Automobiles equipped with lighting devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automobile (1) having a lighting device (2) that extends around the automobile (1) and generates light (L) that is recognizable from the outside as circling the automobile (1) when in operation. The lighting device (2) is operated in dependence of an object (11) outside the automobile (1), thereby achieving a higher level of safety by generating light (L) corresponding to the object (11) that is recognizable from the outside as circling the automobile (1).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a motor vehicle having a lighting device that operates and emits light depending on the state of the motor vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Such a motor vehicle is known from Patent Document 1. This motor vehicle has a lighting device having at least one design member arranged outside the headlight, direction indicator, and taillight of the motor vehicle. At this time, at least one design member is illuminated depending on the vehicle locking device of the motor vehicle.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses vehicle lighting and particularly lighting provided through a window, sunroof, sliding roof, or other transparent vehicle member.

[0004] Patent Document 3 discloses a lighting assembly for a motor vehicle having a light emitting unit for illuminating the periphery of the motor vehicle in order to improve the visibility of a vehicle occupant in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle while driving.

[0005] Patent Document 4 discloses a light emitting device adapted to a given design condition of a vehicle, provided on the vehicle for signal-displaying various information. Patent Document 5 discloses a motor vehicle having a lighting assembly that can be individually adapted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

[0007] The present invention addresses the problem of providing improved or at least different embodiments for the types of automobiles described above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This problem is solved by the subject matter of independent claim 1 according to the present invention. A preferred embodiment is the subject matter of the dependent claim.

[0009] The present invention is based on the fundamental idea of ​​installing a lighting device on a vehicle that, when activated, emits light that surrounds the vehicle and is recognizable from the outside, and activating the lighting device in response to a predetermined event so that light corresponding to that event is generated and emitted so that a person outside the vehicle can perceive from the outside as surrounding the vehicle. In this way, a person outside the vehicle, in particular, can receive corresponding information regarding the event, and based on the circulating output of the corresponding light, the information can be perceived more clearly, regardless of the person's current position, thus improving safety.

[0010] The aforementioned events include objects in the vicinity of the vehicle, and / or the operation of the vehicle's brakes, and / or the operation of the vehicle's hazard lights, and / or the operating status of the vehicle's driving assist system.

[0011] According to the concept of the present invention, an automobile has a lighting device. The lighting device is housed in the interior trim of the automobile and extends around the automobile, thereby generating light that is recognizable from outside the automobile as it circles the automobile when it is in operation. Furthermore, the automobile has a control device for operating the lighting device.

[0012] In the first solution according to the present invention, the automobile has a recognition device for recognizing objects in the area surrounding the automobile. The recognition device may have, for example, at least one camera, a radar sensor, etc. A control device is configured to activate a lighting device depending on the object recognized by the recognition device, so that the lighting device generates light corresponding to the object that is recognizable from outside the automobile as circling the automobile. In this way, information regarding the recognition of objects can be provided to both persons inside and outside the vehicle.

[0013] It is preferable for the lighting device to have at least one light-emitting means for generating light.

[0014] The lighting device is preferably capable of generating light of various different colors. For this purpose, the lighting device is preferably equipped with at least one LED.

[0015] The lighting device is preferably positioned in the interior trim adjacent to at least one window of the vehicle, preferably on the lower edge of the window. The window may be a side window and / or a front window and / or a rear window.

[0016] An embodiment is preferred in which the lighting device extends to encircle the entire vehicle, so that when in operation, the light is visible from outside the vehicle around the entire vehicle. In other words, the lighting device provides 360° illumination that is directed outward. This aforementioned 360° illumination may, of course, be interrupted inside gaps such as doors and / or trunks and / or engine hoods.

[0017] According to the present invention, it is intended that at least two objects, namely at least one car owner or vehicle holder and an unknown person, each be assigned one color of light.

[0018] In this way, it is possible to signal to cyclists and pedestrians that they are being recognized.

[0019] Furthermore, it is possible to signal to vehicle owners or vehicle possessors, that is, those with access qualifications to the vehicle, that they or their approach to and / or departure from the vehicle are being recognized. This may be a so-called "welcome" signal display and "goodbye" signal display.

[0020] In this way, a warning can be output to outsiders, that is, those without access qualifications to the vehicle, in a manner such as the so-called "watchdog function".

[0021] Accordingly, the corresponding light is selected each time. At this time, it is preferable that the corresponding color of light is assigned to each object.

[0022] The vehicle can have a driving assist system. At this time, the control device is preferably configured to operate the lighting device depending on the operating state of the driving assist system, so that the lighting device generates light corresponding to the operating state that is recognizable from the outside of the vehicle as it circles the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to signal in a simple manner to the outside that the driving assist system of the vehicle is operating and / or not operating.

[0023] At this time, the recognition device may be part of the driving assist system.

[0024] As an alternative or in addition, the control device is configured to operate the lighting device depending on the operating service brake and / or hazard light function, so that the lighting device generates light corresponding to the operating service brake and / or hazard light function, preferably light having the corresponding color.

[0025] Further important features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, drawings, and corresponding descriptions based on the drawings.

[0026] The features described above, and the features further described below, should be understood to be usable not only in the combinations shown, but also in other combinations or individually, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings and will be described in more detail below, where the same reference numerals represent the same, similar, or functionally identical components.

