuminance of said virtual sensors (S) carried by the virtual poles (PA, PB, PC, PD) when the virtual vehicle (V1 ) is at predetermined distances from said virtual poles, and providing as output an evaluation of the performance of the headlamps, according to a scale of values, including a minimum level, a maximum level and at least two intermediate levels, based on a comparison of the calculated degree of illuminance with predetermined threshold values corresponding to said levels.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the headlamps (H1 ) of the vehicle to be tested are adaptive headlamps, in which the characteristics and orientation of the light beam are automatically varied according to the vehicle speed and steering angle, in that said headlamp data (H) include data related to light beam control logic as a function of the vehicle speed and steering angle and in that said track data (T) include data related to additional optical sensors arranged to detect the intensity of illuminance produced by the beam at additional sensing points capable of detecting the light beam when it is automatically varied based on the vehicle speed and steering angle.

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