[0028] Here, the following is a general description of each drawing: [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0029] [Figure 1] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing a car and a cyclist equipped with lighting devices, illustrating the operational state of the lighting devices. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view showing an automobile in the area of ​​lighting equipment. [Figure 3] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing cars and pedestrians in the operating state of their lighting systems. [Figure 4] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing a car and an outsider in the operating state of the lighting system. [Figure 5] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing a car with its lighting system in operation. [Figure 6] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing an automobile with the lighting device in operation, under another embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a three-dimensional diagram showing an automobile with the lighting device in operation, under another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0030] Automobile 1, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 7, has a lighting device 2 as illustrated in Figure 2. The lighting device 2 is housed in the interior trim 3 of automobile 1, as can be seen in Figure 2, and generates light L when in operation. Here, the lighting device 2 extends around automobile 1, as can be seen in the light L suggested in Figures 1 and 3 to 7, thereby generating light L that is recognizable from outside automobile 1 as circling automobile 1 when in operation. In the illustrated embodiment, the lighting device 2 extends around the entire automobile 1, so that when in operation, the light L is recognizable from outside automobile 1 around the entire automobile 1. That is, when in operation, the lighting device 2 generates so-called 360° illumination outward. In particular, as can be seen in Figure 2, in the illustrated embodiment, the lighting device 2 can be positioned to circumfer the lower edges of the windows 4 of automobile 1, namely the side windows 5, the front window 6, and the rear window 7. The light L generated in this manner is easily recognizable to a third party. In the illustrated embodiment, the lighting device 2 includes at least one LED 8, as indicated in Figure 2, so that when the lighting device 2 is operating, it can generate light L of different colors.

[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, the automobile 1 has a recognition device 9, symbolically indicated only in Figure 2, for recognizing objects 11 in the area surrounding the automobile 1. The recognition device 9 may have, for example, at least one camera (not shown) and / or at least one radar sensor (not shown). The automobile 1 has a control device 10, symbolically indicated only in Figure 2. The control device 10 is connected (not shown) to an illumination device 2 so that the control device 10 can operate the illumination device 2. The control device 10 is configured such that the illumination device 2 is operated depending on the objects 11 recognized by the recognition device 9, and the illumination device 2 generates light L corresponding to the objects 11, which can be recognized from outside the automobile 1 as circling the automobile 1 according to the extent of the illumination device 2. The illumination device 2 generates light L corresponding to at least two different objects 11, and in the illustrated embodiment, light L of the corresponding color.

[0032] Object 11 may be a cyclist 12, as shown in Figure 1, and the recognition of the cyclist is signaled by a corresponding light L, for example, a blue light L.

[0033] Object 11 may be a pedestrian 13, as shown in Figure 3, and the recognition of the pedestrian is signaled by a corresponding light L, for example, a blue light L.

[0034] As suggested in Figure 4, object 11 may be an outsider 14, that is, a person 14 who does not have the right to access automobile 1. The outsider 14 can be signaled that they are being recognized by a corresponding light L, for example, a red light L, that is, an optical warning is output in a manner similar to a "watchdog" function.

[0035] As suggested in Figure 5, in the recognition of an object 11, a person (not shown) who is entitled to access the automobile 1, the lighting device 2 can output corresponding light L. In this case, it is conceivable to generate different light L, particularly different colored light L, when the person approaches the automobile 1 and when the person moves away from the automobile 1. For example, white light L can be generated and output when the person approaches, and yellow and / or orange light L can be generated and output when the person moves away.

[0036] Automobile 1 may have a driving assist system 15, indicated only by symbols in Figure 2. In this case, the control device 10 may be configured to operate the lighting device 2 depending on the operating state of the driving assist system 15, as indicated in Figure 6, so that the lighting device 2 generates light L corresponding to the operating state, which is recognizable from outside automobile 1 as circling automobile 1. For example, when the driving assist system 15 is operating, it can generate and output blue light L.

[0037] As suggested in Figure 7, the control device 10 may be configured, as an alternative or addition, to activate the lighting device 2 in reliance on an activated service brake and / or hazard light function (not shown), thereby causing the lighting device 2 to generate and output light L corresponding to the service brake and / or hazard light function. For example, red light L may be assigned to the service brake and yellow / orange light L to the hazard light function.

Claims

1. Automobile (1), - The vehicle has a lighting device (2), which is housed in the interior trim (3) of the vehicle (1) and extends around the vehicle (1), thereby generating, when in operation, light (L) that is recognizable from outside the vehicle (1) so as to circle the vehicle (1). - The vehicle (1) has a recognition device (9) for recognizing an object (11) in the surrounding area, - The vehicle (1) has a control device (10), which is configured to operate the lighting device (2) depending on the object (11) recognized by the recognition device (9), thereby the lighting device (2) generates light (L) corresponding to the object (11) that is recognizable from outside the vehicle (1) so as to circle the vehicle (1), The automobile (1) is characterized in that at least two objects (11), which are at least one person qualified to access the automobile (1) and an unknown person (14), are each assigned one of the colors of the light (L).

2. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein the automobile (1) has a driving assist system (15), and the control device (10) is configured to operate the lighting device (2) depending on the operating state of the driving assist system (15), thereby the lighting device (15) generates light (L) corresponding to the operating state that is recognizable from outside the automobile (1) so as to circle the automobile (1).

3. The automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the lighting device (2) extends to encircle the entire automobile (1), and so that when in operation, the light (L) is recognizable from outside the automobile (1) around the entire automobile (1).

4. The motor vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device (10) is configured to operate the lighting device (2) depending on the activated service brake and / or hazard light function, and thereby the lighting device (2) generates light (L) corresponding to the service brake and / or hazard light function.

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